2022 Chester County team-by-team boys’ track & field previews

The Chester County high school track scene features a strong lineup of impressive athletes this spring, both on the running track and in the field events. Here’s a look at the top athletes on the area’s boys track & field teams as they begin their spring 2022 season:
Avon Grove finished second in the Ches-Mont League last spring, and should be strong again this year. Key returning athletes include senior Avinabo Poddar (100 meter run, 200 meter run, 4×100), senior Noah Lennon (300 hurdles, 4×100) and senior Nate Allen,Senior (400 meter run, 800 meter run). Other boys to watch include sophomore Connor Britton (1600 meter run, 3200 meter run) and junior Gavin McGinn (800 meter run).
Red Devil coach Eric Broadbent said, “We brought three relays and an athlete in an open event to indoor states this past winter season, and we have a few seniors that have been to districts and states in various events that have scored quite a few points for us at Ches-Monts. In addition to them, we have a more well-rounded team and will score points in every event area. Our team is the largest it’s been in the last eight years.”
Bishop Shanahan starts the spring season with a young but talented team. At the middle distances juniors Adam Shirker and Jameson Todd hope to build on a good indoor season last winter. Long sprinters Matt Carpenter and CJ Okafor are expected to contribute as well as freshman Jack Polizzi in the 200 meter run and 400 meter run. In the high jump, sophomore Jeff Bucklin is looking to extend his strong indoor performance.
Coatesville, which posted a 6-0 record last spring, will be led this spring by returning seniors Lebron Bessick (sprints), Bryan Lacey (sprints), Dave Kelly (mid-distance), Rhyel Miles-Eubanks (javelin), and juniors Drew Domurat (high jump) and Joshua Miller (middle distance).
Other Raiders to watch include junior Frank Bradley (javelin), junior Isaiah Brightman (hurdles), sophomore Amir Haskett (sprints) and senior Arie van der Steur (jumps).
“We are a young team with only nine returning seniors,” said Coatesville boys coach Damien Henry. “The seniors know I have high expectations for them while the underclassmen continue to develop. Our program’s goal will be to work hard and gradually improve so we are prepared when the championship season begins in May.”
Conestoga has some good distance runners returning in seniors Vicente Peña (1600 meter run, 3200 meter run) and Michael Baumgardner (3200). Junior Vladyslav Yermolenko is a key returnee in the long jump.
Other Pioneers to watch include sophomore Charlie Henderson (400-meter run), sophomore Tommy Barausky (800 meter run), sophomore Shane Walsh (800, 1600), sophomore Kyle Friend (100 meter run, long jump) and sophomore Griffin Lang (100 meter run, long jump).
“Our overall strengths will come from our distance and jumps groups,” said Conestoga coach Mark Carberry. “With an indoor track & field state medalist (Peña) and a cross-country state qualifier (Baumgardner), we should continue to perform well in the 1600 and 3200. Our jumps group is relatively young but look to explode on the scene and, potentially, challenge in a 4×100 relay.”
Devon Prep is led by senior hurdler Christian Urquhart, who earned a PR at States last year in the 110 high hurdles, and senior Thomas Walk, who competed in the state meet in the javelin last spring. Other key ath-letes for the Tide are senior Keaton Rush (3200, 1600), sophomore Pat-rick Rullo (1600) and sophomore Jake Murphy (100, 200).
“We are looking forward to a competitive season,” said Devon Prep coach Dylan Gavin. “We have 40 guys out for the team this year and that is the most we have had in our track program in a long, long time.”
Downingtown East has a solid returning group, led by seniors Caiden Leen (800 meter run, 1600 meter run) and Brendan Flynn (1600 meter run, 3200 meter run) and including sophomore Nick Steinfeld (800, 1600), sophomore Luis Bitt Comernares (hurdles), junior Sean Kopanski (400, 200, 4×100, 4×400), senior Donnie Robson (400, 200, 4×400), senior Xander Hearns (javelin) and senior Aidan Dever (400, 4×400).
Other Cougars to watch include Chris Walsh (1600, 3200), Ryan Christman (1600, 3200), Damon Alston (100, 200, 4×100), Advik Ba-blani (100, 200, 4×100), Owen Hibshman (800, 1600) and James Smith (1600, 3200).
Downingtown West, which posted a 4-2 record last spring, returns a number of fine athletes, including senior Deonsae Dorsey (was 8th at Districts last spring in 100 meter run, also runs 200), senior Elijah Ford (second in 400 meter run at 2021 Districts), senior Jacob Dixon (10th in 400 meter run at Districts), senior JJ Conzelmann (district qualifier in 800 meter run last year), sophomore Richard Planck (1600, 3200, was state qualifier in cross country last fall), and junior AJ Saggese (was 5th in Ches-Mont last spring in shot put). Other athletes to watch include junior Kelly Bell (400 meter run, triple jump, high jump) and sophomore David Whitford (1600 meter run).
“Our team has strong senior leadership in the sprints and look to capital-ize there,” said D-West coach Scott Burns. “The throwers continue to show promise and could have a breakthrough this year.”
Great Valley, which finished first in the Ches-Mont American Division Super Meets last spring, features a solid lineup this year.
Seniors David Stevance and Agasthya (Gusty) Bandari pick up where they left off last spring in the sprints and 4×100 and 4×400 relays. Senior Jake Zielinski hopes to capitalize on his strong 2021 campaign in the middle distances that ended with a district medal in the 800 meter run. Zielinski will be joined by senior Cooper Schrader, senior Patrick Hanlon, sophomore Colin Mahoney and junior Pete Schembri in making a run for states in the 4×800 relay, which finished second at the PTFCA State Indoor meet in February.
Underclassmen Aidan Poggi and Nate Ricciardi will be key figures in the sprints and throws, respectively. The team is also looking forward to the further development from Hudson Ayre in the throws and senior Akil Pillai in the jumps. Freshmen Trip Gomez and Ryan Pepperman are two promising distance runners, as both posted top 5 fastest freshman times in the state in the 3000 meter run last winter. Other seniors to watch are Colin Joy, Matthew Paolella, Charlie Sita and Hunter Wilkes.
“Overall, we are a large and very young team with many new freshman faces who will be supported by this core of returning boys,” said Great Valley coach Nicole Jones. “We are excited to see how this team develops as the competitive season gets underway.”
Kennett, which posted a 4-1 record last spring, is led by seniors Jesse Comanda (800 meter run, 1600 meter run), Kendal Lanier (1600, 3200), Logan Piercy (800), Gabe Pardo (800), Kalen Frazier (hurdles), Jaden Waterman (sprints, long jump) and junior Connor Tuk (throws). Other Blue Demons to watch for are sophomore Karsten Bardenhagen (800, 1600) and freshman Aiden Rich (200, 400).
“We’re in a transition year as the team is remarkably smaller with seniors and freshman making up 23 of the 39 roster spots,” said Kennett coach John Ramagano. “We will be looking for Jesse Comanda and Kendal Lanier to have strong seasons along with the boys 4×800. Kalen Frazier will be expected to well in both sets of hurdles along with anchoring our 4×100 and 4×400 teams which have a shot to make strides. Our field team will need to be carried by Mattias King (pole vault), Connor Tuk (discus, shot put, javelin) and Jaden Waterman (long jump, triple jump) while we get the younger athletes developed.”
Malvern Prep returns a deep, experienced team that is looking to compete for the Inter-Ac and PAISAA state titles. Key returning athletes include senior Max Robinson (pole vault), senior Nolan Horan (hurdles), junior Dylan Regan (mid-distance runs), junior Jake Marrone (distance runs), senior Stephen Hollander (sprints), junior Tyson McGee (jumps) and senior Max Bowman (throws). Other athletes to watch include senior Kody Kolar (hurdles), junior Alex Daoud (hurdles), sophomore Pete Jones (throws), senior Andrew Carlson (jumps), junior Yaahdir Nash (sprints/jumps) and junior Jake Buzin (hurdles/throws/jumps).
Oxford will be led by five seniors – Zander Quinn (long jump, 100 meter run, 4×100 relay), Eric Marshall (long jump, triple jump, 100 meter run, 200 meter run, 4×100 relay), Barry Brower (high jump, long jump, 4×100 relay), Garrett Brady (pole vault) and Evan Pechin (javelin, dis-cus). Upcoming Hornets include freshman Owen Oliver (mile run), sophomores Paul Kellerman (mile, 800) and CJ Boyer (high jump, long jump) and juniors Maven Brannon (javelin, discus) and Phil Blum (high jump).
“We go into the season with many strong athletes in the throwing and jumping events,” said Oxford coach Trevor Haney. “We are looking to have a great season with many returning athletes from last year. We aim to be very competitive this season as we build the program.”
Unionville should have a number of fine performers this spring, including senior Adam Kitay (distance), senior Cadenm Young (distance), senior Justin White (sprints and jumps – qualified and competed at the indoor state meet in the triple jump), senior Simon Hjaltson (sprints and jumps) and senior Sam Otieno (sprints and jumps). Junior Aryan Abbaraju, who medaled at the PIAA cross-country state meet last fall, is another key Longhorn.
West Chester East has a number of key returning athletes, including senior Matt Bergin (jumps), junior Tyler Wileczek (sprints), senior Rob-ert Kerns (distance runs) and junior Gavin Hefferan (distance runs). Other Vikings to look for this spring include Damir Steele (sprints) and Tyler Houp (distance runs).
West Chester Henderson, which posted a 5-1 record last spring, returns a solid lineup, led by senior pole vaulter Alex Munro (5th in the state in-doors last winter), junior long sprinter Preston Lubeski (7th in the 400 indoors last winter), senior middle distance runner Gavin Brophy, junior Ramsey Tarazi (state qualifier in the discus last year), senior Logan Krapf (javelin), senior Chase Parkinson (jumps), junior Simeon Shappell-Smith (mid-distance), junior Will Potter (sprints) and junior Cooper deVries (long sprints).
West Chester Rustin, which finished in 3rd place in the Ches-Mont American and placed 6th as a team at the District 1 meet last spring, will be led by senior Dayshawn Jacobs, who may be a state qualifier in three events (long jump, triple jump, high jump).
“The strength of our team will be our depth in the sprints and jumps while we continue to develop our talented but young distance group and throws,” said Rustin coach Shaz Brown.
Jacobs is a returning state qualifier in the long jump and medaled at In-door State Championships and Nike Indoor Nationals in the triple jump. Jacobs, who is committed to West Chester University for football, looks to compete in the district and PIAA state championships in jumps this spring.
Another key returnee is junior Jaysin Huynh, a versatile thrower who will compete for district qualifying marks in the javelin, discus, and shot put. Senior Elliot Seymour is a consistent and versatile performer who will run everything from 100 meter run to the 800 meter, should be one of the Golden Knights’ top 400 meter runners and will be competing for a district qualifying time in that event.
Senior distance runner Chris Watson is coming off of a strong indoor season where he showed his strength in the mile and 3K.
“Chris is primed for a big outdoor season after recovering from an early season injury at the start of the winter,” said Brown.
Senior Anthony Meadows, one of the top shot putters in the Ches-Mont League, will lead the Golden Knights throws group. Meadows is com-mitted to IUP for football. Sophomore Julian Irving, a strong sprinter in the 100-400 meter range, was a Meet of Champions qualifier in the 60 meter dash, 200 meter run, and 4×200 relay indoors and will most likely anchor Rustin’s sprint relays.