Quaker Valley boys win 3200m relay at WPIAL championships

SLIPPERY ROCK — The Quaker Valley boys’ 3200-meter relay team had been preparing for the WPIAL Championships, held at the William C. Lennox Track at Slippery Rock University.

A whole year, in fact.

“We started to get ready to defend as soon as we won last year,” said Jackson Pethel. “We knew we could, - we lost one senior but we knew we had freshman Jonah Montagnese coming up.”

Those two, along with River Copek and Clark Lalomie, were among the leaders for the whole two miles but ended up winning by a mere 9/10 of a second over Ellwood.

“Last year we won by more but we knew there would be good competition,” said Lalomie. “This was the first time Ellwood City was that close but we knew we’d have competition from them and Winchester-Thurston.

“Their late kick made it a great race.”

For the quartet, it wasn’t their first championship of the year as the Quakers won the team title earlier this spring as well. All agreed the team championship felt better but Montagnese had a special feeling for his first gold.

“It was a lot better than I expected,” the freshman admitted.

Montagnese’s teammate Davin Gartley also earned an individual gold to go with the previous team gold as he set a personal best in the 110 hurdles with a mark of 14.56 seconds.

“I liked my time but I’m definitely not satisfied,” said Gartley, a junior who had already posted the best times in the event all season. “There was definitely a target on my back but the competition really pushed me.”

Like the quartet of teammates winning before him, Gartley won his gold in his first event but there were more to run for them – Lalomia finished second in the 1600, Montagnese was sixth in the 1600, and Gartley was second in the 300 hurdles.

Gartley wasn’t the only member of his family to wear a gold medal, either. His younger sister, Mia, a sophomore, defended her gold medal in the high jump with a jump of 5-4.

“I tied my personal best that I just set last meet so that was good,” said Gartley, who won in a tiebreaker with others at 5-4 that included her teammate Oumou Thiero at the same height.

“I get a lot of competition at practice,” said Gartley. “I just started jumping in eighth grade and I liked it.”

Gartley wasn’t the only relative newcomer to capture a gold. Teammate Jay Olawaiye, a junior, won the gold medal in the triple jump.

“I started doing the triple jump the end of my freshman year,” said Olawaiye. “This feels great - I was second last year by an inch and a half and entering my last jump I was behind by an inch again.

“I wasn’t going to let that happen again. I wasn’t nervous – I just used the pressure to fuel me.”

South Side junior Mateja Pavlovich started tossing the javelin about that same time as the Quaker Valley duo and he, too, captured a gold.

“It feels great to win the gold, I was fourth last year,” said Pavlovich. “I throw the discus and shot put, too, but that’s almost just for practice. I’ve been lifting and working hard on the javelin all year to get to this.

“I’ve thrown further in practice but this was good enough to win so I’m happy with it. I’ve been to the states before so I won’t be as nervous but you still need some nerves to do your best.”

Everyone in the stadium had their chance to get nervous as thunder was heard and the meet was delayed for well over three hours the first time and a second time for another hour and a half before being postponed at 9:30 p.m. The field events were affected more than the track because there is more than a little trepidation putting a pole in the ground and catapulting 13 feet in the air.

Riverside’s Reece Sullivan, though, was able to do just that and capture a gold medal before the rains came the first time.

“I was happy about the win and the medal – I really wanted to win the medal - but I was hoping for the school record (13-6),” Sullivan said. “I’ve practiced all year for this and I’ll still get a chance to set the school record at states.”

Sullivan and his teammates use all year to practice in a partnership with an inside facility at Steel Valley Pole Vault. Owen Glover also finished fourth for the Panthers and a pair of Riverside girls had qualified for WPIAL championships.

Between delays, Ellwood City senior Nick Franitti secured a gold medal in the 300 hurdles, even though the track was a but slippery. Still, he appreciated the first break.

“I slipped a little coming around the bend,” Franitti said. “But I recovered. I think the long break actually helped me – it gave me time to rest and for my hips to recover.

“I was really happy with my time (39.39 seconds), too. Two years ago, I knocked over the first hurdle and bumped into the guy next to me and apologized. Now, I won the event. That’s something I’ll tell my grandkids about.”

Any future memories to share with the grandkids will have to wait a day as the meet was called at 9:30 and will be resumed at 4:00 Thursday at the same place.

Here is a complete list of local medal winners from Wednesday. Those with a (Q) qualified for the PIAA meet. The events left to finish are the 200 meters, 3200 meters, 800 meters for the boys, and the 1600 relay and the high jump for the boys.

Girls

100: AA 4. Shaye Bailey, Freedom, 12.23 (Q) Deirdra Cox, Beaver Falls, 12.52. AAA 7. Ashley Mosesso (WA), 12.60.

400: AA 4. Emma Palmieri, Hopewell, 57.93 (Q).

800: AA 4. Ellie Cain, Quaker Valley, 2:21.20 (Q).

1600: AA 7. Lexi Fluharty, Riverside, 5:21.38. AAA: 2. Grace Fritzman, West Allegheny, 4:54.96 (Q).

100 hurdles: AA 6. Kwilai Karto, Quaker Valley, 16.24 (Q)

400 relay: AA 2. Freedom, 49.92 (Q); 3. Quaker Valley, 49.96 (Q); 4. Hopewell, 50.28 (Q).

3200 relay: AA 5. Quaker Valley, 9:57.02 (Q).

High jump: AA 1. Mia Gartley, Quaker Valley, 5-4 (Q); 3. Oumou Thiero (QV), 5-4; 5. Delaney Sturgeon, Ellwood City, 5-2 (Q).

Triple jump: AA: 1. Jay Olawaiye, Quaker Valley, 38-5 (Q); 5. Emma Currier, Quaker Valley, 35-6; AAA 2. Jaedin Griggs, Moon, 37-7 (Q); 6. Lydia Delsite, Moon, 36-11 (Q).

Pole vault: AA 2. Aurea Hickenboth, Freedom, 11-6 (Q); 3. Evie Roselli, 11-3 (Q); 4. Elizbeth Michael, Beaver, 11-3 (Q); 6. Sara Minard, Quaker Valley, 10-6 AAA 1. Kaitlyn Eger, West Allegheny, 12-0 (Q)

Shot put: AA 2. Mikayla Anderson, Beaver Falls, 39-8.75 (Q)

Javelin AA 6. Morgan Keller, Freedom, 106-8.

Boys

400: AA. 2. Da’Karri Williams, Beaver Falls, 49.78; 3. Zach Kovell, Hopewell, 50.20 (Q); 5. JaAir McCracken, Aliquippa, 50.39 (Q); 7. Jayden Juliano, Quaker Valley, 51.65

1600: AA 2. Clark Lalomia, Quaker Valley, 4:28.91 (Q); 6. Jonah Montagnese, Quaker Valley, 4:30.11 (Q). AAA 3. Elijah Bechdel, Beaver, 4:11.29 (Q).

100 hurdles: AA 1. Davin Gartley, Quaker Valley, 14.56 (Q); 2. Nick Franitti, Ellwood City, 14.85 (Q); 5. Tyler Lewis, Hopewell, 15.53 (Q); 6. Kaden Doccio (EC), 15.57.

300 hurdles: AA 1. Nick Franitti, Ellwood City, 39.39 (Q); 2. Davin Gartley, Quaker Valley, 39.56 (Q); 7, Gavin Lutz, Riverside, 41.49; 8. Za’Saun McElvy, Beaver Falls, 41.50.

400 relay: AA 5. Quaker Valley, 44.24 (Q); 6. Hopewell, 44.20 (Q); 8. New Brighton, 44.42.

3200 relay: AA 1. Quaker Valley, 8:01.66 (Q); 2. Ellwood City, 8:01.75 (Q).

High jump: AAA 8. Cody Mankowski, West Allegheny, 6-1.

Long jump: AA 3. Demarcus Walker, Aliquippa, 21-6.75 (Q)

Triple jump: AA 4. Aden Dywer, Quaker Valley, 42-11 (Q); 5. Thomas Debelak, Quaker Valley, 42-9.5 (Q).

Pole vault: AA 1. Reece Sullivan, Riverside, 13-0 (Q); 2. Connor Progar, Hopewell, 13-0 (Q); 4. Owen Glover, Riverside, 12-6 (Q).

Shot put: AAA 6. Tyler Ondrusek, Central Valley, 51-10.

Javelin: AA 1. Mateja Pavlovich, South Side, 157-8 (Q).

Discus: AA 3. Carson Emerick, Riverside, 141-6 (Q).