Methacton, Cheltenham, Upper Moreland all shine at UM Invite

WILLOW GROVE >> It was the first time this season that Methacton’s Juliana Keenan, Camille Dunham, Coco Dunham and Kate Evans all ran together on the 4x100-meter relay, and the Warriors don’t look to break up the band any time soon.

“The best is yet to come,” Keenan said.

The foursome sprinted to a victory at the Upper Moreland Invitational Friday night, combining their efforts for a firstplace time of 50.59 seconds.

It was part of a wet, rainy but fast night on the track at Upper Moreland.

“We handed off well and we all ran pretty well,” Keenan said. “And Kate had a strong finish.”

Methacton pushed to the front of a strong top five that included Wissahickon (51.0), Souderton Area (51.88), North Penn (52.79) and Abington (52.94).

“The rain started right before the race, but it turned out great,” Keenan said.

“We’ve been doing pretty well,” Evans said of the sprint group. “We’ve been doing pretty well in our (Pioneer Athletic Conference) meets — things are workout out.”

Evans also raced to a thirdplace finish in the 100 dash for the Warriors, with George School’s Sanaa Hebron and North Penn’s Ahliyah Allen going one and two.

The boys 100 dash belonged to Cheltenham’s Nathaniel Edwards, who set a meet record in 11.02 seconds, surpassing the previous mark of 11.33. Edwards accomplished multiple tasks with his hard sprint down the straightaway.

“I just wanted to (get a district-qualifying time) so I could

go to states,” said Edwards, who also helped hammer the 4x1 relay to a victory (43.40). “I wasn’t too worried about the time. I just wanted to run the best race I could and finish strong.

“Right now, I’m doing pretty well but I can get way better. I wanna work, try and and win states this year. I want to put myself in position to have a shot.”

Winning his heat of the 100 and finishing second overall was Upper Moreland’s Caleb Mead, who crossed in 11.12.

“It felt good. I was hurt the first few weeks of track (after pulling my groin), so I didn’t get much practice in,” Mead said. “But I’m happy to be back, happy to open up with (an 11.12).

“I love running on our home track. I feel like it’s actually the best track in the (Suburban One League American Conference). It’s still new — just a couple years old. There’s nothing better than it.”

Mead wants to defend his conference title in the 100 this spring and also contend for district and state titles. He outraced William Tennent’s Fernando Delgado (11.34) and the Cheltenham duo of Samuel Sykes (11.44) and Jamir Barnes (11.49) in a challenging top five.

Meanwhile, in the distance events, Cheltenham’s Janelle Williams smashed the 1,600 meet record of 5:23.39 by running a 5:16.94, holding off Penns Valley Area’s Kelsey Hull (5:19.69) for the top spot.

“I definitely felt like I had a lot left,” Williams said of her final kick. “It felt really good because it’s an event I’ve been working on for a long time. It just finally came.

“I’ve been doing the mile since (last year as a sophomore). I had been focusing on cross country and the two mile but this year I really wanted to zone in on the mile. This race is faster and there’s less time for you to get yourself together.”

Williams outraced Penns Valley Area’s Kelsey Hull (5:19.69), North Penn’s Jaime Diedel (5:20.64), North Penn’s Rachel Ahlmark (5:20.67) and William Tennent’s Makala Hansen (5:25.66), among others, in a field of 47 runners.

Faith Christian’s Josh Forker won the 110 hurdles (15.58) and high jump (6-4) and Souderton Area’s Maria Deaviz was also a double winner, taking the shot put (41-11) and discus (122-9).

Wissahickon’s Lieke Black (100 hurdles, 16.15) and North Penn’s Anais Williams (300 hurdles, 46.43) earned wins on the track, and, out in the field, Wissahickon’s Virgil Johnson (discus, 116-0), Methacton’s Madi Eastmure (high jump, 5-1), Souderton Area’s Ethan Moyer (javelin, 149-7), Wissahickon’s Carmen Ostroski (long jump, 21-6), Souderton Area’s Hannah Alderfer (long jump, 16-8) and Wissahickon’s Allison Riches (pole vault, 120) all notched first places.

The Hatboro-Horsham boys (8:14.19) and Upper Moreland girls (10:32.14) raced to victories in the 4x800 relays.