Abington, North Penn excel at Lady Skins meet

Finally, the appropriate weather showed up for a track meet.

With the sun gleaming and temperatures approaching 60 degrees, the North Penn and Abington girls' track and field teams took important strides at the Lady Skins Invitational at Neshaminy, where a mix of city and suburban and public and private schools gathered Saturday.

The Maidens and Ghosts turned out winners in three events each.

North Penn senior Heather Selheimer won the 800-meter run with a time of 2 minutes, 17.84 seconds, ahead of second-place finisher Kaitlin Poiesz of Central Bucks South by nearly four seconds.

Selheimer, a George Mason signee, also anchored the Maidens' 4x800 relay winner (9:27.37), and teammate Kayla Charles grabbed first place in the 100 hurdles in 15.44.

Abington, the defending District 1 Class AAA champion, won the 4x400 relay without star Leah Nugent (family commitment), posting a time of 3:58.45 that beat runner-up Swenson (4:05.99) by more than seven seconds. Nicole Grasty and Jordan Matthews, part of the 4x800 relay that placed second at states last year, were joined by Rachel Strother and Nugent substitute Rebecca Jean.

Grasty also won the 100 (12.40) and placed second in the 200 (25.10), posting personal bests in both. Matthews easily won the long jump (17 feet, 11 inches) and took second in the 400 (56.70).

For many teams, Saturday was about gaining momentum and top form in the season's early going. The proper weather didn't hurt, either.

"The nice weather definitely helps everybody, including the physical part of it and the mental part of it," North Penn coach Jim Crawford said. "I think the mental is the big part with the nice weather. It's tough. Everything this year has been either cold and windy or wet. This is the first really decent day we've had."

Matthews' long jump was far and away the best effort of the day - Cheltenham's Ciara Andrews went 16-103/4 for second - but for the defending District 1 and Class AAA state champ, it was a bit pedestrian.

"I know I could have done better. . . . I wouldn't like to say I'm happy with that," Matthews said, adding she prefers, at this point in the season, to be jumping at least 181/2 feet.

Her personal best is 19-7, and she hopes to approach that distance by season's end.

"As it gets hotter, I usually do better," Matthews said.

Springside's Taylor Ellis-Watson won both the 400 and the 200, besting an Abington runner in each.

North Penn's effort in the 4x800 was its best of the year, including the indoor season. Selheimer held off Pennsbury's Sara Sargent, the defending state champ in the 3,200, down the stretch of the anchor leg to seal the win.

"I think they both ran out of gas at the finish," Crawford said of Selheimer and Sargent, "but Heather was smart enough to be able to hold on and know what was going on out there."

Abington sprint coach Karl Gaines labeled the meet simply a "workout," a confidence- and experience-building exercise that should help the Ghosts achieve loftier goals later in the season (read: Penn Relays and state meet), when not only the weather becomes more sultry, but also the competition.

"Today's about just dropping the time, getting out there, enjoying this nice weather while I can," Grasty said.

The results

100 meters: 1, Nicole Grasty, Abington, 12.40. 2, Taylor Williams, Hatboro-Horsham, 12.58. 3, Zakiyyah Richardson, Pennsbury, 12.62.

200: 1, Taylor Ellis-Watson, Springside, 24.68. 2, Nicole Grasty, Abington, 25.10. 3, Zakiyyah Richardson, Pennsbury, 25.86.

400: 1, Taylor Ellis-Watson, Springside, 56.10. 2, Jordan Matthews, Abington, 56.70. 3, Emma Keenan, Gwynedd-Mercy, 56.90.

800: 1, Heather Selheimer, North Penn, 2:17.84. 2, Kaitlin Poiesz, Central Bucks South, 2:21.72. 3, Emma Mahony, Villa Joseph Marie, 2:22.22.

1,600: 1, Maria Seykora, Notre Dame, 5:01.00. 2, Katie Rodden, Archbishop arroll, 5:06.03. 3, Meghan McGovern, North Penn, 5:08.90.

3,200: 1, Sara Sargent, Pennsbury, 10:59.58. 2, Katie Rodden, Archbishop Carroll, 11:09.80. 3, Kate Scott, Council Rock North, 11:11.77.

100 hurdles: 1, Kayla Charles, North Penn, 15.4e4. 2, Brittany Calvert, Neshaminy, 17.21. 3, (tie) Kelly Wingen, Hatboro-Horsham; Nicolette Mathis, Cheltenham, 17.71.

300 hurdles: 1, Kayla Coley, Cheltenham, 45.51. 2, Paige McDowell, Council Rock South, 45.96. 3, Kayla Charles, North Penn, 46.32.

High jump: 1, Megan McCloskey, Germantown Academy, 5-6. 2, Kelley Anne Stuetz, Cheltenham, 5-4. 3, Taylor Uzdzinski, Council Rock South, 5-3.

Long jump: 1, Jordan Matthews, Abington, 17-11. 2, Ciara Andrews, Cheltenham, 16-103/4. 3, Silken Shiffner, Pennsbury, 16-0.

Triple jump: 1, Alisha Jordan, Council Rock North, 34-11. 2, Alisa Fornwald, Girls High, 33-9. 3, Sydnee Jacques, North Penn, 33-7.

Shot put: 1, Spring Gamble, Girls High, 40-3. 2, Mary Newell, Villa Joseph Marie, 38-1. 3, Tyra Roberts, Bensalem, 36-0.

Discus: 1, Mary Newell, Villa Joseph Marie, 120-4. 2, Alita Ostapkovich, Bensalem, 106-4. 3, Taylor Hojnacki, Central Bucks South, 101-4.

Javelin: 1, Colleen Fehm, Penn Charter, 114-7. 2, Bridget Coffey, North Penn, 104-2. 3, Nicolette Hill, North Penn, 103-4.

Pole vault: 1, Amanda Benninghoff, Council Rock South, 10-6. 2, Nicole Reibold, Hatboro-Horsham, 10-0. 3, Anastasia Diamond, Pennsbury, 9-6.

4x100 relay: 1, Cheltenham, 50.00. 2, Hatboro-Horsham, 50.21. 3, Pennsbury, 50.45.

4x400 relay: 1, Abington, 3:58.45. 2, Swenson, 4:05.99. 3, Cheltenham, 4:06.08.

4x800 relay: 1, North Penn, 9:27.37. 2, Pennsbury, 9:27.82. 3, Villa Joseph Marie, 9:40.86.

Throwers 4x100 relay: 1, North Penn, 56.21. 2, Neshaminy, 56.22. 3, Gwynedd-Mercy, 59.65.