Spring-Ford’s Scott steals the show
EAST NORRITON >> On a weekend of team domination, Mason Scott was a particularly dominant individual.
Scott scored three gold medals during Saturday’s final session of the Pioneer Athletic Conference Championship Meet at Norristown. The Spring-Ford junior swept past the fields in the short-distance races (100, 200, 400) while two other firsts - three for the weekend - and a slew of other high finishes got the Rams another conference championship by a decisive margin.
“He was certainly our MVP of the day,” SpringFord head coach Danielle Stauffer said of Scott, the top seed in the 200 field. He posted a 21.89 in Friday’s preliminaries, then ran a 21.75 Saturday for his personal best in the event.
Scott got his Saturday sweep going with a 10.90 clocking in the 100, edging teammate Andre JacksonLittlejohn (10.93). Owen J. Roberts’ Brandon Kelly was third in 11.05.
He followed that with a 49.18 in the 400, again heading a Ram teammate in Chris Brittingham (49.22) with Upper Perkiomen’s Vincent Durant third (49.78). The capper was a 21.75 in the 200, ahead of Norristown’s Daunte Bell (21.89) and Jackson-Littlejohn (22.60).
“I got out in a sprint,” Scott said of his 400 showing, “then in the backstretch used a kick to keep up. The final stretch, I try to do both.
“In the 100, I had a good personal record,” he added, noting it was an improvement from the 10.98 he scored previously. “A 10.8 at districts is my goal.”
HIs PR in the 200 was a product of a consistent run, but he sees continued training as a factor in getting it even lower.
Spring-Ford’s other Saturday champions were Jacob McNelly in the pole vault, and its 4x800 relay foursome of Jacob Delgado, William Garman, Ryan Koveleski and Jack Stanick. Coupled with Abe McNelly’s first in the high jump Friday (6-0), it enabled the Rams to claim the team championship over Methacton by a 159-78 margin, with Pottsgrove third at 74.
“The kids are outstanding. They work hard together,” Stauffer said. “It was nice to see the hard work pay off.”
Beyond the champions, the Rams were bolstered by high finishes from other competitors. Luke Eller was second in the shot put with a district-qualifying throw of 48-9, Justin Johnson added points with his sixth in the long jump (21-2), and the 4x100 relay finished less than a second (42.82) behind Norristown’s team of Daunte Bell, Isaiah Williams,
Miles Daniels and Milan Baird (42.74) in the runner-up spot.
Then there was the pole vault, an all-McNelly family 1-2 finish. Jacob’s younger brother, sophomore Abe, followed his senior sibling’s PR 12-9 with a 12-6 to beat out third-place Theodore Deskevich of Upper Perkiomen (12-0).
“I could have been tired,” Jacob said, noting he was recovering from illness. “At the higher heights, you have to have the mindset. I just need to sit and relax tomorrow.”
The Rams’ 4x8 foursome beat out teams from Methacton (8:21.97) and Boyertown (8:23.39).
Ian Johnson capped a double-gold weekend in distance-race competition by winning the 1,600. In a tightly-contested run against Owen J. Roberts’ Andrew McGonigle, the Perkiomen Valley junior ran off the shoulder of the Wildcat senior until pulling in front on the final lap to win in 4:22.87. McGonigle checked in with a 4:28.89, and Phoenixville’s William Brennfleck was third in 4:30.42.
“McGonigle is good competition,” Johnson, winner of Friday’s 3,200 race over Methacton’s Evander Lackman, said. “I tried to draft at the front, then outkick him at the end. I was really happy with how I did.”
Owen J. had an individual champion in Nathan Hayes, who held off Methacton’s Nicholas Willen in the 800 final. Hayes ran a 1:57.28 to Willen’s 1:57.75, with Spring-Ford’s Stanick third in 1:58.55.
“He’s my main competition,” Hayes said of Willen, the league’s 200 and 400 champion last spring. “I wanted to beat him. I’ve never lost to him, but we’ve been close.”
Roberts got another first from its 4x400 relay, its 3:24.19 heading Perkiomen Valley (3:27.01) and Spring-Ford (3:28.89). The pairing of Lex McCurry, Gabe LaGrossa, Hayes, and Finn Purtle broke the meet record of 3:24.37 set by Spring-Ford in 2010.
Pottsgrove came away with individual championships from Cory Jubilee Scott in the shot put, and Trevon Foster in the 110 high hurdles.
Scott added three feet to his PR, going 55-3 ½. He and Spring-Ford’s Eller were followed by Nathan Deming, third at 46-5 ½.
“I knew it was the best from the start,” the Falcon senior said of his first throw. “It’s been a case of increasing my practice, lifting and working in the gym.”
Foster went 14.53 in the 110 highs to unseat Pottstown’s Tyrese Washington, the event’s top seed and defending champion. Washington clocked a 14.67 while Trojan teammate Adam Green was third in 15.06.
NOTES >> The top eight finishers in each event were recognized, with medals presented to the top three in ceremonies during the day. … The District 1 championship meet will return to Coatesville High School next weekend (May 19-20).