All-Delco Girls Track: Bonner-Prendie’s Johnson earns second All-Delco honor
In addition to Girls Track Athlete of the Year Aubrey Leneweaver from Haverford, the All-Delco team includes:
Taylor Johnson, Bonner-Prendergast: A repeating All-Delco, Johnson closed out her career as one of the most decorated sprinters in program history. She was a two-time Catholic League and District 12 champion in the 100 and 200 and was named the outstanding track performer at the Catholic League championships as a junior and senior. Johnson earned her first state medal with a fifth-place finish in the 100 at the PIAA Class 3A championships this season. She also was a two-time Delco champ in the 200 and anchored the Pandas’ 4 x 100 and 4 x 400 relay teams. Along the way Johnson set the school record in the 100 (12.19 seconds). She will continue her track career at the University of Delaware.
Alina LaForest, Chester: The hurdles were the strongest events in the county this season and the two-time All-Delco was among the best in the state this season. LaForest, a senior, finished fourth in the 300 hurdles and fifth in the 100 hurdles at the District 1 championships, setting personal best times of 45.05 and 15.34 seconds, respectively, to earn a trip to the PIAA championships in both events where she was ninth and 12th. LaForest also was part of the Clippers’ 4 x 400 relay team that was fourth at the district championships and 10th at the state meet. She will attend Virginia Military Institute.
Saige Forbes, Episcopal Academy: Just a sophomore, Forbes was one of the best sprinters and long jumpers in the county and the Inter-Ac League. She ranked first in the county in the 100 (school record 12.00 seconds), and second in the 200 (25.12) and long jump (17-5). Forbes won the Inter-Ac League title in the long jump and finished second at the Pennsylvania Independent Schools Athletic Association championships in that event. She was second in the 100 and third in the 200 at both the Inter-Ac League and PAISAA championships to help the Churchwomen to a second-place finish in the team competition.
Oliva Cieslak, Haverford: It did not take long for the freshman to make her mark as one of the top 800- and 1,600-meter runners in the state. Cieslak won the 800 at the Haverford Invitational, Father Judge Relays and the District 1 Class 3A championships and capped the scholastic season with a fourth place finish at the PIAA championships. Cieslak won the 1,600 at the Central League championships in a personal best time of 4:57.80 and took third in the event at the District 1 championships. She also was on the 4 x 400-meter relay team that placed fourth at the state meet and helped the Fords finish in a tie for second in the team competition.
Morgan Elliott, Haverford: Elliott, a junior, earned All-Delco honors for the second time in her career. She was part of a deep and talented Haverford squad that won the Delco team title, finished second at the District 1 Class 3A championships and tied for second at the state meet. Her specialty is the 400, where she is a two-time Delco champ, two-time district medal winner and two-time state qualifier. She finished fourth in the district meet with a personal-best time of 57.24 seconds and also was a key member of the 4 x 400 relay that was third at districts and fourth at states.
Sydney Jones, Haverford: A relative newcomer to track, the 6-2 sophomore quickly established herself as the top high jumper in the county and one of the best in the state. Jones won the Delco title with a leap of 5-3, at the time a personal best. She topped that mark two weeks later when she jumped 5-5 to take second at the District 1 Class 3A championships and earn a trip to the PIAA championships. That effort at districts placed her in a six-way tie for sixth place in the state rankings. She also is an outstanding outside hitter for the volleyball team.
Therese Trainer, Notre Dame: An accomplished middle distance and distance runner, Trainer earned All-Delco honors in track for the second year in a row. She is also a two-time All-Delco selection in cross country, and she’s just a junior. Trainer won the Delco championship in the 1,600 for the second year in a row with a personal best time of 4:57.77. It was her second victory and second sub-five minute metric mile of the season. She also won the event at the Upper Moreland Invitational. Trainer closed out her season with a second-place finish in the 800 at the PAISAA championships with a personal-best time of 2:13.53.
Ruby Schwelm, Penncrest: Another runner who burst onto the scene as a freshman. Schwelm was the girls Runner of the Year in cross country and followed that up with a stellar outdoor season. She went undefeated in the 3,200, winning the Delco title, and also qualified for the PIAA Class 3A championships in both the 800 and 1,600. She placed sixth in the 800 at the District 1 championships (2:14.33 PR) and sixth in the 1,600. Schwelm took second in the 1,600 at the Central League championships in a memorable race with Cieslak where Schwelm finished with a personal-best time of 4:58.92. Schwelm also anchored Penncrest’s 4 x 800-meter relay to second at the district championships and fifth at the state meet.
Lucy Henkel, Radnor: The senior and two-time All-Delco just missed winning a pair of medals at the PIAA Class 3A championships. She was ninth in both the 800 and 1,600-meter runs in Shippensburg. Henkel broke the school record to take second in the 1,600 at districts (5:01.97) despite running in the first or slower heat, and rewrote that mark a week later when she finished in 4:58.12 at the state meet. She also ran a personal best 2:14.22 to take fifth in the 800 at the District 1 championships.
Sophie Hill, Radnor: Etched her name in the county record book as a sophomore when she became the first female pole vaulter in county history to top the 12-foot mark indoors and outdoors. Hill set the county indoor record with a vault of 12-6 at the PTFCA indoor state championships and established the outdoor mark with a vault of 12-4 at the Rustin Invitational. Along the way the two-time All-Delco won the Delaware County and Central League titles in the pole vault for the second year in a row. She placed fourth at the District 1 Class 3A championships and 14th at the PIAA championships.
Emma Winward, Ridley: One of four county runners to qualify for the PIAA Class 3A championships in the 300 hurdles and one of three to medal in the event. The two-time All-Delco was sixth at the state meet in 45.94. She also was sixth at the District 1 championships and third at the Central League championships. Ran a career best 44.67 in the preliminary round at the Delco championships. Winward also was a key member of Ridley’s 4 x 400-meter relay team that was second at Centrals, third at Delcos and ninth at the District 1 championships.
Alexa Brown, Strath Haven: The top shot putter in the county for the last two seasons and she’s just a junior. A two-time All-Delco, Brown placed second at the PIAA Class 3A championships, the highest finish by a county athlete in the event since Penncrest’s Karen Shump won the last of her four titles in 2008. It was her Brown’s second straight medal at the state championships. She was seventh as a sophomore. She also was the first county thrower to win the District 1 Class 3A title since Garnet Valley’s Nina Gambacorta in 2015. She did that with a personal-best heave of 44-5½. Brown placed fifth at the Penn Relays and won the Delco and Central League titles for the second year in a row.
Teghan Sydnor, Strath Haven: She saved her best for last to become the only Delco athlete, male or female, to win a gold medal at the PIAA Class 3A championships when she took first in the 100 hurdles in a career-best time of 14.71 seconds in Shippensburg. She also placed eighth in the 300 hurdles, to give her three career medals at the state meet. She was sixth in the 300 as a junior. The two-time All-Delco won the Central League 100 hurdles title for the second year in a row and also was a key member of the 4 x 100 and 4 x 400 relay teams. Sydnor will continue her track career at Tufts University.
Alice Etienne, Upper Darby: A right hamstring injury may have delayed her start to the outdoor season but it could not prevent the senior from earning All-Delco honors for the second year in a row and a trip to the PIAA Class 3A championships for the first time since her freshman season in 2019. Etienne leaped a personal best 36-8¾ to finish fourth in the triple jump at the District 1 championships and punch her ticket to Shippensburg, where she placed 20th. That medal performance at districts came two weeks after she won the Delco title in the event for the second year in a row.
Avery Elliott, Episcopal Academy: It not only was a breakout year for the sophomore sprinter, hurdler and high jumper, but a record-setting one, too. Elliott took second in the 100 hurdles at the PAISAA championships in a personal best and school-record time of 15.09 seconds. She also was part of the 4 x 100-meter relay squad that won the PAISAA title in a school- and meet-record time of 49.08. Elliott won the Inter-Ac League title in the 100 hurdles and the league and independent schools championship in the high jump. She also was second in the league meet and third at the PAISAA championships in the 300 hurdles.
