Perkiomen Valley outruns Pottstown, Upper Perkiomen
PENNSBURG >> They went to a Pioneer Athletic Conference dual meet, and a three-school race broke out Wednesday.
Actually, the revised plan was for Perkiomen Valley and Norristown conducting their Liberty Division contest alongside the Frontier Division matchup between Upper Perkiomen and Pottstown. But with the Eagles choosing not to compete due to low numbers, the Vikings were left joining the Indians and Trojans as a non-division guest.
The situation worked out across the board. PV (1-1) got to compete against a pair of Frontier entries and got wins to go with those coming from the Norristown no-show. Upper Perk (2-0), along with victories over the Pottstown boys and girls, got to measure itself against one of the Liberty Division powers. And the Trojans (1-1) took another step in their regeneration from a 2020 season where Darius Smallwood’s District 1-AA runner-up finish was the big story.
“It was nice to get more competition,” Viking head coach Ryan Sullivan said.
His boys prevailed over UP 25-34, while the girls rolled up a 15-50 result on the Indians. Both schools posted 15-50 finishes on the Trojans.
The PV boys swept by scores of 25-32 (Upper Perk) and 15-50 (Pottstown). UP got the split with its 15-48 win over Pottstown,
On the girls’ side, the Vikings topped UP 16-47 and Pottstown 15-50. The Indians split by handling the Trojans, 16-47.
Thomas Bricker used the double-dual to score his first scholastic race victory. He covered Upper Perk’s course in 17:22, more than 20 seconds ahead of Indian leader Donnie Miller (17:43). On the girls’ side, Summer Watts led another dominating effort for the Vikes — they placed in seven of the first 10 spots — with her first-place 20:10 run.
“I wanted to get the lead, then stay ahead of him (Miller),” Bricker noted. “I’d thought I’d be in the low 17s, but it was okay because of the weather.”
With the points all even through the first four placers — Jon Carnesi (UP) third and Evan Romano (PV) fourth — the Vikings claimed four of the next Top 10 spots to firm up its sweep of the boys’ competition. Dylan Ribelin and Tristan Watts went 5-6 ahead of the Indians’ Hunter Adelsburger and Will Daub, with Jason Clifford and Robert Westmeyer following 9-10.
“It was good to get the competition,” Bricker said. “We have a smaller team this year, so it was good to run others like us.”
Similar feelings were expressed by Miller, who was UP’s top district finisher in 2020.
“It was nice with competition,” the senior said. “It definitely pushed me harder. I’d like to be faster … sub-16. I have a little bit to go.”
Behind Watts, Allison Matasich, Emerson Whetstone and Elyse Tancini placed second through fourth for the Perk Valley girls (2-0). Tancini’s 21:39 matched the finish of UP leader Maren Landis before Allison Hurd, Sydney Fitzpatrick and Megan Furlong came in 6-7-8.
“Our girls who went 2-3-4, it was special for them,” Sullivan noted.
The Indians’ other high-finishing girls were Nadia Frydlowicz, ninth in 23:18; and Maggie Milkowich, 10th in 23:41.
Leading the Pottstown boys (1-1) was Ethan Masewics, 14th overall in 21:15. The Trojan junior is using cross-country running as part of the redirection of his athletic endeavors toward track and field.
“Football was my thing since Grade 6,” he said. “Now, running is 100 percent of what I’m doing. I’m running cross country to improve myself in the 400 and 200.”
Drawing inspiration from Smallwood’s success in both cross country and track, Masewics is setting lofty goals for himself: Setting new school records in the 400 and 200.
“I found out I like running,” he said. “Hopefully, all the hard work will pay off.”
The Pottstown girls were headed by LaRayna Rosato’s 28th-place outing. The team has head coach Stephanie Konnick happy with its increase in numbers from the previous season.
“We had two girls last year,” she said. “Now we have nine.”
That increase notwithstanding, Konnick is looking for more growth in the program numbers. The boys’ team had four runners competing in Wednesday’s meet.
“It would be nice to have more kids,” she said. “We need to have a feeder program in the middle school to do that.”
NOTES >> Absent from the PV girls in the race lineup was Sienna Miller. Sullivan noted he kept her out of the race while nursing minor injuries, and he expects her to return within the next week. … Miller noted the UP boys have what they feel are attainable goals for 2021. “We’re hoping to go 5-0 in the division,” he said. “We strive for that every year. Phoenixville looks to be our biggest threat.”
