After scare, a district record for Stone
This couldn't be happening to Chris Stone. No way. Not the Springfield (Montco) senior who in three years had never felt defeat at the PIAA District 1 track and field championships.
This couldn't be happening to Chris Stone. No way.
Not the Springfield (Montco) senior who in three years had never felt defeat at the PIAA District 1 track and field championships.
But there he was Saturday, failing twice to catapult his Auburn-bound, 6-foot, 170-pound frame over the 13 feet, six inches needed to qualify for the Class AA state pole vault finals.
"I was a little nervous," Stone said, smiling. "I know I gave my dad a heart attack. It turned out pretty well, though."
After missing his first two attempts at Coatesville, Stone had to regroup.
"In my head, I was a little bit nervous and just kind of thinking, 'What's going on?' " he said. "But I just tried to laugh it off and say, 'It's no big deal, I'll get it.' "
With little difficulty, attempt number three was clean - and a record-setting day was born.
"I think after that I was ready to roll," said Stone, who will compete in the decathlon in college.
He finished with a district record of 15 feet, 9 inches. He also once again claimed the top spot in the long jump (22-07.25, a school record) and high jump (6-06.00).
He also earned bragging rights at home.
Stone's father, Brian, who doubles as his coach, pole vaulted at Drexel after high school at Bishop McDevitt.
The student had already bested the teacher's pole vault mark, but the long jump title proved more elusive - until Saturday.
"I (already) passed his pole vault," Stone said, "but he would always joke with me that he still had me in the long jump. Finally, he can't say that anymore."
Easy as 1-2-3 External stimuli abound at track and field events. The infield teems with participants while parents scream encouragement and coaches bellow reminders.
That's why once Cheltenham senior Ciara Leonard gets into the starting blocks, she finds a spot on the ground to quiet her mind.
All that matters to the Virginia-bound speedster is getting off to a good start.
"During my start, I don't really want to think about anything," Leonard said. "I just focus on one thing on the ground and I don't take my eyes off it until that gun goes off. Then I just think, 'One-two-three, hurdle. One-two-three, hurdle.' "
That approach helped Leonard win the Class AAA 100-meter hurdles in a district record time of 13.67 seconds.
She also helped the 4x100 relay (Janiel Slowly, Alexis Crosby and Chanel Brissett) set a new record of 46.88 seconds, besting Chester's 46.9 seconds set back in 1981.
The Results
Class AAA
BOYS
110 meter hurdles: 1. Mason Weh, Upper Darby, 14.34; 2. Akeim Thomas, Upper Darby, 14.37; 3. Kornelius Klah, Pennsbury, 14.49.
300 hurdles: 1. David Marrington, Neshaminy, 37.36; 2. Andrew Dillon, Norristown, 38.34; 3. Akeim Thomas, Upper Darby, 38.42.
100 meters: 1. Christian Brissett, Cheltenham, 10.91; 2. Dan Chisena, Downingtown East, 10.92; 3. Darien Williams, Wissahickon, 11.06.
200 Meter Dash: 1. Dan Chisena, Downingtown East, 21.66; 2. Christian Brissett, Cheltenham, 21.75; 3. David Gumino, Council Rock North, 22.01.
400: 1. Donovan St. Louis, Upper Darby, 48.38; 2. Isiah Smith, Abington, 49.28; 3. Josh McLemore, Downingtown West, 49.63.
800 Meter Run: 1. John Lewis, Cheltenham, 1:49.15; 2. Alek Sauer, Pennsbury, 1:53.08; 3. Dylan Eddinger, Boyertown, 1:53.59.
1,600: 1. Jaxson Hoey, Downingtown West, 4:15.40; 2. Casey Comber, Hatboro-Horsham, 4:16.34; 3. Sam Webb, Pennsbury, 4:16.69.
3,200: 1. Paul Power, Spring-Ford, 9:15.51; 2. Jake Brophy, Central Bucks East, 9:17.30; 3. Andrew Marston, Conestoga, 9:19.09.
4x100: 1. Downingtown West (Nate Alleyne, Matt McCool, Josh McLemore, Mike Riddick), 41.88; 2. Downingtown East, 41.94; 3. Upper Darby, 42.16.
4x800: 1. Pennsbury (Eric Kersten, Alek Sauer, Sam Webb, Matt Mulvaney), 7:43.50; 2. Central Bucks West, 7:45.72; 3. Abington, 7:49.17.
Long jump: 1. Saahir Bethea, Cheltenham, 24-03.00; 2. Richard Abram Austin, Cheltenham, 21-11.50; 3. Joe Adighibe, Perkiomen Valley, 21-11.25.
Shot put: 1. Milton Jones, Glen Mills, 57-03.50; 2. Kieran Moore, Upper Dublin, 54-07.25; 3. Eric Kasperowicz, Holy Ghost, 49-08.50.
Pole vault: 1. Matt Dever, West Chester Rustin, 14-00.00; 2. Chad Ziegler, Souderton, 13-06.00; 3. Jason Douple, Central Bucks West, J13-06.00.
Javelin: 1. Evan Sing, Penncrest, 194-08.00; 2. Bryan Leacraft, Spring-Ford, 181-01.00; 3. Brandon Leacraft, Spring-Ford, 180-00.00.
GIRLS
100 meter hurdles: 1. Ciara Leonard, Cheltenham, 13.67; 2. Jolesha Boulware, Coatesville, 14.49; 3. Madison Langley-Walker, Cheltenham, 14.61.
300 hurdles: 1. Uchechi Onuoha, Pennsbury, 43.54; 2. Ciara Leonard, Cheltenham, 43.74; 3. Madison Langley-Walker, Cheltenham, 44.07.
100 Meter Dash: 1. Chanel Brissett, Cheltenham, 11.85; 2. Dasia Pressley, Pennsbury, 11.92; 3. Taylor Chapman, Pennridge, 12.17.
200 meters: 1. Dasia Pressley, Pennsbury, 24.00; 2. Chanel Brissett, Cheltenham, 24.03; 3. Jayana Webb, Norristown, 24.26.
400: 1. McKenna Keegan, Avon Grove, 54.84; 2. Uche Nwogwugwu, North Penn, 54.85; 3. Husniyyah Rogers, Pennsbury, 56.58.
800: 1. Maddie Villalba, Central Bucks West, 2:09.47; 2. Agnes Mansaray, Penn Wood, 2:13.22; 3. Brianna Stratz, Central Bucks South, 2:13.38.
1,600: 1. Karli Visconto, Nazareth Academy, 5:02.72; 2. Olivia Sargent, Pennsbury, 5:02.89; 3. Marissa Sheva, Pennridge, 5:04.14.
3,200: 1. Olivia Sargent, Pennsbury, 10:36.35; 2. Devlin Aislinn, Downingtown West, 10:39.35; 3. Hannah Molloy, Pennsbury, 10:41.14.
4x100: 1. Cheltenham (Ciara Leonard, Janiel Slowly, Alexis Crosby, Chanel Brissett), 46.88; 2. Norristown, 47.18; 3. Pennsbury, 47.21.
4x800: 1. Great Valley (Elise Claffey, Tabiha Wismer, Anna Willig, Crosby Spiess), 8:58.98; 2. North Penn, 9:02.86; 3. Unionville, 9:09.01.
Triple jump: 1. Allison Williams, North Penn, 38-05.00; 2. Uche Nwogwugwu, North Penn, 38-04.00; 3. Evelyn Berecz, Downingtown East, 37-10.75.
Discus: 1. Tejarra Ellis, Methacton, 133-01.00; 2. Janese Lynch, Academy Park, 130-01.00; 3. Amelia Ali, Bensalem, 129-01.00.
CLASS AA
BOYS
110 meter hurdles: 1. Morgan Ellis, Delco Christian, 15.06; 2. Cobe Wiggins, Lower Moreland, 16.40; 3. Alex Mazik, Lower Moreland, 16.85.
300 hurdles: 1. Morgan Ellis, Delco Christian, 39.51; 2. Brennan Grimes, Springfield (M), 43.17; 3. Alex Mazik, Lower Moreland, 43.40.
100 meters: 1. Nkosi Pile, Church Farm, 11.03; 2. Austin Kratz, Christopher Dock, 11.13; 3. Ben Chung, Delco Christian, 11.52.
200: 1. Austin Kratz, Christopher Dock, 22.25; 2. Nkosi Pile, Church Farm, 22.54; 3. Eric Westray, Springfield (M), 23.17.
400: 1. Jake Harraka, New Hope-Solebury, 51.08; 2. Kyle Wyche, Springfield (M), 51.40; 3. Charlie Verna, Devon Prep, 53.34.
800: 1. Aaron Morris, Springfield (M), 1:56.58; 2. Michael Logie, Delco Christian, 2:01.18; 3. Michael Gunden, Christopher Dock, 2:08.74.
1,600: 1. Sean Stovall, Springfield (M), 4:39.79; 2. Grant McKnight, Devon Prep, 4:49.00; 3. Greg House, New Hope-Solebury, 4:49.93.
3,200: 1. Alexander Harvey, Delco Christian, 10:10.40; 2. Michael Gunden, Christopher Dock, 10:14.47; 3. Chris Cammarata, New Hope-Solebury, 10:21.24.
4x100: 1. Springfield (M) (Eric Westray, Ben Fisher, Kyle Wyche, Martin Woran), 43.53; 2. Church Farm, 44.61; 3. Delco Christian, 45.05.
4x800: 1. New Hope-Solebury (Andrew Mardirossian, Joshua House, Greg House, Jake Harraka), 8:26.30; 2. Delco Christian, 8:40.57; 3. Lower Moreland, 8:43.50.
High jump: 1. Chris Stone, Springfield (M), 6-06.00; 2. Bobby Quinby, New Hope-Solebury, 6-00.00; 3. James Lawton, Church Farm School, 5-08.00.
Long jump: 1. Chris Stone, Springfield (M), 22-07.25; 2. Austin Kratz, Christopher Dock, 21-00.75; 3. Charlie Verna, Devon Prep, 20-03.25.
Pole vault: 1. Chris Stone, Springfield (M), 15-09.00; 2. Cole Rupert, Christopher Dock, 13-06.00.
Discus: 1. Alex Pagano, Lower Moreland, 132-02.00; 2. Tobias Miintzmyer, New Hope-Solebury, 131-04.00; 3. Matt Smith, Phil-Mont, 119-07.00
GIRLS
100 meter hurdles: 1. Tabitha Miller, Christopher Dock, 16.21; 2. Sophia Barnett, St. Basil Academy, 16.25; 3. Niki Clements, Christopher Dock, 16.42.
300 hurdles: 1. Tabitha Miller, Christopher Dock, 48.08; 2. Haley Anderson, Christopher Dock, 48.87; 3. Olivia Seavy, Christopher Dock, 49.64.
100 meters: 1. Bailey Kratz, Christopher Dock, 12.76; 2. Annette Kempf, Delco Christian, 13.24; 3. Harlane Burns, Jenkintown, 13.31.
200: 1. Bailey Kratz, Christopher Dock, 25.73; 2. Annette Kempf, Delco Christian, 26.56; 3. Tara Murphy, Springfield (M), 27.15.
400: 1. Sydni Stovall, Springfield (M), 57.59; 2. Jannieree Davis-Wooten, Bristol, 59.40; 3. Maggie Linton, Delco Christian, 59.62.
800: 1. Sydni Stovall, Springfield (M), 2:23.70; 2. Maddison Landis, Christopher Dock, 2:24.33; 3. Savannah Herring, New Hope-Solebury, 2:28.73.
1,600: 1. Maddison Landis, Christopher Dock, 5:10.21; 2. McKenzie Swartley, Christopher Dock, 5:19.09; 3. Emma Seifried, Country Day, 5:20.96.
3,200: 1. Emma Seifried, Country Day, 11:23.58; 2. Hannah Seifried, Country Day, 12:01.60; 3. Camryn McCloskey, Christopher Dock, 12:32.72.
4x100: 1. Christopher Dock (Niki Clements, Olivia Seavy, Haley Anderson, Bailey Kratz), 49.66; 2. St. Basil Academy, 50.94; 3. Springfield (M), 53.12.
4x800: 1. Christopher Dock (Lindsey Bernd, Niki Clements, Maddison Landis, McKenzie Swartley), 9:33.14; 2. New Hope-Solebury, 9:35.77.
High jump: 1. Tabitha Miller, Christopher Dock, 5-02.00; 2. Caroline Hedwell, Delco Christian, 4-10.00; 3. Katherine Olinger, Phil-Mont, 4-08.00.
Triple jump: 1. Tabitha Miller, Christopher Dock, 36-10.75; 2. Annelise Depman, St. Basil Academy, 36-07.00; 3. Haley Anderson, Christopher Dock, 32-11.25.
Javelin: 1. Carlee McClease, Morrisville, 105-03.00; 2. Sheila Plunkett, St. Basil Academy, 92-10.00; 3. Lauren Tipton, Phil-Mont, 91-07.00.
Shot put: 1. Sheila Plunkett, St. Basil Academy, 36-11.50; 2. Olivia Onal, Bristol, 36-01.50; 3. Carlee McClease, Morrisville, 34-03.75.