Chester County athletes soar at District 1 3A boys track

Caln >> Many Chester County athletes reached new heights at the PIAA District 1 Class 3A boys’ track and field championships Saturday at Coatesville High School.
Downingtown West senior Declan Rymer won the 1600 meter run; West Chester Rustin senior John Shallo was shot put champion; Unionville senior Jack Miles won the pole vault; and perennial power Coatesville finished first in the 4×100 relay.
Coatesville’s 4×100 quartet of freshman Amir Haskett, junior Bryan Lacey, senior Abdul Stewart and junior Lebron Bessick posted a winning time of 42.31, ahead of runnerup Norristown (42.64).
“When we’re racing here at Coatesville, it’s like being in front of a family, not a crowd,” said Stewart.
The top five teams in the 3A boys 4×100 relay have qualified for States.
Bessick, the anchor of Coatesville’s relay, said, “The key today was executing our handoffs. Abdul stayed strong in the third leg, and I knew I was running against a 10.6 guy behind me [Norristown’s Jaden Brown]. My goal was just to stay in front, finish strong and stay relaxed.”
Stewart added, “The biggest thing we worked on all week was handoffs. We told ourselves that, no matter what position we were in the race, ahead, behind, we were going to run our race, and that’s what we did.”
Rymer clocked a winning time 4:14.02 in the 1600 meter run, ahead of runnerup Devon Comber of Hatboro Horsham (4:15.20).
This will be Rymer’s first time at States – two years ago, he missed qualifying for States by one spot.
“This is a big moment for me, not only going to States by winning the race,” said Rymer. “My game plan was to go around halfway at 2:10, which I did; and I wanted to have something for the last lap as well. My second half today was 2:04, so I think I had a pretty good split, I executed pretty well.”

Rymer, who will run track and cross country for Virginia Tech, where he will major in computer engineering, prefers the current one-day format for the District 1 boys championship meet over the two-day format that was used prior to 2020.
Shallo won the 3A boys shot put with a heave of 54-05.75, ahead of runnerup Jason Crocker of Springfield-Montco (52-08.50). His mark was a PR by four inches, and just two inches shy of the Rustin school record.
“The key for me today was just to power through the throw, be explosive at the end and follow my keys throughout,” said Shallo, who is headed to States for the first time. “I love the energy of the atmosphere here [at Coatesville].”
In the fall, Shallo will be playing football for Bloomsburg University as an offensive lineman.
Miles won the pole vault with a mark of 14-6, ahead of runnerup Hunter Flack of Upper Perkiomen (14-0). Miles will be headed to States for the first time in outdoor track (he has competed in States in the pole vault in indoor track).
“My coach’s encouragement and my practice the last week-and-a-half made a big difference today,” said Miles. “My [spring] season started out really slow, and my coach [Talen Singer of the Philly Jumps Club] got me to where I needed to be.”
Miles, who will be pole vaulting at Monmouth University next year, liked the one-day format used this year at Districts.
“I liked it, starting early in the morning with this hot weather, I got done quick, and it was super-convenient,” said Miles.
More than half a dozen Chester County runners qualified for States in the distance runs (1600, 3200). In the boys 3A 1600 meter run, Downingtown East junior Caiden Lee finished fifth (4:20.62), Downingtown West senior Holden Betz senior Holden Betz was sixth (4:21.16), Kennett senior Gavin Maxwell placed seventh (4:21.46) and Unionville senior Ethan McIntyre was eighth (4:23.94). All four of them qualified for States.
In the boys 3A 3200 meter race, Downingtown West senior Aiden Barnhill finished second (9:25.29), Downingtown East junior Brendan Flynn placed third (9:28.86), Conestoga senior Charlie Miller finished fourth (9:29.80) and Conestoga junior Vicente Pena was sixth (9:30.98). All four runners have qualified for States. Great Valley senior Michael Search also won a medal in the 3200, placing eighth (9:41.46).
In the 3A boys 800 meter run, Conestoga senior Ben Horner finished fourth (1:56.28), Unionville senior Sam Elsen placed fifth (1:56.32) and Great Valley junior Jake Zielinski was seventh (1:57.32). Horner and Elsen qualified for States.
Horner, who ran a PR by half a second, said, “These guys at Districts are so fast, the competition made me run faster. I’m super excited, some of my [Conestoga] teammates made States as well, so I’m looking forward to the road trip with them.”
Horner, who will run track for Colgate University next year, prefers the old two-day format over the current one-day.
“With the two-day, you have the guys and girls competing together, and I would have liked to watch my Conestoga girls teammates compete today. But they still came out today to cheer us [guys] on, so I guess [the one-day format] is OK.”
In the boys 3A 400 meter dash, Downingtown West junior Elijah Ford placed second with a state-qualifying time of 49.02 and West Chester Henderson sophomore Preston Lubeski was sixth (50.17).
In the boys 3A 200 meter dash, Bessick placed second (with a PR 21.60), just behind Pennridge junior Joey Gant (21.58). Conestoga senior Henry Miller placed sixth with a state-qualifying time of 22.47. Avon Grove senior Daniel Kozel was seventh (22.58).
In the boys 3A 100 meter dash, West Chester Rustin senior Drew Gallen placed fourth with a state-qualifying time of 10.94 and Downington West junior Deonsa Dorsey finished eighth (11.13).
In the boys 3A 4×100 relay, the Avon Grove quartet of junior Avinabo Poddar, senior Connor Ruark, senior Daniel Kozel and freshman Connor Carroll placed third (42.81) and the Downingtown West junior foursome of Vincent Schetroma, Elijah Ford, Deonsa Dorsey and Jacob Dixon finished fifth (43.16). Both quartets have qualified for States.
In the 3A boys 4×400 relay, the Coatesville finished fifth with a state-qualifying time of 3:23.46, by a listed quartet of Bessick, Dave Kelly, Justin Reed and Stewart.
A couple of Chester County athletes had runnerup finishes in the field events at the District 1 3A boys meet. In the boys 3A javelin, Coatesville junior Rhyel Miles-Eubanks placed second (165-10) and West Chester Henderson junior Logan Krapf finished sixth (156-01). In the boys 3A discus, West Chester Henderson sophomore Ramsey Tarazi finished second (143-00) and Shallo was seventh (136-05).
Bishop Shanahan senior Noel Doherty placed fourth (15.41) in the boys 3A 100 hurdles, and Coatesville junior Ameil Pouncy was eighth (15.94).
In the boys 3A long jump, West Chester Rustin junior Dayshawn Jacobs finished fourth (21-09.25), Rustin junior Jaden Mercy placed sixth (21-04.50) and Oxford junior Zander Quinn was seventh (21.01.50).
West Chester Henderson junior Alex Munro finished sixth in the boys 3A pole vault with a mark of 13-0.
In the team standings, North Penn finished first in the boys 3A division with 47 points, followed by Hatboro Horsham (42), Downingtown West (34), Coatesville (31) and Central Bucks West (27). West Chester Rustin and Pennridge were tied for sixth place with 25 points. and West Chester Henderson and Conestoga were tied for 18th with 16 points. Other Chester County schools who placed were Unionville (20th, 15 points), Downingtown East (tied for 26th, 10 points), Avon Grove (tied for 35th, 8 points), Bishop Shanahan (tied for 41st, 5 points), Great Valley (tied for 44th, 3 points), Kennett (tied for 46th, 2 points) and Oxford (tied for 46th, 2 points).

Boys – District 1 3A winners
100 meter dash – 1. Jaden Brown (NO) 10.71; 200 meter dash – 1. Joey Gant (PE) 21.58; 400 meter dash – 1. Isaiah Marc (WI) 48.81; 800 meter run – 1. Eric Albright (GAV) 1:53.57; 1600 meter run – 1. Declan Rymer (DW) 4:14.02; 3200 meter run – 1. Devon Comber (HH) 9:23.03; 100 hurdles – 1. Malcolm Garbutt (CHE) 15.06; 300 hurdles – 1. Malcolm Garbutt (CHE) 39.10; 4×100 – 1. Coatesville (Lebron Messick, Bryan Lacey, Amir Haskett, Abdul Stewart) 42.31; 4×400 – 1. Central Bucks West (Noah Gartenberg, Tekalegn Leaf, Keagan Kratzke, Carter Fitzgerald) 3:22.29; 4×800 – 1. Central Bucks West (Conor Gross, Eric Mass, Brennan Wellock, Carter Fitzgerald) 7:53.09; High jump – 1. Aidan Rohrbough (OJR) 6-05; Long jump – 1. Jaden Price-Whitehead (UD) 23-.08.50; Triple jump – 1. Kasey Savage (HH) 46-10.25; Pole vault – 1. Jack Miles (UN) 14-6; Discus – 1. James Richie (WT) 143-06; Javelin – 1. Nick Masterman (HA) 169-11; Shot put – 1. John Shallo (WCR) 54-05.75.

Boys – District 1 3A team point totals
North Penn 47, Hatboro Horsham 42, Downingtown West 34, Coatesville 31, Central Bucks West 27, Pennridge 25, West Chester Rustin 25, Owen J. Roberts 23, Upper Dublin 22, William Tennent 22.