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CALN TWP. — Joseph Garzio wasn’t fully sure what had just transpired.
The Radnor junior had enough left in his legs to dash from under the tent at Coatesville Area High School onto the awards podium. And the medal around his neck read “first place, 800 meters.” So that had to be good, right?
“I don’t really know what I just did,” Garzio said. “But I kind of went out and ran.”
What Garzio did was weigh his move perfectly to win the District 1 Class 3A 800 meters, the fourth seed earning gold. What he did was run a best time of 1:53.22.
And what he did was surprise himself, just a little bit.
Garzio and the rest of the field followed the pace set by Penncrest’s Kadin Salaria. Garzio jockeyed for position in the pack, then waited to make his move. He hoped he had the strongest finishing kick. So when the field turned for home, Garzio put his foot down.
“I started to pick it up, but I was boxed in a little bit,” he said. “I tried to keep contact with Kadin’s back. With 150 left, my coach said go, and I was like, you know what, I can go. Usually the turn’s not the best move, but I wanted to go early and I knew I could go early.”
Nate Fehrman of Central Bucks West finished second in 1:53.53, the same time as Council Rock North’s Lucas Poliseno, the top seed. Salaria held on for fourth to head to states.
In all, 17 runners hit the states standard, though District 1 can only send eight. Strath Haven’s Colin Ruether (1:54.87) was the lucky last one by three tenths. Brendan Hefferan of Penncrest finished 12th.
Garzio is on an absolute flier. His best time has plummeted – 1:58.77 at the indoor Meet of Champs, then 1:56.08 at states. He finished fifth at Delcos in 1:55.55, then won the Central League title in 1:54.16.
Another race and he’s sliced another second.
“It’s really shocking,” Garzio said. “The entire season, I had gone second, third, one time I got fifth. I was like, wow, I’d like to win once. And to come up with back-to-back wins at Centrals and districts, it’s starting to feel really good.”
• • •
Joshua Dean could feel the field around him in the boys 100-meter dash. When the Academy Park junior dared looked at the board across the line, he wouldn’t have been surprised to see his name third.
When the No. 1 popped up, he was thrilled.
Dean crossed the line in 10.77 seconds to nab gold. He held off a charge from Robert Turner of Coatesville, second in 10.82, and the mid-race surge of Marc Cobbs of North Penn from an outside lane. Cobbs went 10.84.
“I’m kind of looking at where everyone’s at,” Dean said. “I’m nervous. I didn’t even know I won. I thought I came in second or third. So I was surprised when I got announced at first.”
Dean was out of the blocks first and a nose in front early. Cobbs came on fast in the middle third, and Turner closed hard on his home track. But Dean had what it took to hold them off.
AP added a states berth in the 4 x 100, with Dean, Camir Jones, Maurice Richardson and Shaun Moat going 42.12 for third. They were behind the District 1 record of 41.26 of team champ Coatesville.
Dean will also run the 200, in which he finished third in a PR of 21.80.
Competition for a place on AP’s relays has become its own battle. Dean sees that improving everyone.
“I think it’s really important,” he said. “Our program, it really shows how good the coaches are and the staff and our teammates as well, pushing us to do better. This gold really means a lot.”
• • •
AJ Glavicic had just thrown himself across the line, dusted himself off and took on the agonizing wait for the board to divulge its secrets in the 400.
Eight, nine, 10 seconds later, the board flashed: Ade Lloyd, Harriton, 47.73; AJ Glavicic, Strath Haven, 47.74.
It was a PR, a silver medal and the new PA No. 5 time for the senior. It was also a bitter pill.
“It was bittersweet,” Glavicic said. “I was super excited to PR, but I’ve been training all year for this. And losing it by .01 seconds is really disappointing, especially senior year.”
Glavicic channeled the disappointment for the 4 x 400. He took the baton fifth in his heat, then blasted the second-fastest final 400 of the field (47.99) to pull the Panthers to fourth overall in 3:19.90. It’s a states cut for the team of Andrew Shronk, James Fisher, Ruether and Glavicic.
“I was trying to play like a lion, trying to chase a gazelle,” Glavicic said. “I was trying to go out and get someone.”
• • •
NOTES >> In addition to Garzio and Dean, Penn Wood’s Kivaleon Clarke added a second district title when he won the triple jump on his last attempt. The senior leapt 47 feet, 6.5 inches. That’s the third-best in PA and a top-100 leap in the U.S. this year. … Penncrest’s George Bostwick medaled in both hurdles. He finished third in the 300 and fourth in the 110. Upper Darby’s Daniel Chukwu made states in seventh place in the 110. … Haverford’s Jaelyn Galloway has two events at states. He finished fifth in the 200 in 22.04 and was bang on the states standard of 11.05 in taking seventh in the 100. … In the boys 3,200, 18 runners hit the states standard, but only eight go. Among the unlucky 10 was Penncrest’s Edomias Mulugeta in 11th place and Rowan Carr in 15th. … Jesufifunmi Olugbenga added a third event at states by finishing seventh in a fast 400 in 49.29. He was third in the long jump Friday and will run the 4 x 800. The Green Raiders’ 4 x 400 relay was under the states time but 11th. Jalen Brown finished third in the triple jump in 45-7 to get to states.
