Mt. Lebanon wins TSTCA meet
Molly Merrick of Mt. Lebanon goes toe-to-toe over the hurdles alongside Peters Township’s Ava Falcione during dual meet competition.
Jack Young (right) displays plenty of grit in beating Zach Rile and Edgar Parilla to the finish line during the 100-meter dash during a dual meet between Mt. Lebanon and Peters Township. A sophomore, Young won the race in 12.16 while Rile finished second in 12.17.
Though early in the season, Mt. Lebanon flexed its muscles as the girls captured first place in the Tri-State Track Coaches Association meet held at West Mifflin, which will also be the site of the WPIAL individual qualifier set for 2 p.m. May 7.
“The girls had a great day,” said Lebo’s skipper Oscar Schutt. “There were so many great performances that it is tough to single out a few.”
Eleni Nickolas certainly stood out for the Lebo ladies. She won the 300-meter hurdles (47.92) ahead of Tori Valachovic from South Fayette (48.41).
“It was definitely an upset,” Schutt said. “Eleni charged down the home stretch into the wind and was stronger than everyone else and was clean over the last hurdle.”
Nickolas also combined with Sarah Rolfsen, Caroline Glickert and Ellie Meinzer to win the 4×100 relay team in 50.04. Noting the foursome won by over a second, Schutt said that was “tough to do in that short of a race.”
In longer races, Clair Dougherty and Kelsey Potts dominated. Dougherty posted a Top 5 in the state when she claimed first in the 800-meter race. She won in 2:17.96. Dougherty also anchored Lebo’s winning 4×400 relay. Rolfsen, Sadie Saxton and Ellie Meinzer also comprised the unit.
Meanwhile, Potts won the 1,600 while Saxton followed in fourth place. Potts secured second in the 3,200. “Kelsey had another great day,” Schutt said. He also noted her strategy in the two-mile run. “She was pacing the 3,200 for a specific time instead of all-out racing it. But she got out-kicked by 0.1 seconds at the line.” Potts finished in 11:08.47, while Lauren Finikiotis from Oakland Catholic won the event in 11:08.34.
Other top individual performances from the Lebo ladies included: Glickert, fourth in the 100; Meinzer, second in the 200 and Angie Gyurina, tied for third in the high jump.
South Fayette and Peters Township followed Lebo in fourth and fifth place in the girls’ division.
Chloe Grzyb paced Peters. She finished second to Potts in the mile but led off the Indians’ winning 4×800 relay. The team also featured Carly Johns, Sydney Wehn and Laura Ehrenberger.
Individually, Ehrenberger grabbed silver in the 800 run. Other PT girls to finish in the top six included: Manasi Jadhav, third, triple jump; Hannah Falcione, fourth, triple jump; fifth, 100 hurdles; and Margo Allison, sixth, high jump.
The Lions had one champion in Rachel Helbling. She coasted to victory in the 400-meter dash (59.53). Other South Fayette girls to finish in the top six included: Rachel Schuman, sixth, 100 meters: Briann Rees, sixth, 400; Sydney Lerda, fourth, 800; Valachovic, sixth, 100 hurdles; and Nicole Egan, sixth, high jump.
Seton-La Salle’s Raja Rutherford dominated the sprints. The junior won the 200 meters and secured second in the 100. Rutherford also finished fourth in the long jump.
Among Bethel Park’s top performers were: Amy Bogan (fourth, 400; sixth, 800) and Alexandra Stevenson (seconds in the shot put and discus).
USC’s Lauren Schoeppner tied for third in the high jump while Chartiers Valley’s Laurel Dinnen finished fourth in the javelin.
North Allegheny dominated the boys’ competition, taking home the team trophy with 86.33 points.
Lyle Banton guided Upper St. Clair to the highest finish among Almanac boys’ teams. The Panthers finished eighth to NA. Banton won the intermediate hurdles in 39.61 and took second in the high hurdles.
Chris Pauley was the only other local winner. The Bethel Park junior won the discus with a toss of 152 feet.
Other top six showings from local competitors included: Zack Russell from South Fayette, fifth, 400; Matthew Wertz from USC and Andrew Dougher from Bethel Park, fourth and sixth in the 800 run; Nick Wolk from Peters Township, third, 1,600; BP’s Shane Burkhart and Josehp Westrick from Chartiers Valley, third and fifth in the 3,200; Patrick Kimball from Lebo, third, high hurdles; David Duffey from Canon-Mac, fourth, pole vault; USC’s Michael Krenn, third, long jump; Lebo’s Shane Lefever, third, high jump and fifth, long jump; USC’s James Pollock, sixth, shot put.
For Mt. Lebanon, Bryant Hanberry, Billy Roxby, Brian Crowley and Evan Cohen combined for third in the 4×400 relay. PT’s team of Tyler Brooks, Matt Massucci, Luca Pugliano and Joe Dunleavy joined forces for fourth place in the 4×800 relay. Lebo’s unit of Quach-dao, Lefever, Alex Englert and Edgar Parella secured sixth in the 4×100.
NOTES: Mt. Lebanon will host Upper St. Clair in a dual section meet at 4 p.m. April 16. The Blue Devils will also complete its competition with Peters Township. The meet was suspended because of inclement weather. In the girls’ event, Lebo led the Indians, 48-43, while the Blue Devil held an advantage of 58-24 in the boys’ competition.
The South Fayette Invitational will be held April 25. Preliminary events begin at 10 a.m. The Washington-Greene County Track Coaches Association will also hold its’ annual event on April 25 at Peters Township.
Other important dates on the track calendar include: May 1 for the Baldwin Invitational; May 7 for the WPIAL individual qualifier at West Mifflin; May 14, the WPIAL finals at Baldwin; and May 22-23 for the PIAA championships at Shippensburg University.