Perkiomen Valley’s Matasich swift from the start at PAC Championships; Methacton’s Hill on the double in triple jump
EAST NORRITON >> Allie Matasich started her race in the girls’ 3,200 meters fast. She stayed fast, and finished fast. You might even say she was swift.
The Perkiomen Valley sophomore maintained a swift pace throughout the two-mile event and left a lot of blank space between herself and the field, cruising to the victory in 11:16.79, 37 seconds better than second place, on Day 2 of the Pioneer Athletic Conference Track and Field Championships Friday at Norristown.
Matasich had good reason to make such quick work: she had exciting Friday evening plans pulling her.
“We’re going to the Taylor Swift concert tonight,” Matasich said on her way toward the exit, bound for Lincoln Financial Field later in the evening to see the biggest concert going.
“There’s a big group from my neighborhood, about 15 of us. I’m excited. I’m definitely happy to celebrate (winning at PACs) there. It seems like a good celebration.”
Matasich wasn’t the only competitor celebrating Friday afternoon. Also taking the top of the podium was fellow Perk Valley distance runner Ian Johnson, the boys’ 3,200-meter winner, while Pottstown junior Tyrese Washington and Perkiomen Valley junior Mackenzie Owens put down markers with respective wins in the 300 hurdles.
In field events, Methacton senior SahBri Hill repeated as boys’ triple jump champion, Spring-Ford sophomore Abe McNelly claimed the boys’ high jump, Owen J. Roberts junior Abby Smith won the girls’ high jump, Phoenixville junior Rylee Watson took the title in the girls’ triple jump and Boyertown competitors swept the discus, Cyenna Martinez topping the girls’ field and Nathan Deming besting the boys.
Matasich’s 11:16.79 is a PA Top 50 time and a sizable improvement from a year ago when she placed third at PACs in 11:50.83.
“I usually like going out fast and keeping a steady pace. A lot of people have a kick at the end, but I don’t really have that so I try to build my pace throughout the race,” she said.
Matasich was a member of the dominant Perk Valley girls basketball team that were champions of the PAC and District 1, albeit in a rarely-used reserve role. There’s no bad blood though. She chose to shake it off and is happy to be able to shine as a runner.
“I’m happy to be able to be more involved and get my chance to show myself more. In basketball, I wasn’t really noticed so I’m happy,” said Matasich. “Coming out of basketball season, I wasn’t sure where I would be so I’m really happy to be able to build from where I was last year.”
It’s been a race against the clock for Methacton’s Hill to get back to health after injuring his hamstring at the end of winter indoor season. It cost him much of the spring, but he has felt back to full fitness in the last 1-2 weeks.
He hit a personal-record 45-2 ½ on his first attempt, a Pa. top 25 distance that was a big leap on his 2022 winning distance of 43-0.
“I PRed for the first time in a while. I’ve been injured for most of the season so it felt good to have a good jump this year,” said Hill.
Hill passed from his second attempt on, keeping an eye on the future, which begins with the District 1 Championships at Coatesville on May 19-20.
“I’m progressing and hopefully I’m full time (training) for districts and I’m going to keep on going up,” said Hill.
Boyertown’s Tyler Adamski’s 42-11 ½ placed second and OJR sophomore Troy Swittenburg third (40-9 ¾).
In the girls’ triple jump, Phoenixville’s Watson entered as the second seed, but had a strong day with five of six attempts exceeding her seed distance, including her fifth attempt that spanned 36-3 ½. Owen J. Roberts’ Ashley Gordon (35-6 ¾) and Boyertown’s Marissa Hillegas (34-11) also medaled.
Pottstown’s Washington put down a blistering 39.14 in the 300-meter hurdles, a personal best and Pa. top 10 time for the Trojan athlete who placed fourth in the 110 hurdles at the PIAA Championships as a sophomore.
Pottsgrove’s Tre Cook ran second in 40.47 and Perkiomen Valley’s Michael Vu third (41.39).
Washington will look to complete the hurdles sweep on Saturday morning in the 110s when the final day of the PAC Championships commence.
Perk Valley’s Owens will attempt the same after also running a Pa. top 10 time, matching her personal best with a 44.95. Methacton junior Kenslee O’Donnell ran a Pa. top 25 time of 45.78, a PR, followed by PV’s Ashley Pickles (46.97).
Boyertown senior and discus champion Martinez hit a 124-0, the best throw of her career and a Pa. top 10, on her second attempt. The top seed had two other throws good enough to top runner-up Maeve Gallagher of Pope John Paul II (116-3), who also took second in the shot put on Thursday.
“I feel really good. Almost everything went right I would say, especially my release was pretty good,” said Martinez. “It was a great day.”
She was second at PACs in 2022 with a 104-4. A year later she was nearly 20 feet better, achieving a major goal in the process while also extending the Boyertown school record.
In the boys’ discus, Pottsgrove’s Cory Jubilee-Scott (151-10) was the leader going into the finals, but Boyertown’s Deming went for 153-3 on his fifth attempt to capture the title. Jubilee-Scott settled for silver.
Both high jump competitions featured duels settled on tiebreakers. Spring-Ford’s McNelly and Pottstown’s Adam Green both cleared 6-0 on their second attempt. With neither able to clear 6-2, McNelly was declared champion due to Green having a first-attempt miss at 5-8.
Owen J. Roberts’ Smith won the girls’ event at 5-0, her first time clearing the mark. Perk Valley sophomore Jane Fisher also cleared 5-0, but Smith did it in one fewer attempt.
“My goal for the season was to get 5 feet and it happened at the perfect moment,” Smith said. “I was doing my warmups where I do skips and I was thinking I was jumping really high. I thought, ‘Just do this and don’t even look at the bar.’ That’s what I did.”
In Friday prelims, Methacton junior Summer Mellow led the field in the girls’ 100 and 200 meters. Methacton senior Zach Willen topped the boys’ 100 in 10.95, with Spring-Ford junior Mason Scott narrowly behind (10.97). Scott put down the top time in 200 prelims with a Pa. top 25 21.89, just ahead of Norristown junior Daunte Bell (21.90).
Saturday’s action resumes at 8:30 a.m. and concludes with the 4×400 relays at 1 p.m.
