Quaker Valley has owned the MAC track and field invitational in recent years and 2026 was no different.
Both the QV boys and girls teams won the meet April 22 for the third consecutive time. This year’s meet held at Shenango included 28 schools.
QV’s boys team took first place with 121 points, defeating Moon (68 points) and West Allegheny (67). The QV girls won with 107.33 points, outscoring Moon (101) and Shenango (89).
QV’s Oumou “Mimi” Thiero earned Field MVP honors, Kieran Cain captured Track MVP honors, and Xander Vescio was named Overall Meet MVP.
Thiero is a dual-sport athlete who holds a slew of school records in QV girls basketball and will continue her hoops career at Maryland in the Big Ten Conference.
The 6-foot-5 senior finished first in the high jump, third in the triple jump and ran a leg on the girls 400-meter relay team that placed second, racking up 18 points for the Quakers.
“We were hoping to have some athletes in position to compete for these awards,” QV coach Jared Jones said.
“These honors go to the field athlete who scores the most points in field events, the track athlete who scores the most points in track events, and the overall award goes to the athlete who scores the most points across all events.
“Mimi’s award came as a surprise. Our coaching staff is very thankful for Mimi’s willingness to try new events, especially this late in her senior year. We expected her to finish in the top three in the high jump, but the triple jump was an unexpected opportunity. It was only her third time ever competing in the triple jump, and she has shown steady improvement. We are excited to see how she continues to develop throughout the season.”
Cain, a junior, won the boys 100- and 200-meter dashes and ran a leg on the 400 and 1,600 relay teams.
Both placed second, giving Cain 24 points in the meet.
“We knew Kieran had a strong chance to score highly across all four of his events,” Jones said.
“However, winning two open events and placing second in two relays is extremely impressive. His times in those events were even more outstanding than expected.”
Vescio, a senior, finished first in the boys 110 hurdles, second in the long jump, third in the 300 hurdles and competed in the 1,600 relay. QV’s relay team placed second to give Vescio 26 overall points.
“Xander was the biggest surprise of the meet,” Jones said.
“We knew he had a chance to win the 110 hurdles and score well in the long jump. His performance in the long jump, where he placed second, added more points than anticipated.
“But it was his major improvement in the 300 hurdles that positioned him to lead the meet in total points. He dropped his time by over a second and went from not medaling to placing third overall. Finally, Xander earned additional points in the 4-by-400 relay. He was not originally scheduled to run and was serving as an alternate, but an injury to another athlete created an opportunity for him to step in. His contribution to the relay team’s second-place finish ultimately secured enough points for him to earn the most points in the meet.”
QV junior Evie Rosselli broke her own school record and set a meet record in the girls pole vault event by clearing 12 feet, 1 inch.
Thiero’s triple jump of 36-1.25 ranks fourth all-time at QV; Gatehouse’s 26.10 in the 200 also ranks fourth.
“We had many outstanding performances throughout the meet, including several historic marks,” Jones said.
“In the final race of the day, the girls 4-by-400 relayers — Rose Pocasangre, Kallie McCune, Maddie Gatehouse and Mia Gartley — sealed our victory with a time of 4:05.65.”
It is the fifth-best mark in the girls 1,600 relay in school history.
On the boys side, Cain’s 21.75 time in the 200 ranks third all-time, while Vescio’s 41.32 effort in the 300 hurdles is fifth best.
“We also had several freshmen achieve all-time freshman marks,” Jones said.
“Ciara McHenry’s pole vault of 8-10 ranks third, Abby Yates’ 400 time of 1:05.22 is fourth best, and Henry Howard’s 1,600 time of 4:36.62 also ranks fourth.”
Cain, junior Hugo Castellini, freshman Connor West and senior Jayden Juliano competed in the 400 relay while Cain, senior River Capek, Vescio and Juliano ran in the 1,600 relay.
The QV boys also placed fourth in the 3,200 relay as Howard, Capek and seniors Corben Hopkins and Tyler Bell teamed up for the Quakers.
Other leading performers for the boys team included senior Ryan Kempton, who finished first in the 1,600 and second in the 3,200; senior Aiden Dwyer, who was first in the triple jump and sixth in the high jump; and junior Jonah Montagnese, the 3,200 titlist.
Other individual medalists for the Quakers were sophomore Connor Dwyer (high jump), senior Nicholas Winnowski (javelin), Juliano (400), sophomore Eli Walker (pole vault) and Howard (1,600).