Smart’s impact clearly seen on Upper Darby girls track team

LOWER MERION — The door and adjoining walls outside of the athletic trainers office at Upper Darby High School are adorned with pictures and notes in memory of a young man, Brian Smart, who made a lasting impression in just eight months at the school.

Smart, 24, died Sunday while competing in the Broad Street Run and the tributes have been pouring in ever since. Students have put together a petition to rename the stadium at Upper Darby in Smart’s honor.

Senior Ali Schell, though, wanted to do more for the man who did more than treat her for a series of injuries that have prevented her from taking the track this season. She wanted to do something special to honor Smart, but couldn’t come up with the appropriate tribute. Then it hit her.

“We heard that he only got to the eight-mile mark of the Broad Street Run, which is 10 miles,” Schell said. “We want to finish the race for him, the track team and anybody else who wants to support and finish the last two miles for him.”

No date has been set for this tribute run, which will take place on Upper Darby’s home cross country course. Schell said that the team wants to pick a day when Smart’s parents will be able to attend.

“I’ve had three stress fractures in the last two years so that’s why I was really close to Brian,” Schell said. “I spent a lot of time with him, just getting me back into health, but he also helped me a lot more, getting me through some personal problems. He was more of a friend to me than a trainer.”

Schell said she learned of Smart’s passing in a phone call from a friend Sunday night.

“It’s been really hard,” Schell said. “Not just on me, but the team in general. We’ve been doing a lot to honor him.”

Upper Darby coach Brad Gilbert said that 40 members of the girls track team will be among the 200 students who will attend Smart’s funeral on Friday.

“That shows you how great he was with us,” Gilbert said. “He worked with us a lot. He was there with us Saturday night when we finished second (at the Delco Championships), taking pictures with the girls. It’s been tough. The girls are taking it pretty hard.”

The Central League coaches held a moment of silence to honor Smart before Wednesday’s league championship meet at Lower Merion High School.

“He was awesome from the start,” Gilbert said.

The Royals had a solid afternoon. Olivia Thomas took first in the shot put and discus. Megan Cook prevented Lower Merion’s Sarah Hurst from winning the 3,200 for a second year in a row. Denize Cisco, Dominque Timmons, Siani Barnes and Lina Salami won the 4 x 100.

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Chasen Wint does not look like a thrower. Sure, Wint has good size, but the 6-foot, 200-pound junior from Haverford looks more like the running back than someone who has qualified for the District 1 Class 3A championships in both the shot put and the discus.

“When I throw, everybody just looks at me like, ‘What is this guy doing here?” Wint said.

And then they see where the implement lands and quickly realize he belongs in both events. Wint picked up two more wins in the shot put and discus. He won the discus first with a heave of 151-7 and came back to take the shot with a personal best put of 49-8.

“I’m trying to get to nationals so I got out there and gave it my best effort,” Wint said. “I rely on my technique and do the best that I can.”

Wint came to the throws by chance. He was a long jumper in middle school, but not a very good one by his admission. So one day he picked up a shot put for the fun of it.

“I thought, ‘That looks kind of cool,’” Wint said. “I picked it up and threw it farther than anyone else and I just stuck with it.”

Wint wasn’t the only Ford to come home with gold. Mike Donnelly won the 3,200-meter run and C.J. Weh, Liam Creeley, Shane Mosley and Trey Blair teamed up to take first in the 4 x 100 and lead Haverford to the team title with 142 points.

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Strath Haven’s Dana Hubbell had a monster afternoon. Hubbell won the 100 hurdles (15.11) and the triple jump (34-11½), took second in the high jump (5-1) and led off the winning 4 x 400 relay team that included Grace Forbes, Maggie Forbes and Olivia Malley.

Malley’s 57-second anchor split helped her overcome a 20-meter deficit.

“I didn’t think I was going to catch up but I kept pushing and pushing,” said Malley, who also ran the leadoff leg on Strath Haven’s winning 4 x 800-meter relay team. “At the 200-meter mark I felt pretty good, and with 100 to go I realized that I was getting closer and went for it.”

Grace Forbes came into the meet with the top time in the 1,600-meter run and added the 800 to that list of accomplishments. Forbes won the 800 in a school-record and state-best time of 2:08.43.

Springfield sophomore Jordyn Chisholm finished with three medals and two personal bests. Chisholm won the long jump and qualified for districts with a personal best leap of 17-3½. She also took second in both hurdles, earning silver in the 300 hurdles with a PR of 47.97.

Ridley’s Tony Graham overcame a stumble that forced him to pull out of the 300 hurdles to successfully defend his title in the 110 hurdles for the third year in a row.

“In the 300, I wasn’t counting my steps and it threw me off,” Graham said. “I somehow clipped the curve hurdle. That happens.”

This was the last chance for Garnet Valley to qualify for districts in the 4 x 800-meter relay. Eric Albright, Sean Garrett, Peter Zeknos and Chris Rudawsky achieved that goal and a little more. The group won the event in a school-record time of 8:07.10. Teammate Larry Coaxum took first in the long and triple jumps.

Daniel Munro has already topped his dad’s best effort in the 400-meter run. Wednesday, the 15-year-old son of Penncrest coach George Munro topped another one of his pop’s best effort when he won the pole vault with a personal best effort of 11-6.

Lower Merion’s Devon Tate repeated as the league champ in the 100 and javelin. His twin brother Davon was first in the 200.