Chernesky, Muhammad and Rocchio claim gold at Viking Invitational

What a difference a year makes.

Twelve months ago, winning a gold medal at the Viking Invitational would have been the furthest thing from the mind of Spring-Ford sophomore Nicole Rocchio, then manager of the girl’s lacrosse team.

Saturday, Rocchio set aside her clipboard and won the gold medal in the high jump at the fourth annual track and field showcase held at Keenan Stadium at Perkiomen Valley High School. Rocchio's jump of 5 feet, 4 inches was a new personal record.

Rams head coach Ken DeAngelo recalled seeing Rocchio jumping as an eighth grader and made it his mission to have her try out this year.

“I remember her doing high jump in middle school,” said DeAngelo. “We needed a high jumper and last year she didn’t come out for the team, so this year I pursued her and I could not be happier with the result. She has done a great job for us.”

“This is awesome,” said Rocchio. “I can’t believe I set a new [personal record] here and there are some really good girls here. This is pretty exciting. What a great way to get the season started. My next goal will be to qualify for states or the Penn Relays.”

Rocchio was not the only Ram to leave Graterford with hardware as Amber Muhammad, who finished second in 100 meter dash, took home the gold in the 400 meter dash and anchored the final leg in the Spring-Ford 1^st place 4 x 100 meter relay team.

Muhammad, who says she loves to compete, participated in four events on the day, but the 400-meter dash is the event for which she says she's developed a system for success.

“I talked to myself during the 400. I kind of have a system,” said Muhammad. “At the start I tell myself to go out hard, then during the back stretch I want to just keep up, then when I get to the third turn I tell myself to pick it up, then I make myself give it everything I have left as I come to the line. It’s worked pretty well for me so far."

“This is such a great meet,” said Muhammad. “It gets tiring sometimes running in so many events, but I love it.”

Spring-Ford senior Meghan Yates was busy as well as she led off the gold medal 4 x 100 team and claimed the silver medal in long jump and triple jump. Yates also finished fifth in the javelin. It was Yates's pace in the 4 x 100 that helped propel the Rams to the gold.

“One of the girls got me mad,” said Yates. “She was like, 'Watch me carry my team on my back for the win right here.' I thought to myself, 'not today,' and just ran as fast as I could.”

Rams junior Nikki Lynch snared a bronze medal in the 800-meter run, then followed that up by finishing 12^th in long jump and fourth in javelin throw. The girls team finished second overall in team scoring, two points behind Methacton.

For the boys, Andrew Scanlon led the way in the medal count with a silver medal in javelin (165 feet, 11 inches) and a sixth-place finish in the 100-meter dash.

Pope John Paul II senior Rachel Chernesky, who will be attending Penn State University in the fall, set a great pace in an elite field in the 200-meter dash, edging out Perkiomen Valley’s Hollis Coleman at the line to claim the gold medal with a time of 26.18 seconds.

Chernesky is preparing for districts and states and is trying to run sub-26 second races on a consistent basis.

“Wow, it was great to beat Hollis,” said Chernesky. “I was worried about her catching me. I got off to a good start, but she usually has a stronger second half than I do. This is such a great meet to set district times and see how you stack up. There are some great runners here.”

Chernesky also recorded a fourth place finish in the 100-meter hurdles, finishing a tenth of a second behind Methacton’s Gabby Becattini.

“I am trying to run in the 25s,” added Chernesky. “I can [get] a little stronger at the end, which will help. It’s early in the season, and I have some work to do to get ready for districts and states."

Chernesky's personal best is 25.56, which she ran last year at Widener. 

Golden Panthers sophomore Molly KcKeon led through the early portions of the 1600-meter run and claimed the bronze medal with a time of 5:18.59, while Ellen Chernesky finished tenth in the high jump for a girls' squad that finished tenth overall in the team scoring.

 2011 Perkiomen Valley Invitational Results

 

Name Yr Team Mark Wind Pts

 

HS Girls 100 Meter Hurdles Finals

4 Rachel Chernesky 12 Pope John Paul II 16.05 5

5 Deirdre Magolon 10 Spring Ford 16.16 4

6 Nicole Cornell 10 Spring Ford 16.62 3

 

 HS Boys 110 Meter Hurdles Finals

5 Ryan Heimbach 10 Perkiomen Valley 15.87 4

HS Girls 100 Meter Dash Finals

2 Amber Muhammad 12 Spring Ford 12.89 8

 

HS Boys 100 Meter Dash Finals

6 Andrew Scanlan 11 Spring Ford 11.35 3

 

HS Girls 200 Meter Dash Finals

1 Rachel Chernesky 12 Pope John Paul II 26.18 10

2 Hollis Coleman 12 Perkiomen Valley 26.43 8

3 Elena House-Hay 10 Perkiomen Valley 26.51 6

 

HS Boys 200 Meter Dash Prelims

9 Daquan Coker 11 Perkiomen Valley 23.88 9

16 Travis Andrews 11 Phoenixville Area 24.25 8

18 Michael Novarina 11 Spring Ford 24.40 6

25 Andrew Sutherland Perkiomen Valley 24.70 7

31 Matt Pullett 11 Spring Ford 25.02 8

 

 

HS Girls Distance Medley Relay

5 Spring Ford A 14:16.10 4

1) Krista Cartacki 2) Katherine Ricchini

3) Hannah Madary 4) Alli Aquilante

5) Taylor Fry

 

6 Perkiomen Valley A 14:32.15 3

1) Alexis Emad 2) Kim Nolan

3) Kate Collier 4) Ellen Havard

 

HS Boys Distance Medley Relay

6 Perkiomen Valley A 11:46.36 3

1) Sean Hodgins 2) Dave Garton

3) Kevin Gibbons 4) Ben Gable

 

11 Spring Ford A 12:03.49

1) Mark Ricchini 2) Michael Cassidy

3) Luyando Chibwe 4) Alex Fleisher

5) Andrew Coull

 

HS Girls 400 Meter Dash

1 Amber Muhammad 12 Spring Ford 1:00.48 5 10

2 Kaitlyn Saal-Ridpath 12 Methacton 1:01.23 5 8

4 Lisa Payton 11 Phoenixville Area 1:03.41 4 5

12 Kirsten Wong 10 Spring Ford 1:05.28 3

 

HS Boys 400 Meter Dash

2 Damien Boham 12 Spring Ford 49.58 9 8

12 Zaf McCrea 12 Phoenixville Area 52.95 8

29 Jared Shoemaker 9 Spring Ford 55.20 5

39 Andrew Sutherland Perkiomen Valley 58.21 5

 

HS Girls 800 Meter Run

3 Nikki Lynch 11 Spring Ford 2:22.97 3 6

4 Rachel Carr 11 Phoenixville Area 2:23.31 3 5

9 Kate Thomas 10 Perkiomen Valley 2:28.80 3

24 Kristen Baumgartner 9 Spring Ford 2:42.93 2

30 Mallory Synder 9 Perkiomen Valley 2:57.78 1

 

HS Boys 800 Meter Run

2 Matt Dallago 12 Perkiomen Valley 1:57.90 5 8

12 Michael Hickman 12 Spring Ford 2:03.33 4

14 Matt O'Reilly 12 Perkiomen Valley 2:03.48 4

41 Andrew Coull 12 Spring Ford 2:18.24 2

43 Sam Cooper 11 Phoenixville Area 2:21.06 1

 

HS Girls 1600 Meter Run

3 Molly McKeon 10 Pope John Paul II 5:18.59 3 6

13 Audrey Burger 11 Spring Ford 5:45.75 3

16 Jenn Daniels Perkiomen Valley 5:48.00 1

22 Kara Fitch 9 Spring Ford 5:54.89 2

26 Julia Romich Perkiomen Valley 6:06.17 1

 

HS Boys 1600 Meter Run

14 Matthew Olsen 12 Spring Ford 4:43.70 4

20 Chris Torpey 12 Perkiomen Valley 4:48.12 4

21 Patrick Leahy 12 Perkiomen Valley 4:48.25 4

23 Chris LaCava 12 Pope John Paul II 4:49.57 3

27 Mark Ricchini 12 Spring Ford 4:51.42 3

 

HS Girls 4x100 Meter Relay

1 Spring Ford A 50.54 3 10

1) Amber Muhammad 2) Brandy Nice

3) Megan Yates 4) Mikayla Francis

5) Kristen Overton

 

 

HS Boys 4x100 Meter Relay

3 Spring Ford A 44.28 4 6

1) Damien Boham 2) Michael Novarina

3) Adam Musetti 4) Andrew Scanlan

5) Xavier Ingram 6) Nick Ondo

10 Perkiomen Valley A 45.15 4

1) Mekki Clemons 2) Josh Acuna

3) Daquan Coker 4) Justin Maurer

 

HS Girls 300 Meter Hurdles

1 Lizzy Shadle 11 Methacton 46.01 5 10

2 Deirdre Magolon 10 Spring Ford 46.52 5 8

6 Brandy Nice 11 Spring Ford 48.38 5 3

8 Taylor Lane 11 Perkiomen Valley 49.22 3 1

19 Nicolette Stephens Perkiomen Valley 56.02 2

 

HS Boys 300 Meter Hurdles

9 Denzell Boham 12 Spring Ford 42.32 7

11 Ryan Heimbach 10 Perkiomen Valley 43.07 7

18 Tyler Timmins 10 Phoenixville Area 43.64 4

19 Dan Kain 12 Phoenixville Area 43.68 6

24 Sean Weiss 10 Spring Ford 45.15 5

 

HS Girls 4x800 Meter Relay

 

5 Phoenixville Area A 10:09.98 4

1) Rachel Carr 2) Aubrey Halloran

3) Amy Kowalick 4) Devonne Moore

 

7 Spring Ford A 10:43.99 2

1) Meagan Loughnane 2) Katherine Ricchini

3) Kara Fitch 4) Taylor Fry

5) Hailey Preschutti

 

11 Perkiomen Valley A 11:17.31

1) Syndey Casey 2) Kate Thomas

3) Caroline Oehlerich 4) Audrey Brush

12 John W. Hallahan A 11:25.42

 

HS Boys 4x800 Meter Relay

3 Phoenixville Area A 8:14.46 2 6

1) Chris Mullin 2) Ryan Marks

3) Matt Chiappetta 4) Tommy Timmins

 

8 Spring Ford A 8:38.20 2 1

1) Michael Hickman 2) Matthew Olsen

3) Jesse Magolon 4) Damien Boham

5) Xavier Ingram 6) Andrew Coull

 

16 Perkiomen Valley A 9:21.48 1

1) Chris Clemens 2) Conner Lyons

3) Phil Kim 4) Sean Hodgins

 

 

HS Girls 3200 Meter Run

10 Audrey Burger 11 Spring Ford 12:22.62

16 Katherine Ricchini 10 Spring Ford 13:38.00

 

HS Boys 3200 Meter Run

9 Jesse Magolon 11 Spring Ford 10:15.77 2

15 Jay Adams 10 Perkiomen Valley 10:29.46 2

35 Blaire Heaps 12 Perkiomen Valley 11:37.67 1

 

HS Girls 4x400 Meter Relay

2 Spring Ford A 4:03.89 3 8

5 Perkiomen Valley A 4:15.30 2 4

1) Morgan Stewart 2) Elena House-Hay

3) Hollis Coleman 4) Kim Nolan

 

HS Girls High Jump

1 Nicole Rocchio 11 Spring Ford 5-04.00 10

4 Elena House-Hay 10 Perkiomen Valley 4-10.00 3.5

4 Taylor Lane 11 Perkiomen Valley 4-10.00 3.5

10 Ellen Chernaskey 9 Pope John Paul II 4-08.00

15 Nicole Cornell 10 Spring Ford 4-04.00

 

HS Boys High Jump

17 Yousef Lundi 10 Spring Ford 5-04.00 2

 

HS Girls Long Jump

2 Meghan Yates 12 Spring Ford 16-08.75 NWI 8

4 Hollis Coleman 12 Perkiomen Valley 16-00.00 NWI 5

12 Nikki Lynch 11 Spring Ford 14-05.50 NWI

15 Shannon Keirsey 9 Perkiomen Valley 13-08.50 NWI

 

HS Girls Triple Jump

2 Meghan Yates 12 Spring Ford 34-08.25 NWI 8

6 Mikayla Francis 10 Spring Ford 33-03.75 NWI 3

 

HS Boys Triple Jump

26 Justin Maurer 10 Perkiomen Valley 36-08.50 NWI 1

30 Eric Miller 11 Spring Ford 36-03.00 NWI 1

32 Ryan Grosshanton 9 Spring Ford 35-07.00 NWI 1

 

HS Girls Discus

3 Jennifer Yeakle 11 Spring Ford 92-06 NWI 3 6

7 Akunna OKere 10 Spring Ford 89-06 NWI 2 1.5

19 Macey Tansecho 9 Perkiomen Valley 73-00 NWI 2

22 Jenna Dudek 11 Perkiomen Valley 66-03 NWI 1

 

HS Girls Javelin

4 Nikki Lynch 11 Spring Ford 106-09 NWI 1 5

5 Meghan Yates 12 Spring Ford 105-10 NWI 2 4

15 Rachel Klein 9 Perkiomen Valley 73-08 NWI 2

16 Alyssa Hyziak 11 Perkiomen Valley 72-05 NWI 2

 

HS Boys Javelin

2 Andrew Scanlan 11 Spring Ford 165-11 NWI 1 8

4 John Olson 10 Upper Perkiomen 165-06 NWI 1 5

5 James Rizzuto 12 Spring Ford 152-02 NWI 1 4

11 Ezra Ranco Perkiomen Valley 138-05 NWI 1

12 Ricardo Martinez Phoenixville Area 138-04 NWI 2

13 Joe Hastings 12 Perkiomen Valley 138-00 NWI 1

 

HS Girls Shot Put

2 Macey Tansecho 9 Perkiomen Valley 32-01.00 NWI 3 8

5 Jennifer Yeakle 11 Spring Ford 31-06.50 NWI 3 4

10 Kaila Nogar 10 Spring Ford 28-01.00 NWI 3

15 Alyssa Hyziak 11 Perkiomen Valley 26-04.00 NWI 2

 

HS Boys Shot Put

9 Ezra Ranco Perkiomen Valley 41-04.00 NWI 4

10 James Rizzuto 12 Spring Ford 40-08.00 NWI 4

16 Shawn Kulp 12 Spring Ford 38-03.00 NWI 3

33 Joe Hastings 12 Perkiomen Valley 34-04.00 NWI 2

 

HS Girls Team Scores (20 Events Scored)

 1 Methacton 123.5 17 34 26 24 22.5 0

2 Spring Ford 121.5 18 6 18 30 49.5 0

3 Downingtown East 85.5 0 28 0 36 21.5 0

4 Pocono Mountain West 55 17 0 5 10 23 0

5 Unionville 52.5 6 1 0 15 30.5 0

6 Conestoga 49 11 2 0 19 17 0

7 Perkiomen Valley 42 14 0 1 7 20 0

8 Owen J. Roberts 37 9 5 4 6 13 0

9 Boyertown 35.5 0 9 0 13 13.5 0

10 Pope John Paul II 21 10 6 5 0 0 0 15 Phoenixville Area 14 5 5 0 4 0 0

 

HS Boys Team Scores (20 Events Scored)

 

6 Spring Ford 33 11 0 0 10 12 0

19 Perkiomen Valley 15 0 8 4 3 0 0

27 Phoenixville Area 6 0 0 0 6 0 0