All-Delco Girls Track and Field: Medal-winning sophomore season could just be the start for Olivia Cieslak
By Bob Grotz
When Haverford track standout Olivia Cieslak isn’t setting records, she’s running through township streets with country icons like Luke Combs and Morgan Wallen filling her earbuds.
Whether it’s “One Number Away” by Combs, the artist she’ll see in concert this month, or Wallen’s “’98 Braves,” Cieslak tries to enjoy every note and lyric on her jaunts around Havertown.
It’s the same mindset in competition. Every meter of every meet is an adventure for Cieslak, the honors student who filled an already crowded portfolio of achievements with PIAA Class 3A state gold medals in the 800 (in a blistering 2:07.45) and 1,600 (4:49.01) at Shippensburg.
Those first-place finishes and the leg Cieslak ran on the 4 x 400 relay team that finished third earned the Fords the state team crown with 51 points. The previous week, West Chester Rustin had edged Haverford in the relay for the District 1 team title.
Having reset county and school records all season and sparked her team back into the light, Cieslak is the 2023 Daily Times Girls Track and Field Athlete of the Year.
Cieslak is joined on the All-Delco team by her Haverford teammates Morgan Ellott, Aubrey Leneweaver, Sydney Jones and Mollie Carpenter; the Chester quartet of Alasia Mosley, JaNasia Dearry, Damira Allen and Niya Jeffers; Strath Haven’s Nora Chen, Hannah Prokup and Alexa Brown; Saige Forbes and Avery Elliott of Episcopal Academy; Sophia Hill of Radnor and Academy Park’s Kiala Bright.
Age is no sign of quality on this year’s team: The 16 honorees comprise five seniors, seven juniors, two sophomores and two freshmen. Leneweaver, the 2022 Athlete of the Year, joins Brown, Morgan Elliott and Hill and three-time selections. Forbes, Cieslak, Jones and Avery Elliott are each on the team for a second straight year. The All-Delco team is selected in consultation with area coaches.
The Fords are the first Delco track squad to bring back a state team title since the Strath Haven boys earned gold in 2012. The last county girls’ team to win gold was Strath Haven in 2006.
“We have a lot of seniors, so it was a really good ending for them,” Cieslak said. “Everyone had been working so hard for it. We didn’t win districts so coming back and winning the state title was so special. Our sprinting coach, Coach Amber (Jenkins), was like, ‘whatever happens, happens. Be happy that we’re here.’ None of us were really on fresh legs from racing that day. She was really nice about it. And literally a miracle happened, and we came in third. That was so exciting.”
Cieslak’s early career has been every bit as exhilarating. She broke seven school records this spring, in the 800, 1,500, 1,600, mile, 3,200 and distance medley relay, among other events. That after piling up indoor and cross-country wins, voted the Daily Times Runner of the Year in the latter season. The PFTCA voted her athlete of the year in Pennsylvania.
Hard to believe Cieslak finished fourth at states in her favorite 800 event as a freshman, when she gave in to youth and the typical fears of a runner.
“Honestly, it’s just about believing in myself and just releasing the pressure,” said Cieslak, who works on breathing exercises with a coach before races. “A few years ago, I used to struggle with nervousness and anxiety before races. And I feel like it helped so much just releasing that pressure. I was just so nervous last year. I knew I had the opportunity to win races and I just went in with that mindset. I knew I was capable of racing against these girls.”
Cieslak was born for this stage. Her mother, Aga, ran the 800, 1,600 and cross country competitively in Poland. Her father Marcin was a professional basketball player in Poland. He is an assistant basketball coach at Westtown School. Cieslak’s older brother, Allen, plays basketball at Susquehanna. He can always kid his sister that he was the first in the family to win a PIAA championship, having transferred from Haverford to be part of Devon Prep’s championship team in 2022.
“My brother got the basketball genes,” Olivia said. “I got the running genes.”
Cieslak is a product of all the family accomplishment. She’s spending a month training at altitude with Team Prep USA high school distance runners at Mount Crested Butte, Colo.
Several upper tier college programs are hot on the trail of Cieslak, who has international appeal as well. Born in the States, her dual Poland/USA citizenship and 2:06 time in the 800 at the New Balance Nationals qualified her for the Under 20 European Championships in the 800 this summer.
However, the Cieslaks thought it best not to extend her track season through August and opted for the Rocky Mountains. For Olivia, it’s blue skies, wildflowers and a running getaway with friends, including Fords teammate Camryn McGeehan.
“I’ll be running 28 days at altitude,” said Cieslak, who will be joined by her vacationing parents during the final week. “I think it just helps with lung consistency and it will put me in good position for cross country season. I’m here with a bunch of my friends. It’s definitely harder to breathe but you get used to it. I breathe harder and my heart rate gets up really high. The lung consistency, honestly, I think it makes it easier to breath on the levels I’ll actually race at.”
Cieslak’s parents are proud of her. There was a time that Aga could keep up with her on training runs. Now she kids about needing a bike to stay close.
Olivia is the first Delco girl to win the 1,600 at states since Shannon Grady in 1993. She is the Fords first state champion since Samantha Bates in 1991. Cieslak is the first Delco runner to win multiple individual golds at the state championships since Wellington Zaza of Garnet Valley in 2013,) and the first girl since Chester’s Rayiana Johnson in 2009.
“It’s not about the destination, it’s about the journey,” Aga Cieslak said. “We want her to enjoy every moment of this journey, work hard and have fun. Sports brings people together. It takes you to unforgettable places. Enjoy it, make memories. She has talent, it’s a huge gift. We say, don’t waste it.”
