Pottstown boys, Pottsgrove girls victorious in season-opening meet

POTTSTOWN >> Jon Oister saved his best for last.

Naomi Hillen was a force on the track all afternoon.

Their efforts went a long way toward deciding Wednesday’s Pioneer Athletic Conference meet between Pottstown and Pottsgrove. The neighboring rivals ended up splitting this matchup of Frontier Division schools, the Trojans claiming the boys portion, 81-69, while the Falcon girls got new head coach Megan DeLena her first victory.

“It was a nice win,” DeLena said of her girls’ 96-53 domination of Pottstown. “The boys came down to the last event … it was back and forth all day.”

The Trojans went into the javelin finale with a 75-66 lead and assurance of not doing any less than coming away with a tie. But Oister and teammate Jeremiah Barnes got six of the last nine available points in a spirited duel between Oister and Pottsgrove’s Justin Adams.

“It was a real close competition,” Oister admitted. “He (Adams) went first, and he was throwing it farther than I did.”

On the final throws, however, Oister got the better of Adams. The Falcon senior chucked the spear 144 feet, seven inches before Oister launched it 144-11, a personal best for him.

Barnes, for good measure, finished the event with a 137-5.

“I told myself I could do this,” Oister said. “I was shooting for 150.”

Setting the stage for the last-event dramatics were big performances in the triple and high jump. Robert Burress cleared the high-jump bar at six feet, and Jahzeel Watson claimed the triple jump with a 39-6.

“I wasn’t sure about this,” Pottstown head coach Mary Ann Hill said. “We didn’t have a meet before. We’ve always been pretty close with them (Pottsgrove) before.”

There was noticeably less drama in the girls’ portion of the meet. The Falcons clinched the team victory with Calista Faust’s winning 14:18 run in the 3,200, a 1-2 effort followed by Hillen anchoring the 4×400 relay’s victory.

It was one of the four wins in which Hillen figured. The Pottsgrove sophomore, The Mercury 2018 Girls Cross Country Runner of the Year, started off the day by anchoring the Falcons’ winning 4×800 relay, then took the 1,600 in 5:38.92 and the 800 in 2:58.12.

“I’ll definitely be running the two-mile,” she said. “I’m planning to run a faster mile, too. My goal is a sub-5:30.”

DeLena noted her utilization of Hillen was fueled by some middle-distance competitors dealing with injuries. She hopes to get them back soon.

“Stopping, rethinking and reshuffling,” she said, “it made sense to put her in the 4×400. She gives us a strong 4×400.”

Janiya Jones was a force for Pottsgrove in the sprints, winning the 100 (12.64) and 200 (27.17). Other Falcons winning on the track were Hailey Strain in the 300 hurdles (51.0), Angelia Hollinger in the 400 (1:09.58) and Calista Faust in the 3,200 (14:18).

Amari Folly was Pottstown’s lone winner of an individual event on the track, taking the 100 low hurdles in 16.82. She also had a winning throw of 86-3 in the javelin. Juliana Figueroa (pole vault) and Zoe Earle (high jump) were other winners of field events.

On the boys’ side, Burress complemented his first in the high jump with a winning run of 16.13 in the 110 high hurdles. Pottstown also got firsts from Derek Darden in the 100 (11.62), Darius Smallwood in the 800 (2:11) and Demond Thompson in the 200 (24.0).

“It looks a lot better than yesterday,” Hill said of the boys’ lineup. “We had Darden try the long jump. He didn’t want to do it, but he finished second.”

The Falcons got other individual firsts from Laree Hills in the 300 hurdles (43.11), Bryce Hampton in the 1,600 (4:56), Jay Sisko in the 400 (54.32), Brandon Hendrickson in the 3,200 (11:45.67), Ahmed Moussa in the discus (100-11), Adams in the shot put (49-9) and Lennie Hall in the long jump (20-1).

“What I saw today from our kids was a lot of heart,” DeLena said. “Guys like Hills, Sisko, Hampton … they did an awesome job. I couldn’t be prouder.”

NOTES >> Hampton duplicated Hillen’s feat in the boys’ 4×800, anchoring the Pottsgrove foursome to the victory. … Pottstown followed Pottsgrove’s sweep of the 4×800 by turning a similar trick in the 4×100. … Oister professed to be multi-talented on both the track and in the field. Competing in the 4×100 relay, high jump and javelin Wednesday, he also has experience in the long jump, 400 and 200. “If I’m needed anywhere,” he said, “I’ll do it.”