A Penn Relays tune-up, and more
As the track-and-field season nears its climax, the Kellerman meet brings out the best.
Saturday's Great Valley Joseph R. Kellerman Relays, with tents bearing school colors along the perimeter of a pristine track in Malvern, functioned as a brisk but appropriately festive precursor to the 116th annual Penn Relays.
Cardinal O'Hara junior Anna McCloskey, who will be competing at Franklin Field in the shot put, continued to open eyes in the girls' field events. At Great Valley, she posted top throws in the discus and shot put for the second time this spring.
McCloskey won both events at the 26th Pennsylvania Track Classic on March 27. Yesterday, the field events were grouped as team relays, and Upper Darby won both the discus and shot put.
"It wasn't my best," McCloskey said of her 38-foot, 11-inch throw in the shot put. "But I was happy with it."
McCloskey placed sixth at the indoor state championships on March 6 with her personal best in the shot put, 41-41/4. The junior, who had a meet-best 100-2 discus throw Saturday, said she has received Division I interest from North Carolina, Michigan State, Vermont, Lehigh, Ithaca, and Lafayette.
On the track at the ninth annual event, Strath Haven's girls imposed their will in the relay races, winning the 4x1,600 meters, 4x100 shuttle hurdles, 1,600 sprint medley, and throwers' 4x100 relay.
Sarah Rutkowski, Hannah Grossman, Michaela Whitelaw, and Erin Seglem ignited the Panthers' run by winning the day's first race, the 4x1,600, in 21 minutes, 51.34 seconds.
Strath Haven coach Bill Coren said a relay event such as Saturday's plays to his team's strengths. Seglem, Whitelaw, Katie Balmer, and Val Wilson will run the 4x800 in the small-schools division Thursday at the Penn Relays.
Chester's girls took first in the 4x100 and the 4x400.
On the boys' side, the Catholic League made a strong showing, led by Father Judge, which won the distance medley and finished second in the javelin throw and long-jump relays.
"It's getting toward the end of the year, and the Penn Relays are coming up," Father Judge distance coach Kevin Carroll said. "So it's time to buckle down and get to work, and these guys stepped up today."
The Crusaders' Tom Kehl, Joe Joniec, Mike Tranchitella, and Alek Leszczynski - all seniors except Joniec, a junior - won the distance medley in 11:03.47.
St. Joseph's Prep won the 4x800 in 8:13.17 without two members of its Catholic League-champion indoor foursome.
"The kids have been running, but today they really were competitors and raced," Hawks coach Curt Cockenberg said.
St. Joe's Prep junior Brian Wolff and sophomore anchor Owen Glatts plugged holes created by the absence of Jack Reilly, who competes in crew in the spring, and Bernie Gray, who visited Notre Dame this weekend.
"The main thing is our coach doesn't overtrain anyone," said senior Chris O'Sullivan, son of Villanova track and field coach Marcus O'Sullivan, who rounded out the 4x800 team along with fellow senior Spencer Anderson. "We're all fresh enough to do whatever Coach asks us to do."
Penncrest's boys won the 4x110 shuttle, 1,600 sprint medley, and 4x400 relay. The girls took the 4x200 relay.
Haverford High's 4x1,600 boys' relay team won with a time of 18:19.11, behind Ryan Thompson, Woo Kim, Jeff Hosan and Ed Donnelly.
Note. Methacton senior Carlton Lavong, who set the nation's top indoor long-jump mark this winter, did not compete Saturday because of a coach's decision, head coach Rob Ronzano said. Ronzano would not comment further, but said he planned for Lavong to compete in the 4x100 relay and long jump at the Penn Relays.