All-Delco Boys Track and Field: Chester’s Walton Garnett, EA’s Michael Woolery earn third consecutive nods
In addition to Athlete of the Year Lavar Jackson of Upper Darby, the All-Delco team includes:
Abaas Hunter, Episcopal Academy: The freshman sensation’s career is off to a fast start, literally and figuratively. Hunter was, save for Jackson, the class of the sprinting field in Delaware County. He finished second to Jackson in the 100-meter dash at Delcos in a time of 11.03 seconds, then was third in the 200 in 22.33. Hunter won the 200 at the Inter-Ac Championships in 21.88 and branched out to finish second in the 400. At the Pennsylvania Independent Schools Athletic Association championship, he returned to his bread and butter, winning the 100 in 11.05 and the 200 in 22.28. Hunter was part of the squad that finished 12th in the Championship of America Distance Medley Relay at Penn Relays.
Walton Garnett, Chester: The senior showed his range at Delcos, then retrenched into his specialty to yield a medal at states. At the county meet, Garnett won the 400-meter dash in 47.96 seconds and claimed the 300-meter hurdles in 39.34. The 400 was where he finished sixth at the PIAA Track and Field Championships in a time of 48.65 seconds. Garnett also helped Chester’s 4 x 400 relay make it to states, finishing in 11th place. Garnett was fourth at districts in the 400, in a time of 48.10. He is on the All-Delco team for a third straight season after having his freshman year wiped out by the COVID-19 pandemic.
AJ Glavicic, Strath Haven: There was little to separate Garnett and the junior Glavicic for most of the postseason in the 400. The Strath Haven runner bested him by a place at the state meet, medaling in fifth in 48.35 seconds. His Panthers’ 4 x 400 relay was a spot back of Chester’s in 12th. Glavicic went 48.00 to take home a silver medal from districts. He won the Central League title in the 400 and was second over 200 meters. At Delcos, he was second to Garnett in the 400.
Patrick Lawson, Haverford: The Daily Times Cross Country runner of the year has a second track All-Delco selection to go with his two cross country All-Delcos, the perfect parting gift as he heads off to the Air Force Academy. Lawson showed his distance credentials at states with a pair of medals. He finished seventh in the 1,600, in a time of 4:11.52, to go with fifth place in 3,200 meters. His time there was 9:00.01. Lawson gleaned a pair of silver medals from the District 1 Class 3A championships, going 4:16.76 in the 1,600 and 9:17.00 in the 3,200. He showed his range by winning the Central League title in the 800 meters in 1:55.67. He also led off the Fords’ distance medley relay, which finished 14th in the Penn Relays Championship of America.
Michael Woolery, Episcopal Academy: The junior is in position to go four-for-four in track All-Delcos, and he added a cross country nod last fall. Woolery led the Churchmen to a historic spring on the track, helping them win the team title at Delcos, the Inter-Ac crown and their first ever PAISAA crown. Woolery was the leading point scorer in that triple crown. At Delcos, the won the 3,200 (over teammate Dakin Ebmeyer), the 800 and 1,600. He was the runner-up in both the 800 and 1,600 at Inter-Acs before winning the 1,600 at PAISAAs in 4:19.77. He was also fourth in the 800 at that meet. Woolery helped the Churchmen finish 12th in the DMR at the Penn Relays Championship of America.
Logan Maloney, Cardinal O’Hara: The sophomore sprinter pulled an impressive feat by qualifying for the PIAA Class 3A championships in three events. He finished 13th at states in the 400, 18th in the 200 and 23rd in the 100. He also helped O’Hara’s 4 x 100 relay make states. Maloney measured up well against in-county competition, finishing third in the 100-meter dash at Delcos (behind Jackson and Hunter) in 11.28 seconds and second in the 200 in 22.26, trailing only Jackson. Maloney went 11.05 in the 100 to win the Catholic League title and doubled up with the 200 title in 21.88. His time of 49.36 in the 400 earned a silver medal at PCLs.
Terry Dweh, Penn Wood: The senior earned a trip to states in his final season. He came within .08 seconds of a medal, clocking in at 40.03 seconds in the 300 hurdles to finishing ninth, just outside the medalists. Either way, Dweh had an outstanding postseason. He finished fifth at the District 1 championships in a time of 40.10. He made finals in both hurdles events at Delcos, taking home sixth in the 110. But the 300 was his specialty, where he was the runner-up to Garnett at Delcos with a time of 39.83.
Rodrigo Davis, Archbishop Carroll: The versatile junior reached states in two events, taking home a PIAA Class 2A medal in the boys long jump. He leapt 21-6 to get his piece of hardware in fourth. Davis also finished 22nd at states in the 200-meter dash. He won the Catholic League title in the long jump in 22-7. He was eighth in both the 100 and 200 at that meet. Davis was crowned the Delco long jump champion, leaping 22-10.25 to beat Jey Brown by just shy of two feet. He also finished fourth in the 100-meter dash (behind three fellow All-Delcos) and seventh in the 200. Davis, and teammate Gabriel Cuffey, are the first boys track All-Delcos from Carroll since 2007 (Tom Ciccoli).
CJ Simbiri, Delco Christian: The junior jumper had a PIAA meet to remember. Simbiri leapt 46 feet, 3.5 inches in the triple jump at the PIAA Class 2A Championships to take home a gold medal. He’s Delco Christian’s first PIAA boys champion since 2007 (Ed Roberts). It capped a stellar postseason in which Simbiri grew by leaps and bounds. He won District 1 gold in the triple jump with a leap of 46-6.5. He was also third in the long jump and seventh in the javelin at Coatesville. Simbiri went 44-10 to win the Delco title in the triple jump. He was also 12th in the javelin. He won the triple jump and finished second in the javelin at the Bicentennial Athletic League championship meet.
Tyler Klambara, Springfield: Klambara capped his career with a state medal and a second All-Delco track nod to go with his football honor in the fall. The exclamation point came at states, where Klambara tallied a distance of 53 feet, 6.75 inches to take home a sixth-place medal in the shot put. Klambara won the District 1 Class 3A title with a distance of 54-6. He was the runner-up at Delcos in the shot put to go with a fifth-place showing in the discus. He won the Central League shot put title by some nine feet. Klambara will play football and throw at the United States Military Academy at West Point.
Jey Brown, Haverford School: The junior assembled one of the more fascinating Delcos meets you’re likely to see. On a supremely busy Saturday at Sun Valley, Brown finished third in the 110-meter hurdles, second in the long jump and then won the discus. His winning throw in the latter was 144 feet, 8 inches, winning by 12 1/2 feet. At Inter-Acs, he clocked in at 15.00 seconds to finish second in the 110 hurdles, then won the long jump (22-5.25) and discus (163-1). Just for good measure, he finished 16th in the shot put. At PAISAAs, Brown medaled in the 110 hurdles (second), long jump (fifth) and discus (fourth).
James Gates, Haverford School: Gates proved himself to be the class of the county’s pole vaulters this season. He and Strath Haven’s Noah Price both cleared 12-6 at Delcos, though Gates got the gold for fewer number of misses. Gates hit 12-6 at Inter-Acs, which was good only for fourth, but the junior stepped it up at the PAISAA meet, clearing 13-6 to win gold by a foot over his competitors.
Gabriel Cuffey, Archbishop Carroll: Cuffey did his teammate and classmate Davis one better in states medals with an impressive mid-distance double. At the PIAA Class 2A Championships, Cuffey finished third in the 800 meters with a time of 1:56.26, and took home a second medal via a fourth-place finish in the 400 at 49.88. Cuffey finished second to Woolery at Delcos in the 800, clocking in at 1:55.59 among a crowded and talented field. Cuffey was fifth in the 800 at PCLs, his only entry in that meet. He and Davis end a decade-and-a-half drought for Carroll boys track All-Delcos.
Alphonso Koukou, Episcopal Academy: The junior made his claim as the best shot-putter in the county by edging Klambara at Delcos. Koukou threw 54-1.5 that day to best Klambara by an inch. He backed that performance by throwing 54-8 at Inter-Acs to again win by an inch, then had his luck run out by finishing third at PAISAAs. In the discus, Koukou finished 11th at Delcos and Inter-Acs and seventh at PAISAAs.
Gavin Mogck, Penncrest: A two-time cross country All-Delco, the senior adds a track All-Delco before he heads off to George Mason. Behind Lawson, Mogck was the next best distance runner in the county this year. It culminated in a states berth, Mogck finishing 19th in the 3,200 meters at the PIAA Class 3A meet with a time of 9:24.30. Mogck had gone 9:19.23 to finish fourth at districts and earn his states trip. That was one place better than he fared at Centrals. Mogck didn’t race at Delcos, but he did anchor the Lions’ 4 x 800 at Penn Relays, helping them finish 10th in the Championship of America. (He was not part of the gold-medal winning foursome at states.)
