Rustin, GV lead way at Super Meet

KENNETT SQUARE » When the Great Valley boys and the West Chester Rustin girls finished in first place in their respective 4x400 relays Thursday on Day 2 of the Ches-Mont American Super Meet at Kennett High School, it was the exclamation point on the success of the Patriot boys and the Golden Knight girls teams.

When the final results of the Ches-Mont American Super Meet went into the book, and the dual meet scores among the six American Division schools were calculated, Great Valley finished first in the boys standings, and Rustin was on top in the girls’ standings.

The Great Valley boys 4x400 relay team of junior David Stevance, senior Brendan DeSantis, senior Pierce Nolan and junior Jake Zielinski won with a clocking of 3:34.68. When Zielinski crossed the finish line, the victorious quartet hugged one another, then embraced their cheering Great Valley teammates.

“We had great teamwork, great chemistry, every day the coaches were pushing us,” said Zielinski. “That’s why we’re the Ches-Mont [American] champs.”

The Rustin quartet of freshman Maddie Miller, freshman Amelia Foore, sophomore Sam Spitzer and senior Sofia Piccone finished first in the girls 4x400 relay with a clocking of 4:17.42.

“Coming down the stretch, it was great to hear all of the cheering,” said Piccone, who will be running cross country and track for the University of Rhode Island next fall.

Thursday’s meet featured a 15-20 MPH breeze out of the northwest that became a headwind that the runners had to battle for the last 100 meters of the race.

“I felt the headwind on the last 100 [meters],” said Zielinski, after winning the boys 800 meter run with a time of 2:00.13. “It was pretty tough, but the key was staying strong and smart.”

“In the last 100, I felt the headwind,” said a smiling Josie Cicchino, a Unionville senior who won the girls 800 meter run with a clocking of 2:25.26. “It was like running in quicksand.”

Oxford senior Rose Rowe, who won the girls 300 intermediate hurdles with a clocking of 48.28, more than three seconds faster than the second-place finisher, smiled and said, “I knew there was a headwind down the stretch, so I tried to come out of the starting blocks extra fast.”

Kennett junior Kalen Frazier, a Blue Demon football star who won the boys 300 intermediate hurdles Thursday (42.90), said, “The headwind was tough – I really had to dig.”

Three days earlier, on Day 1 of the Ches-Mont American Division Super Meet at Unionville High School, Frazier won the 110 meter hurdles with a clocking of 17.93.

The boys 4x100 relay Thursday featured a close, exciting race won by the West Chester Rustin quartet of junior Dayshawn Jacobs, senior Travis Riley, junior Ross Sumner and senior Jaden Mercy (45.37).

“We bonded together really well,” said Riley, who will be headed to Widener University to play football in the fall. “We ran a really clean race.”

“We ran a smooth relay,” said Mercy.

The Rustin quartet of freshman Amelia Foore, junior Brienna Spano, sophomore Sidney Sagullo and sophomore Keturah Darwon won the girls 4x100 relay (52.72).

“We had good handoffs,” said Darwon.

Unionville senior Ethan McIntyre, who will run track for Saint Joseph’s University next spring, won the boys 3200 meter run Thursday with a clocking of 9:29.25.

Rustin sophomore Ellie Keefer won the girls 3200 meter run with a time of 11:21.92, which set a school record. While it was the first 3200 meter race of Keefer’s career, it should be noted that last winter the Golden Knight soph did very well in the 3K races.

Another Rustin sophomore, Ava Alexander, won the girls 200 meter race with a time of 27.75.

“I felt good coming out of the starting blocks, and the other [fast] runners pushed me,” said a smiling Alexander.

Great Valley’s David Stevance, who was part of the Patriots’ victorious 4x400 relay team, won the boys 200 meter run with a time of 24.02.

Unionville’s Alex Pancoast won the girls discus throw Thursday (125-06). Three days earlier, on Day 1 of the Ches-Mont American Division Super Meet at Unionville High School, Pancoast won the girls shot put (35-08).

Also in the girls discus throw Thursday, Great Valley’s Siena Vestri set a school record with a mark of 123-03 (she finished second). The old school record was 117-01, set by Brynn Benford in 2001.

Oxford’s Eric Marshall won the boys long jump Thursday with a leap of 20-06.50. Three days earlier, on Day 1 of the Ches-Mont American Division Super Meet at Unionville High School, Marshall won the boys triple jump with a mark of 39-03.50.

Blue Demon sophomore Kirstin Hoffman felt right at home at Kennett Thursday, winning the pole vault with a mark of 12-0.

On Day 1 of the Ches-Mont American Division Super Meet, held Monday at Unionville High School, many of the athletes who won Thursday’s events finished first on Monday, as well.