McDermott, La Salle, O'Hara star at PCL meet

As Bonner-Prendergast senior Will McDermott came around the last turn Saturday in the 3,200 meters at the Catholic League track and field championships at Upper Darby, he met a loud ovation.

Red-faced and appearing fatigued, McDermott sped down the final stretch to break the meet's oldest track record, finishing in 9 minutes, 19.7 seconds.

While the crowd knew McDermott could be on the verge of history because of a public address announcement, the long-distance runner had no idea and said he could not even hear the cheers. He was doing something he rarely does during a meet: listening to his coaches.

McDermott, who usually likes to push the pace early in races, sat back before turning on the jets late.

"My coaches were saying if people start to fall apart with two laps left, just go," McDermott said. "I was really focused and listened and just went."

Joe Abrams set the previous record for Bishop Egan when he ran a 9:21.8 in 1980. McDermott actually ran a 9:14.40 last week at the Delco Championships and lost to Cardinal O'Hara's Kevin James by two hundredths of a second. James was fifth Saturday.

In the team race, La Salle ended Father Judge's two-year reign as Catholic League champion and won the title.

La Salle featured triple-jump champ Corey Muggler (44 feet, 61/2 inches), shot-put winner Luke Persichetti (52-9), mile champion Tom Coyle (4:16.34), and Andrew Stone, who won the 800 (1:56.58).

"They were tough in every single event," La Salle coach Greg Bielecki said. "You just have to be confident. You have to be a baller. You have to be ready to go on that day, and they were ready."

The Explorers team of Luke McCann, John Matthews, Charles Headen, and Muggler also broke a year-old school record by running the 4x100 in 43.55 seconds, good for third place.

Cardinal O'Hara, relying on its usual depth, won the girls' championship for the ninth time in 10 years.

"This is what our whole season is about," O'Hara coach John McShay said. "Before, we never had states, so this was always the biggest meet of the year, and it's kind of carried over and we rise to the occasion."

The Lions scored in every event. Kim Whelan won the shot put (34-31/2), Annie McFadden took the pole vault (8-6), Kayla Keir was first in the 300 hurdles (46.38), and Julia DelGrosso won the 3,200 (12:07.07).

The Results

GIRLS

Teams: 1 Cardinal O'Hara, 173.5; 2 Archbishop Ryan, 125; 3 St. Hubert, 72.5; 4 Lansdale Catholic, 39; 5 Bonner-Prendergast, 38.

100: Ke'von Lumb, Bishop McDevitt, 12.73; 2 Elizabeth Reid, Lansdale Catholic, 12.84; 3 Tashai Hudson, Little Flower, 13.01.

200: 1 Elizabeth Reid, Lansdale Catholic, 25.72; 2 Victoria Jones, Bonner-Prendergast, 25.87; 3 Allison Sharkey, Cardinal O'Hara, 26.34.

400: 1 Megan Forsythe, St. Hubert, 57.60; 2 Allison Sharkey, Cardinal O'Hara, 58.24; 3 Elizabeth Reid, Lansdale Catholic, 58.24.

800: 1 Rachel Flynn, Archbishop Carroll, 2:19.96; 2 Marissa Cicione, Cardinal O'Hara, 2:21.25; 3 Lauren Lamoureux, Bonner-Prendergast, 2:23.53.

1,600: 1 Rachel Flynn, Archbishop Carroll, 5:08.06; 2 Amy Kelly, Cardinal O'Hara, 5:11.17; 3 Grace Mancini, Cardinal O'Hara, 5:13.46.

3,200: 1 Julia DelGrosso, Cardinal O'Hara, 12:07.07; 2 Grace Mancini, Cardinal O'Hara, 12:07.25; 3 Katie Connell, Archbishop Wood, 12:10.58.

100 hurdles: 1 Britny Keyes, Archbsihop Ryan, 15.96; 2 Erin Wible, Archbishop Ryan, 16.80; 3 Andrea Dickel, Archbishop Ryan, 17.13.

300 hurdles: 1 Kayla Keir, Cardinal O'Hara, 46.38; 2 Megan Forsythe, St. Hubert, 46.88; 3 Taylor Woods, Archbishop Ryan, 47.02.

4x100: 1 St. Hubert, 50.15; 2 Cardinal O'Hara, 50.34; 3 Hallahan, 51.38.

4x200: 1 Cardinal O'Hara, 10:01.48; 2 St. Hubert, 10:07.26; 3 Archbishop Ryan, 10:30.18.

1,600 sprint medley: 1 Cardinal O'Hara, 10:01.48; 2 St. Hubert, 10:07.26; 3 Archbishop Ryan, 10:30.18.

High jump: 1 Shelby Samuels, Conwell-Egan, 5-0; 2 Olivia Goodwin, Archbishop Wood, 5-0; 3 Kelly Piecyk, St. Hubert, 4-10.

Pole vault: 1 Annie McFadden, Cardinal O'Hara, 8-6; 2 Sara Scanlin, Archbishop Ryan, 8-0; 3 Anitra Jackson, Cardinal O'Hara, 7-6.

Long jump: 1 Ke'von Lumb, Bishop McDevitt, 17-6; 2 Alexandra Patrick, Cardinal O'Hara, 16-11; 3 Elizabeth Reid, Lansdale Catholic. 16-6.

Triple jump: 1 Erin Brady, Archbishop Ryan, 34-6.5; 2 Alexandra Patrick, Cardinal O'Hara, 32-2; 3 Amanda Simone, Archbishop Ryan, 31-5.5.

Shot put: 1 Kim Whelan, Cardinal O'Hara, 34-3.5; 2 Brianne Wojciechowski, Archbishop Ryan, 33-1.75; 3 Carlee McClease, Conwell-Egan, 32-5.

Discus: 1 Brianne Wojciechowski, Archbishop Ryan, 96-1; 2 Adrienne Fenstermacher, Lansdale Catholic, 93-3; 3 Victoria Noonan, Cardinal O'Hara, 91-9.

Javelin: 1 Brianne Wojciechowski, Archbishop Ryan, 97-9; 2 Claire Cochran, Archbishop Ryan, 89-9; 3 Katie McDermott, Cardinal O'Hara, 86-3.

BOYS

Teams: 1 La Salle, 133; 2 Father Judge, 118; 3 Cardinal O'Hara, 115.5; 4 St. Joseph's Prep, 57; 5 Archbishop Ryan, 35.50.

100: 1 Lamont Veal, Cardinal O'Hara, 11.04; 2 Charles Headen, La Salle, 11.15; 3 Vontae Hilliard, Father Judge, 11.19.

200: 1 Lamont Veal, Cardinal O'Hara, 22.19; 2 Vontae Hilliard, Father Judge, 22.42; 3 James Lassiter, Bishop McDevitt, 22.67.

400: 1 Eric Jones, Neumann-Goretti, 50.23; 2 Ricky Sieck, Archbishop Ryan, 50.92; 3 Gabriell Johnson, Roman Catholic, 50.92.

800: 1 Andrew Stone, La Salle, 1:56.68; 2 Jim Belfatto, Cardinal O'Hara, 1:58.60; 3 Joe Sullivan, Bonner-Prendergast, 1:59.69.

1,600: 1 Tom Coyle, La Salle, 4:16.34; 2 Kevin James, Cardinal O'Hara, 4:18.34; 3 Dan Savage, Cardinal O'Hara, 4:20.34.

3,200: 1 Will McDermott, Bonner-Prendergast, 9:19.76; 2 Tom Coyle, La Salle, 9:26.95; 3 Dan Savage, Cardinal O'Hara, 9:27.59.

110 hurdles: 1 Jeremiah Agrio, Archbishop Ryan, 15.86; Joe Ho, Bonner-Prendergast, 14.46; 3 James Lassiter, Bishop McDevitt, 15.36.

300 hurdles: 1 Jeremiah Agrio, Archbishop Ryan, 39.09; 2 James Lassiter, Bishop McDevitt, 39.13; 3 Levi Hardy, 40.31.

4x100: 1 Cardinal O'Hara, 42.28; 2 Father Judge, 42.67; 3 La Salle, 43.55.

4x400: 1 Cardinal O'Hara, 3:26.05; 2 Father Judge, 3:26.08; 3 Roman Catholic, 3:26.48.

4x800: 1 Cardinal O'Hara, 8:03.47; 2 La Salle, 8:04.19; 3 St. Joseph's Prep, 8:05.28.

1,600 sprint medley: 1 Roman Catholic, 3:53.51; 2 Cardinal O'Hara, 3:54.30; 3 St. Joseph's Prep, 4:02.21.

Pole vault: 1 Brian Shaeffer, St. Joseph's Prep, 13-6; 2 Eddie Eason, La Salle, 13-0; 3 Noal Hurst, St. Joseph's Prep, 12-0.

Long jump: 1 Jordan Bryan, St. Joseph's Prep, 21-9; 2 Marquis Seamon, Father Judge, 21-7; 3 Corey Muggler, La Salle, 21-4.

Triple jump: 1 Corey Muggler, La Salle, 44-6.5; 2 Marquis Seamon, Father Judge, 43-6; 3 D'Andrew Gursay, Conwell-Egan, 42-2.5.

Shot put: 1 Luke Persichetti, La Salle, 52-9; 2 Shawn Scornaienchi, Father Judge, 51-2.75; 3 Chris Kane, La Salle, 43-3.25.

Discus: 1 Shawn Scornaienchi, Father Judge, 131-11; 2 Mike Iacono, Lansdale Catholic, 127-11; 3 Alexander Constantini, Cardinal O'Hara, 126-6.

Javelin: 1 Shawn Scornaienchi, Father Judge, 163-9; 2 Grant Jones, La Salle, 152-0; 3 Alex Citerone, Father Judge, 151-6.