Sewickley Academy’s Herlynn Niepa enjoyed her time May 1 at the inaugural Bobby Mo Don’t Run Slow track and field invitational hosted by Robert Morris.

Niepa, a junior, won the girls high jump event by clearing a height of 5 feet, 1.5 inches.

“It was a great experience, and I’m excited to keep growing from here,” Niepa said. “With the help and support of my amazing coaches and teammates, I’m motivated to keep pushing myself and refining my technique. I know there’s still a lot of room for improvement. My main goals are to continue building consistency and to increase my PR in the high jump, the 200 meters and my splits in our team’s 4-by-100 relay.

“I also want to stay focused, stay healthy and hopefully qualify for WPIALs and states. Sprinting and jumping are my main focuses in track and field. While the high jump is my primary event, the 200 and 4-by-100 relay are definitely close seconds.”

Niepa is a multi-sport athlete at Sewickley. She played soccer for two years and has a background in dance.

“And I will be joining our school’s new volleyball team next year,” she said.

In a previous track and field competition, Niepa placed fourth in the girls high jump at the South Fayette Invitational.

The Bobby Mo Don’t Run Slow invitational followed a standard event order but added a 2K steeplechase to kick off the action.

Sewickley senior Amina Josephs turned in a clutch performance at Robert Morris by finishing second in 13.06 seconds in the girls 100-meter dash.

Turning to the field competition, Sewickley’s Sofia Castagnaro captured the eighth spot in the discus thanks to a toss of 76 feet. Castagnaro, a sophomore, also is a shot put specialist for the Panthers.

Chase D’Antonio was a medalist in the boys division at RMU, securing sixth place in the 100 with a time of 11.93. D’Antonio, a junior, also finished 12th in the 400.

Other Sewickley participants in the girls events included freshman Lisette Niepa (100, 300 hurdles) and sophomore twins Kayla Keefer (discus, shot put) and Emma Keefer (discus, shot put).

Sewickley senior Quinton Gibbs-Green (100) and freshman Evan Scerbo (100, long jump) also competed for the boys team.

Another freshman, Zak Sharara, claimed eighth place in the boys 3,200-meter run at the South Fayette invite.

The Panthers also traveled May 2 to the Pine-Richland Invitational to help prepare for the upcoming WPIAL championships at Slippery Rock University.

Herlynn Niepa (high jump), Lisette Niepa (100), sophomores Mya Spadafore (400) and Sarah Stepke (1,600), Kayla Keefer (discus, shot put), Castagnaro (shot put) and the 3,200 relay team competed for the girls team.

D’Antonio (400), Gibbs-Green (100), junior Justin Prunzik (100) and freshman Mitchell Maslek (400, discus) represented the boys team.