Battling the elements
Wiss, PW, Abington all shine on a dreary afternoon at PW
PLYMOUTH MEETING >> Saturday provided some cold, windy motivation.
“The weather was definitely a factor, so you had to make sure you warmed up stronger, harder — a little extra and earlier,” said Wissahickon’s Rahsheed Wright. “But we got the job done, and that’s what important.”
Wright anchored home a fast Trojan 4x4, part of an impressive showing by Wiss at Saturday’s Colonial Relays.
“A little tiring but a good workout for today. We’re looking to go low 20’s — 3:19 maybe 3:18 — this year,” Wright said of the 4x4, which clocked a winning time of 3:33.61 on Saturday, winning the event by over eight seconds, “so we’re definitely coming on with some heat.”
A foursome of Max Davies, Cam Christopher, Sam Kane and Wright outraced rival Plymouth Whitemarsh in the final event of the afternoon, adding to a Wissahickon win list that included the 4x110 shuttle hurdles (1:06.7), the 4x100 (44.42) and sprint medley (3:52.37). Also, out in the field, Ahmir Johnson and Christian McCarry combined their efforts for a victory in the triple jump (81-2.5).
“Going for gold medals in everything,” Wright said.
Wissahickon and PW were battling back and forth all afternoon, with the Colonials out in front, all by themselves in
“We’re looking to go low 20’s — 3:19 maybe 3:18 — this year so we’re definitely coming on with some heat.” Rahsheed Wright said of Wissahickon’s 4x400
the distance medley relay.
“I felt like I needed a little bit more competition to hold my pace but I did my best to hold it by myself,” said anchor Doug Luba, who got the baton from Sam Myers and motored home to the victory. “The DMR’s one of my favorites, like having a bunch of different events all mashed up into one race. And I love the mile.”
The Colonials put together a winning time of 11:28.34, best by 16 seconds.
“Hoping to break my PR from last year (in the mile), which was 4:34,” said Luba, who could have a shot at the PW school record of 4:30, set by 2014 grad Dan Shalala. “Trying to get down maybe to 4:30.
“I don’t know how close I was to that today,” he said with a smile, “because I was by myself.”
The Abington girls, meanwhile, pulled away in both the 4x8 and 4x4.
“(The 4x4) was kind of releaxing because three of us had already raced the 4x8 earlier in the day,” said anchor Jasmine Henry. “We’re coming in with more confidence this year.
“The weather makes you feel awful,” Henry said with a laugh, “but you know it’s gonna warm up and we’re gonna feel a lot better. Especially if we run well in the cold weather now, we’ll totally be better for it later in the year.”
The foursome of Rorie Spencer, Kelly Jawork, Sophia Marino and Henry closed things out on the track in impressive fashion, going 4:02.41 into a stiff wind.
Out in the field, La Salle racked up four victories, led by Noah Walker’s output in the shot put, discus and javelin.
Upper Dublin swept the pole vault event — Alex Liu and Sean Starosta combined for a 21-6 on the
boys side and Lexi Schneider and Anastasia
Berger were winners in the girls with an 18-0.
Colonial Relays at Plymouth Whitemarsh Boys 4x110 shuttle hurdles: Wissahickon, 1:06.07; 4x100: Wissahickon, 44.42; 4x800: Plymouth Whitemarsh, 8:29.49; 4x200: Plymouth Whitemarsh, 1:35.44; Sprint Medley: Wissahickon, 3:52.37; Distance Medley: Plymouth Whitemarsh, 11:28.34; 4x400 relay: Wissahickon, 3:33.61; Long Jump: Upper Dublin (Brian Kaufmann, 20-3; Dan Ness, 18-1.5), 38-5; Triple Jump: Wissahickon (Ahmir Johnson, 43-4; Christian McCarry, 37-10.5), 81-2.5; High Jump: La Salle (Jonathon Squadrito, 6-0; Frank Depman, 5-4), 11-4; Pole Vault: Upper Dublin (Alex Liu, 13-0; Sean Starosta, 8-6), 21-6; Shot Put: La Salle (Noah Walker, 51-4; Chris Caponi, 36-7), 87-11; Discus: La Salle (Noah Walker, 140-3; Chris Caponi, 113-2), 253-5; Javelin: La Salle (Noah Walker, 165-5; Mike Wells, 143-8), 309-1. Girls 4x100 shuttle hurdles: Strath Haven, 1:06.31; 4x100: Wissahickon, 52.03; 4x800: Abington, 9:56.43; 4x200: Bishop Shanahan, 1:52.57; Sprint Medley: Central Bucks East, 4:28.88; Distance Medley: Central Bucks East, 13:05.49; 4x400 relay: Abington, 4:02.41; Long Jump: Plymouth Whitemarsh (Lauryn Sykes, 15-8.25; Ayana Tull, 15-5.75), 31-2; Triple Jump: Bishop Shanahan (Anna Ebersole, 35-1.25; Paige Plevyak, 30-8.75), 35-1.25; High Jump: Plymouth Whitemarsh (Taylor O’Brien, 5-6; Kristina Hibbeln, 4-0), 9-6; Pole Vault: Upper Dublin (Lexi Schneider, 9-6; Anastasia Berger, 8-6), 18-0; Shot Put: Abington (Sianni McLeod, 39-1.25; Michelle Morgan, 30-11.25), 70-0.25; Discus: Central Bucks East (Emily Squillace, 85-0; Riley Krumenacker, 71-9), 156-9; Javelin: Bishop Shanahan (Renee Shultz, 93-4; Anna Ebersole, 85-5), 178-9.