Girls’ Track and Field: Methacton’s Mellow, Norristown’s Savage, Owen J. Roberts team star at PAC Championships
Summer Mellow has made an impression on the Pioneer Athletic Conference Track and Field Championships from her first appearance in 2022 as a sophomore.
Her senior year at Methacton meant she would cross the finish line one final time at the PAC meet on Saturday, no matter the results.
So Mellow made sure to leave a mark that would last.
Methacton’s Summer Mellow, center, races to the win in the girls’ 100 meters at the PAC Championships on May 11 at Norristown. (Austin Hertzog – MediaNews Group)
In addition to winning her third straight title in the 100 meters and taking first in the long jump, Mellow broke the PAC championship meet record in the 200 meters to punctuate her three-event wins. Another meet record fell courtesy of Norristown junior Avah Savage in the 800 meters while three-event winner Jane Kratz led Owen J. Roberts to the team championship to highlight the final day of the PAC Championships at Norristown High School.
“The weather yesterday was terrible, and I still did pretty good, at least for me this year,” Mellow said. “And then today was beautiful, and I did amazing, so I’m really happy about that.
“It feels good that I’ve broken the meet record. Our school record is 24.31, and I ran 24.39 so I was so close. I’m happy that I broke this meet record, that’s really satisfying.”
Mellow’s 24.39 overtook the 2019 mark of 24.55 set by Norristown’s Teliyah James. In the 100, Mellow’s 12.01 edged Boyertown junior Harper Glennon (12.24).
Kratz took three first-place finishes while leading Owen J. Roberts to the girls’ team championship. The Wildcats’ 146.5 team points were well ahead of runner-up Methacton (100) and third place Perkiomen Valley (90).
Kratz placed first in the 1,600 and 400 meters on Saturday following her anchoring OJR’s winning 4×800 relay on Friday.
OJR shuffled its mid-distance standout’s slate to maximize the team points and potentially preserve Kratz for the District 1 Championships next weekend at Coatesville and the PIAA Championships at Shippensburg University in two weeks.
“I think for PACs it’s cool (to do different events), because there’s such a team aspect,” Kratz said. “Once we get later into districts and states, it becomes a little bit more individual. Today it’s just more about going out there and scoring as many points as I can for our team.”
Kratz skipped her top event, the 800 meters – she placed ninth at the PIAA Championships in 2023 – which opened the door for Savage’s star turn.
Savage ran a scorching 2:14.40 to take down the 17-year-old 2007 record of Spring-Ford’s Heather Giovagnoli (2:16.00). Giovagnoli was on hand and congratulated Savage, posing for a photo together in a passing of the torch.
“I’m not really distracted by how hurting I am (from the race), but most excited because I just PR’d,” Savage said. “I knew that the meet record was standing for 17 years but today was more of trying to PR and qualify for other things but I’m still happy that I broke the record and my family and my coaches are as well.”
Norristown’s Avah Savage, left, and Spring-Ford graduate and assistant coach Heather Giovagnoli pose for a photo together after Savage broke Giovagnoli’s 17-year-old PAC championship meet record in the 800 meters. (Austin Hertzog – MediaNews Group)
Despite placing 7th at the PTFCA indoor championships in winter, Savage was feeling like she’d plateaued in the 800.
“I’ve been putting myself down because I’ve been running the 800 for two years now. Before this race, I’ve been running 2:17. I’ve been putting all this work in and I’m not seeing any change,” Savage said. “I’m splitting 2:14 at practice, but (in races) it’s like, ‘Why is nothing changing?’
“When I saw that I did what I wanted to do all this time, it’s like all that work had paid off.”
Savage claimed double gold after running on Norristown’s winning 4×400 relay that included freshmen Jorgia Ollivaria (runner-up in the 400) and Justice Durham (4th in 400) and sophomore Nylah Kindell. Spring-Ford’s 4×100 relay won the event thanks to a furious final leg from Nave Jacobs. The Ram foursome of Jacobs, Elizabeth Nguyen, Akelia Gray and Aejaie McCalvin finished in 49.46, a fraction ahead of Boyertown (49.47).
Methacton’s Kenslee O’Donnell, right, and Owen J. Roberts’ Robin Perles compete in the girls’ 100 hurdles at the PAC Championships on May 11 at Norristown. (Austin Hertzog – MediaNews Group)
Also on the track, Perkiomen Valley junior Allison Matasich repeated as two-mile champion with an 11:10.15. Methacton senior Kenslee O’Donnell won her first individual title in the 100 hurdles, her 15.46 overtaking Owen J. Roberts sophomore Robin Perles (15.71) and defend champ Mackenzie Owens of Perk Valley (15.99).
In the field events, Upper Perkiomen sophomore Morgan O’Hara took the javelin title with a 124-5, just ahead of Owen J. Roberts junior Gianna Leimeister (121-6); Methacton freshman Victoria James (38-6 ½) won shot put gold in a tight three-way battle over Phoenixville’s Emine Ulcay (38-5) and Pottstown junior Nyel Thompson (38-4); Methacton senior Aubrie Wells cleared 10-9 to win the pole vault title.
The undersized O’Hara – only with the multi-level podium did she reach the same height as fellow medalists Leimeister and Perk Valley’s Ava Flicker – took a big step in the past year.
“This is my first big win,” O’Hara said. “Last year here, I didn’t even make the finals. I was out by an inch. I had a really bad throwing day, so to get it today was a lot better.”
Upper Perkiomen’s Morgan O’Hara competes in the javelin at the PAC Championships on May 11 at Norristown. (Austin Hertzog – MediaNews Group)
O’Hara is following in the family footsteps. Her father, Anthony O’Hara, was a javelin state champion for Upper Perk in 1995 and she’s caught the passion for the event as well. Between working out with sister Molly, training with dad Anthony, and practices at the Javelin Factory (where Upper Perk grad and last year’s PIAA bronze medalist Thomas Flud Jr. trained), O’Hara has shown the commitment to succeed.
“The seriousness for javelin is from my dad,” said O’Hara, who placed third in discus Friday. “He threw his junior and senior year of high school, and senior year was a state champ. So that’s where I started doing that. And then I just have a drive to be the best at everything I do. I never want to do something just to do it.”
Despite her PAC excellence in the sprints, the road forward for Mellow leads to the jump pit. Her season-best is a 19-5 and on Saturday she won with an 18-4, ahead of a big PR from Spring-Ford senior Emily Staerk (her 17-9 on her sixth jump was more than a foot greater than earlier attempts).
Girls 100-meter place winners Summer Mellow of Methacton, center, Harper Glennon of Boyertown, left, and Spring-Ford’s Nave Jacobs, right, stand on the podium at the PAC Championships on May 11 at Norristown. (Austin Hertzog – MediaNews Group)
On Saturday while trying to do it all, Mellow rightly saved something in the long jump to keep her legs for the 200.
“If having a decent day in the long jump allows me to have a really great day in the 200, I’m OK with that,” she said.
Owen J. Roberts’ all-around excellence allowed Kratz to leave something in the tank for next week. Julia Bold was the Wildcats’ only other individual champion (Friday in the triple jump) yet plenty of top 8 and podium finishers carried OJR to the top.
Owen J. Roberts’ Julia Bold competes in the long jump at the PAC Championships on May 11 at Norristown. (Austin Hertzog – MediaNews Group)
