Local Runners Shine at Delco Championships

UPPER DARBY–The Delco Championship always brings out a special edge in the athletes that compete in the event. It presents that rare chance to go outside the boundaries of league competition, and truly gauge who is the best in Delaware County. There is no other way to do that than to have the best of the area’s respective leagues test themselves against the best.

It’s also the first leg on a three-pronged journey towards the state championship (Delco Championship, District 1 Championship and the State Championship). It’s where Radnor’s Lydia Ali took off last year as a junior, and where Notre Dame’s Maria Seykora, of Broomall, thrust herself in front of all the distance runners in the county.

It’s also where budding stars like ’s Sabrina Barbieri and 's Christina Descano, Dena Feinberg and Jenna Senholzi gain experience.

That occurred Saturday at Upper Darby High School, where 19 girls’ track teams gathered for the Delco Championship. The expected occurred, as Strath Haven, an overwhelming favorite, won the team championship, led by star Rachel Van Metre placed in four events, winning three, and Ali took the 100 and 200, and Seykora captured the 1,600 and 3,200—as expected.

The top six finishers placed in each event, with points coming in the descending order (10 points for first place, 8 for second, 6 for third, 4 for fourth, 2 for fifth, and 1 for sixth).

Haverford placed fourth, led by Brittney Diehl and Jessica Matusky, who each placed in the 400-meter dash, Sophia Meehan who finished third in the 800-meter run, and Tess Meehan who took third in the 1,600-meter run and third in the 3,200-meter run. The Fords’ Ellie Houcke took sixth in the 3,200. Jessica McCarthy placed fifth in both the 100-meter hurdles (16.25 seconds) and 300 hurdles (47.22).

But the sprinting star was Ali, the reigning 100-meter state champion. The Pennsylvania University-bound runner blew away the competition on the 100, in 12.01 seconds, and easily blew away the field in the 200, winning that event in 24.80, almost a full second better than Penncrest’s Allison Van Zant (25.59).

As dominant as Ali was in the sprint events, Seykora was just as dominant in the distances. The Broomall resident held off Strath Haven’s Hannah Grossman to win the 1,600 in 4:58.16, and in the day’s most grueling event, the 3,200, the junior outdistanced the competition, winning in 10:49.67. Archbishop Carroll’s Katie Rodden came in second in 10:54.01, followed by Tess Meehan (11:20.23).

Barbieri, a Penncrest sophomore, gained a pile of valuable experience going against the best. She finished sixth in the 100-meter dash in 12.79.

In the field events, Strath Haven’s Van Metre really stood out. She won the 100-meter hurdles (14.96), the high jump (5-feet, 2-inches) and long jump (17-feet,
5-inches). Cardinal O’Hara’s Anna McCloskey was a double-winner, taking the discus (120-feet, 4-inches) and shot put (39-feet, 10.5-inches). 

Descano put the Tigers on the map in several of the events, including the 100-meter hurdles, placing sixth with 16.87, and the long jump, placing sixth with 15-11.25. Senholzi tied for fifth with Cardinal O'Hara and Strath Haven in the high jump. Feinberg really brought Marple Newtown into the light in the pole vault event, who placed second.

Alyssa Moat, a Penncrest junior, really helped herself though in shot and discus. She placed a distant second to McCloskey in the shot put (35-feet, 7.25-inches) and finished fifth in the discus (105-feet, 2-inches). But those numbers bode very well for Moat, who will enter the Central League championship this week with the top throw in the league, and trailed only Strath Haven’s Vicki Wilson (106-feet, 1-inch) in the discus.

Results

Team Standings

1. Strath Haven 119

2. Upper Darby 87

3. Cardinal O Hara 58

4. Haverford 52

5. Penncrest 40

6. Radnor 32

7. Garnet Valley 27

8. Notre Dame 26

9. Archbishop Prendergast 22

10. Penn Wood 18

11. Springfield 14

12. Archbishop Carroll 13

13. Marple Newtown 11

14. Academy Park 10

15. Sun Valley 8

16. Chichester 6

16. Interboro 6

16. Ridley 6

19. Chester 3

100-Meter Hurdles

1. Rachel Van Metre, Strath Haven, 14.96

2. Georgia Mason, Upper Darby, 15.16

3. Morgan Long, Chichester, 15.22

4. Rachel Clarke, Strath Haven, 15.32

5. Jessica McCarthy, Haverford, 16.25

6. Christina Descano, Marple Newtown, 16.87

300-Meter Hurdles

1. Emily Wenger, Garnet Valley, 45.26

2. Lynnese Beyan, Upper Darby, 45.98

3. Rachel Clarke, Strath Haven, 46.17

4. Katie Nappi, Notre Dame, 46.29

5. Jessica McCarthy, Haverford, 47.22

6. Shakiya Jacobs, Upper Darby, 47.84

100-Meter Dash

1. Lydia Ali, Radnor, 12.01

2. Allison Sharkey, Cardinal O' Hara, 12.49

3. Liz Rivers, Upper Darby, 12.55

4. Tioni Mcneill, Upper Darby, 12.57

5. Christina Holmes, Penn Wood, 12.78

6. Sabrina Barbieri, Penncrest, 12.79

200-Meter Dash

1. Lydia Ali, Radnor, 24.80

2. Allison Van Zant, Penncrest, 25.59

3. Tioni McNeill, Upper Darby, 25.95

4. Liz Rivers, Upper Darby, 26.27

5. Abbie Worrell, Ridley, 26.68

6. Lindsi Wilson, Academy Park, 26.76

400-Meter Dash

1. Allison Sharkey, Cardinal O' Hara, 57.55

2. Marina Rufo, Radnor, 59.52

3. Beyan Lynnese, Upper Darby, 59.73

4. Megan O'Dell, Strath Haven, 59.85

5. Brittney Diehl, Haverford, 59.86

6. Jessica Matusky, Haverford, 1:00.61

800-Meter Run

1. Val Wilson, Strath Haven, 2:16.29

2. Katie Balmer, Strath Haven, 2:17.08

3. Sophia Meehan, Haverford, 2:18.30

4. Lauren Lamoureux, Archbishop Prendergast, 2:18.57

5. Katie Nappi, Notre Dame, 2:19.64

6. Alyssa Rudawsky, Garnet Valley, 2:20.86

1,600-Meter Run

1. Maria Seykora, Notre Dame, 4:58.16

2. Hannah Grossman, Strath Haven, 5:01.48

3. Tess Meehan, Haverford, 5:02.07

4. Katie Rodden, Archbishop Carroll, 5:04.73

5. Frances McNally, Springfield, 5:15.06

6. Grace Galligan, Springfield, 5:17.21

3,200-Meter Run

1. Maria Seykora, Notre Dame, 10:49.67

2. Katie Rodden, Archbishop Carroll, 10:54.01

3. Tess Meehan, Haverford, 11:20.23

4. Nicole Daly, Cardinal O' Hara, 11:24.49

5. Grace Chang, Penncrest, 11:36.81

6. Ellie Houcke, Haverford, 11:51.05

4x100-Meter Relay

1. Upper Darby 48.70

2. Penncrest 48.71

3. Penn Wood 50.97

4. Ridley 51.20

5. Garnet Valley 51.24

6. Chester 51.96

4x400-Meter Relay

1. Strath Haven 4:00.50

2. Upper Darby 4:01.33

3. Garnet Valley 4:01.35

4. Cardinal O Hara 4:02.13

5. Radnor 4:03.34

6. Haverford 4:05.99

4x800-Meter Relay

1. Strath Haven 29:27.96

2. Cardinal O' Hara 9:44.57

3. Haverford 9:50.88

4. Penncrest 10:07.48

5. Chester 10:07.54

6. Archbishop Carroll 10:17.00

Shot Put

1. Anna McCloskey, Cardinal O' Hara, 39-10.50

2. Alyssa Moat, Penncrest, 35-07.25

3. Caitlin Yakas, Sun Valley, 35-02.00

4. Vicki Wilson, Strath Haven, 35-00.00

5. Raven Watson, Archbishop Park, 34-00.50

6. Mercedes Vaughn, Academy Park, 33-06.00

Javelin

1. Amanda Hughes, Archbishop Prendergast, 120-01

2. Melissa Scanzano, Haverford, 110-05

3. Aimee Tompkins, Interboro, 109-08

4. Lauren Peterson, Garnet Valley, 101-00

5. Erica Hanstein, Sun Valley, 94-03

6. Kristy Ennis, Springfield, 88-09

Triple Jump

1. Medeline Eustache, Upper Darby, 36-10.25

2. Rachel Van Metre, Strath Haven, 36-06.25

3. Nazirah Jones, Penn Wood, 36-03.75

4. Laurelle Holley, Strath Haven, 35-00.50

5. Elizabeth Clarke, Strath Haven, 34-08.25

6. Jenna Smith, Cardinal O' Hara, 34-07.50

High Jump

1. Rachel Van Metre, Strath Haven, 5-02.00

2. Claudine Andre, Upper Darby, J5-02.00

3. Rachel Nowoswiat, Penncrest, 5-00.00

4. Sarah Hay, Haverford, 4-10.00

5. Jenna Senholzi, Marple Newtown, J4-10.00

5. Jenna Smith, Cardinal O' Hara, J4-10.00

5. Laurelle Holley, Strath Haven, J4-10.00

Pole Vault

1. Kayla Thomas, Springfield, 10-00.00

2. Dena Feinberg, Marple Newtown, 9-00.00

3. Mei Bruist, Haverford, 9-00.00

4. Ashley Razzano, Garnet Valley, J9-00.00

5. Vittoria Boni, Radnor, 8-06.00

6. Taylor O'Connor, Penncrest, 8-00.00

Discus

1. Anna McCloskey, Cardinal O' Hara, 120-04

2. Mercedes Vaughn, Academy Park, 112-03

3. Amanda Hughes, Archbishop Prendergast, 108-08

4. Vicki Wilson, Strath Haven, 106-01

5. Alyssa Moat, Penncrest, 105-02

6. Megan Ross, Haverford, 102-06

Long Jump

1. Rachel Van Metre, Strath Haven, 17-05.50

2. Medeline Eustache, Upper Darby, 17-00.00

3. Yuwen Michelson, Strath Haven, 16-10.75

4. Nazirah Jones, Penn Wood, 16-00.00

5. Allison Sharkey, Cardinal O' Hara, 15-11.50

6. Christina Descano, Marple Newtown, 15-11.25