North Penn clears final hurdle, caps off perfect dual-meet season
FRANCONIA >> Businesslike in its approach, North Penn put some fast, finishing touches to a perfect regular season on Tuesday with a 120-30 victory over rival Souderton.
“I really like this team. They’re really fun, but also at the same time, they know when to focus and dial in,” said Knights sophomore Gemma Chevoor. “And they’re really supportive. Everyone pushes each other.”
North Penn brought everything and everyone together for the win over Big Red, completing a perfect 5-0 run through the Suburban One League Colonial Division.
Chevoor, a former gymnast, has brought some pretty nice versatility to the team in her first year of high school track. The sophomore pole vaults, and on Tuesday, she raced to a win in the 800-meter run.
North Penn hurdled, ran and dashed to nine wins on the track.
“Our team is very good. We’re pretty strong and we’re pretty tight-knit too,” said Chevoor. “I’m really excited for leagues.”
Success carried into the field for the Knights, with Dominique Bethel taking both the shot put and discus.
Megan Chester won the 300 hurdles and the 400 for the Knights and Taylor Forbes took care of the 100 hurdles. The Knights won the 4×1 and 4×4 relays and swept the 1,600, led by Sophia Schell.
“It’s a good finish,” Knights coach Brandon Turner said of the meet. “We have good kids. I think we’re coming into form. We saw some good things today, especially in the field.”
North Penn’s 4×1 and 4×4 relays are already qualified for districts, with the 4×8 team looking to join that group. The Knights have two invites this week, starting with the Trojan Classic at Wissahickon on Thursday.
Souderton’s Peyton Krebs ran to a win in the 200 dash and Emily Jacobus notched a victory in the pole vault. The 4×800 relay also raced to a first.
Big Red is at Pennridge on Thursday.
“North Penn’s tough to go against but they’re a good opponent to measure yourself and see where your team is,” said Big Red coach Frank Roman. “We have a lot of young kids who are main contributors. Our freshmen crew and our sophomore crew are really hard workers.
“We have some really great sprinters, as a group. Hopefully, we’ll make some noise at districts. I think this is the time of year where your kids that are mentally tough are really gonna start to shine and really start to put in their best times of the season. So we’re starting to see that with some of these kids. They’re getting their (personal records) now and just continue to get better. We definitely have some awesome coaches who have been here for a long time and have a lot of great experience. So for me as a first-year head coach, especially in this league, having those guys around has been amazing.”
