After Winter Success, Track Stars Take to the Field

The success of track athletes is usually measured in inches and seconds, not touchdowns and points. So unfortunately, achievement can sometimes slip by unnoticed.

Consider this your official heads-up: Upper Dublin High School has some seriously skilled athletes in track and field. It even has an All-American.

When members of the boys and girls teams take to outdoors this week, several of them will be building on achievements obtained over the winter. A major barometer of success in the winter season is the Pennsylvania Track and Field Coaches Association (PTFCA)'s Indoor State Track & Field Championships, at which athletes compete for qualifications to the PIAA state championships.

In 2012, the girls 4x200 relay team of Jackie Anninos, Ali Smalls, Justine Morgan and Cidney Christian, shot-putter Evan Mao, boys 3000m runner Francis Feruzzi and girls higher-jumper Taylor Morgan all fared well enough at the competition to take their talents to states.

There, the duo of Ferruzzi and Morgan took it a step further to earn medals. Ferruzzi placed 5th in the 3000m with a time of 8:51.94, while Morgan earned 2nd place by clearing a jump of 5'8" and was honored with a PTFCA Indoor All-State selection.

Morgan, who as she collected medals from around the country last August, also competed in the 2012 New Balance Indoor Nationals and took home 4th place after clearing 5'7.25". The jump earned her All-America status.

Morgan and the Lady Cardinals are in action at Upper Merion Tuesday, while the boys head to Upper Moreland Wednesday. This weekend presents the first major measurement for the boys when they take part in the spring PTFCA Classic at Plymouth-Whitemarsh, while the girls head to the Brother Jerome Invitational at St. Basil's Academy.

Photography courtesy Patty Morgan for PennTrackXC.com.