District 1 Track and Field: Haverford’s Lawson changes the plan, wins 1,600 run

CALN TWP — Haverford had a simple plan for the Class 3A 4 x 800-meter relay at the District 1 Track & Field Championships on Friday.

The Fords were to run fast enough to qualify for the PIAA Championships but not overly exert themselves, since three of the members of that foursome, Patrick Lawson, Quentin Ryan and Ethan Fingerhut, were entered in the 1,600 later on what turned out to be a hot, steamy day at Coatesville Area High School.

Lawson, though, altered that plan once he got the baton for the anchor leg. He surged ahead down the stretch to give the Fords the victory in 7:53.99, a half-second ahead of Lower Merion.

“I was put in a perfect position by my teammates,” Lawson said. “They set me up right behind the lead and I just hung with them. I went out slower than I normally do, but I knew that I could take it.”

The strong anchor leg did not bother Lawson for the 1,600. He finished second there in 4:18.95, a half-second off his personal best to punch another ticket to Shippensburg. Lawson made a move and actually took over first place briefly with about 50 meters to go before Brian DeCoia of Hatboro-Horsham retook the lead to win the event.

“I challenged Brian,” Lawson said. “I know he has a great kick but I had to give it an effort. I was trying to get the double.”

Ryan also pulled off the tough 4 x 800-1,600 double. He ran the third leg of Haverford’s winning relay squad and also took fourth in the 1,600 with a personal best time of 4:20.25 to qualify for the state meet.

“It was a tough double,” Ryan said. “I felt very good for the first three laps (of the 1,600), but then we did like a 60 (second) last lap and I was definitely feeling it in the last 100. With about 30 meters to go I just knew I had to finish. I didn’t have anything left.”

Lawson and Ryan weren’t the only Fords athletes to leave Day 1 with some hardware. Mike Powel threw 56-feet to take second in the shot put and earn a trip to Shippensburg. Powel’s best throw came on his final attempt.

“I’ve dedicated all four years of high school and multiple years of middle school to this,” Powel said. “It’s just nice to see everything pay off.”

Those efforts are paying off for the Fords, too. Haverford leads the team competition after the first day with 31 points, five points ahead of Hatboro-Horsham.

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The boys shot put record at Springfield has stood since the 1960s, according to head coach Barry Foster and junior thrower Tyler Klambara.

Neither knew exactly when in that decade the mark was set, but Klambara knew the distance off the top of his head.

“It was 53-4,” Klambara said.

Klambara used the proper tense in his response because he let loose with a personal-best heave of 54-1½ to break the record and punch his ticket to Shippensburg with a fourth-place finish in Class 3A.

“Everything came together,” Klambara said. “The strength, I worked out until Wednesday, rested two days, got a good night’s sleep, had a breakfast sandwich and just came here and threw a bomb. I can’t complain.”

He got the record on his first attempt of the competition.

“I just launched it,” Klambara said. “The rest of my throws were in that range. I had some 53s, one 52. I can’t really complain about it. I’m just happy I made states.”

Klambara isn’t going to the PIAA championships alone. Teammate Robbie Longo took fifth in the long jump (21-2) to automatically advance to next week.

Penn Wood’s Beyan Washington took sixth in the shot put with a personal best heave of 51-4 ½, but just missed qualifying for states. He had to throw 52 feet to advance. Strath Haven’s Jed Liu also earned a sixth-place medal with a leap of 20-11 ½ in the long jump but did not meet the state qualifying standard of 22-3 to move on.

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Kouassi Toukou spent much of the summer before his senior year going to camps to become a better thrower in the discus, javelin and shot put. All that hard work paid off Friday afternoon.

The senior won the Class AA discus with a throw of 134-4 to earn a trip to the state meet. Only the district champions in Class 2A automatically qualify for the PIAA Championships. Later in the day he also was seventh in the javelin (113-3).

“This means a lot to me,” Toukou said. “I’ve put in a lot of time.

He wasn’t the only DC athlete on the awards stand. C.J. Simbiri of Delco Christian had a good day. He was third in the long jump (20-10) and fourth in the javelin (134-5). Teammate Luke Fox was eighth in the javelin (89-8). Josh Parks took seventh in the long jump (18-10). The Knights also placed fourth in the 4 x 800 and are in second place in the team competition with 34 points, 11 behind Dock Mennonite.