Local track athletes hit their stride at Ches-Mont American Super Meet

East Marlborough >> Despite Monday afternoon’s early-season chilly temperatures, some top local track & field athletes began to warm up and hit their stride at the Ches-Mont American Division Super Meet at Unionville High School.

West Chester Rustin junior Ava Alexander won the girls triple jump with a mark of 38-11 ½, which is two inches further than her gold medal-winning mark at the PIAA track state championships last spring. On Monday, she was coming off three consecutive indoor meets in which she passed 40 feet in the triple jump – the last of which was the Nike Indoor Nationals March 13, where she posted a mark of 41-3.

The versatile Alexander, who was the 2021 Daily Local News Girls Track Athlete of the Year, also finished first in the girls 100 meter run (12.72) Monday, and it’s not even one of her two main running events (the 200 and 400 meter races). 

“It was cold today, and I was working on my acceleration [in the 100],” said Alexander, who will be competing in the girls 200 meter run and the girls long jump on Thursday, the second (and final) day of the Ches-Mont American Division Super Meet. Thursday’s competition is scheduled for Kennett High School.

Alexander’s teammate, junior Ellie Keefer, finished first in the girls 1600 meter run with a clocking of 5:09.65. This was her first 1600 race of the spring season, and she won it handily – the second-place finisher posted a time of 5:15.76. Keefer, who was the 2021 Daily Local News Girls Cross Country Runner of the Year last fall, had a fine indoor season as well last winter, placing fourth in the 3000 meter run at the PTFCA Indoor State Championship in late February.

Keefer also was a part of the Golden Knights’ victorious girls 4×800 relay Monday, and will compete in the 3200 meter run and the open 800 Thursday at Kennett.

Here’s a look at how the local schools fared on day one of the Ches-Mont American Division Super Meet Monday:

Great Valley senior Jake Zielinski finished first in the boys 1600 meter run (with a PR 4:30.01), beating out Unionville’s Aryan Abbaraju (4:30.93). Zielinski, who barely missed qualifying for States last spring in the 800 meter run, will run that event Thursday.

“Today [in the 1600], I tried not to go out too quickly, but to kick it in the last 200,” said Zielinski.

Another Great Valley senior, David Stevance, finished first in the boys 100 meter run with a PR 11.64. Stevance, who usually runs the 200 and 400 meter races, had been sidelined for a few months with pulled hamstrings.

Great Valley sophomore Hudson Ayre won the boys’ discus throw with a mark of 134-11 (the second-place finisher threw 118-5 ½).

Kennett senior Dylan Boddy won the boys 110 hurdles with a PR of 18.44, the Blue Demons’ Kirstin Hoffman won the girls pole vault (11-6) and Kennett freshman Xavier McGreal won the high jump (6-0).

In the girls 1600 meter run, the Blue Demons’ Ella Burnham (third place, 5:16.06) and Whitney Walker (fourth, 5:16.55) each covered a 10-year-old school record.

Oxford sophomore Macaela Walker finished first in the girls 100 hurdles (16.00) and placed a close second in the girls 100 meter run (12.73, just .01 behind Ava Alexander) and qualified for Districts in both events – and it’s her first year competing in track.

“Macaela is very humble, and has a great attitude about trying new things,” said Rose Roe, an Oxford grad (Class of 2021) who works with the Hornet hurdlers.

Oxford senior Garrett Brady finished first in the boys’ pole vault (PR 13-0), and qualified for Districts for the first time in that event.

The Hornets’ Zander Quinn finished second in the boys’ triple jump (42-8) and qualified for Districts.

“This was his first time trying the triple jump,” noted Oxford head coach Trevor Haney. “He’s normally a long jumper, and made Districts in the long jump last spring.”

Unionville’s Alex Pancoast finished first in the girls shot put with a school-record mark of 40-8 ¾. The Longhorns’ Riley Angstadt finished second in the girls triple jump with a fine mark of 33-2 ½. Aryan Abbaraju finished second in the boys 1600 meter run with a solid clocking of 4:30.93.

The Unionville girls 4×800 relay quartet of Lauren Dobie, Nicky Diver, Molly Main and Becca Harkness started the season 54 seconds better than last year, posting a time of 9:56.55 and placing third. Unionville also got solid third-place finishes from Justin White (boys’ triple jump) and sophomore Ryan Gonsalves (boys 110 hurdles) to open the regular season. Senior captain Mia Beaudet finished third in the girls 100 meter hurdles.

“It was a good start and we’ll get better,” said Unionville coach Mark Lacianca.

West Chester Rustin senior Dayshawn Jacobs finished first in the triple jump with a mark of 46-2, two feet better than his prior personal best. It was less than an inch from the school record.

Rustin boys coach Shaz Brown noted that Jacobs, who made States last spring in the long jump, just started to pick up the triple jump with three weeks left in the indoor season last winter. Jacobs then finished sixth in the triple jump at indoor States.

Other Rustin first-place finishers included sophomore Maddie Miller in the girls 400 meter (PR 59.62), Ioannis Makris in the boys 400 meter run (53.68), Jaysin Huynh in the boys’ shot put (44-3 ½), and the girls 4×800 relay team of Hannah Betchyk, Lindsey Volkman, Ellie Keefer and Maddie Miller (9:51.17).

Both of Ava Alexander’s winning marks in the triple jump and 100 meter run were district qualifiers. Ellie Keefer and Lindsey Volkman (second place) qualified for Districts in the girls 1600 meter run, Maddie Miller earned the qualifier in the girls 400 meter run and Chloe Mattie placed second in the girls shot put and also qualified for Districts.