It came down to the 1,600-meter relay to decide the girls champion Tuesday at the WPIAL Class 2A track and field team championships at Peters Township’s Confluence Financial Partners Stadium.
Quaker Valley led North Catholic by a single point heading into the meet’s final event. The Trojanettes foursome of Alexa Stoltz, Megan Heinbach, Ella Eiler and anchor Lydia Pierce ran a season-best time to claim the win and lift North Catholic to a 77-73 victory over the Quakers.
North Catholic went 3-0 on the day, adding wins over Laurel (86-63) and Burrell (115-35) to capture its first WPIAL team title while denying QV a fifth consecutive championship.
“I am kind of at a loss for words,” North Catholic coach Terry Fisher said shortly after his 1,600 relay crossed the finish line.
“But the feeling is amazing. I started six years ago with this program, and it has gotten progressively better and better. The girls feed off each other, celebrate the great performances, and lift each other up in every situation. It is a great group of girls. They are athletic, but more than anything, they work hard.
“We were overwhelmed that it came down to the last event because we know how talented Quaker Valley is. We respect them tremendously. But we also believe in ourselves. We know where our program is at and where it is headed. This is the culmination of a lot of dedication and teamwork to make this happen.”
North Catholic athletes won five events overall. They also picked up victories from Anna Lazzara in the 100 dash (12.59), Audra Lazzara in the 100 hurdles (15.37), Callie Kandravy in the long jump (19 feet, 4.5 inches) and the 400 relay of Audra and Anna Lazzara, Madelyn Primer, and Alana Eiler (48.21).
Quaker Valley won six events, led by a pair of distance wins from Lucy Montagnese (1,600 run, 5:24.16; and 3,200 run, 11:40.28).
Mia Gartley added a victory in the 800 (2:20.87) and tied Oumou Thiero in the high jump (5-1). Rose Pocasangre captured the 300 hurdles (46.28), and the 3,200 relay of Montagnese, Gartley, Maggie Doz and Kallie McCune finished at the top in a time of 9 minutes, 38.23 seconds.
“I was extremely proud of the effort they put forth today,” QV coach Jared Jones said.
“They put out so much energy in every event. We just fell a little short in the end.”
Quaker Valley beat Laurel (92-58) and Burrell (110-40), and Laurel topped Burrell, 86-64.
The Spartans, like the Quakers, won six events. Kylie Ruperto claimed victories in the 200 (25.78) and 400 (58.74). Alexis Geiwitz won the discus (120-5) and shot put (39-8.5), Sophia Conti won the javelin (119-5) and Sydney Tomczyk won the pole vault (9-11).
Burrell’s lone win came in the triple jump as Lily Liotta set a school record with a best attempt of 37 feet, 5 inches.
“This exposure to the championship meet was beneficial, and it also united them more as a team,” said Faith Remich, who helped guide the Bucs to a finals appearance for the first time since 2018, one year after the Bucs girls won the WPIAL title.
“It was just a lot of fun to see the girls get here and be able to compete against the best teams in the WPIAL. With only one senior, it really bodes well for the future, and I know they will want to get back here next year.”
QV boys champs again
Quaker Valley junior Jonah Montagnese won four events — three individual and one relay — to help his team claim its third consecutive Class 2A boys crown and sixth in program history.
QV took first in 11 of the 18 boys events, and its depth proved too much for North Catholic, Greensburg Central Catholic and Riverview to overcome.
The Quakers beat GCC, 98-52; North Catholic, 112-42; and Riverview, 116-34.
“The boys are just so strong across the board, and they showed it today with it all on the line again,” Jones said.
“We have strong leadership in every area where we are able to be a very well-rounded team. We’re hard to beat because we don’t have weaknesses.”
Montagnese won the 800 (2:03.78), 1,600 (4:26.79), and 3,200 (9:47.36) and anchored the 3,200 relay (8:22.65) that included Tyler Bell, Corben Hopkins, and River Capek.
The Quakers also captured 1,600 relay (Capek, Connor West, Jayden Juliano and Kieran Cain) in 3:27.54.
Nick Winnowski won the javelin (148-6) and shot put (44-7.5), and QV also got wins from Kain in the 200 (22.01), Xander Vescio in the 110 hurdles (15.23), Aiden Dwyer in the triple jump (42-11.5) and Tadhg Hamill in the discus (120-10).
GCC was victorious in four events. Grant Brewer won the pole vault (13-5) and the 300 hurdles (42.26), Blasé Bugosh leapt to victory in the high jump (6-1) and Tommy Dlugos won the long jump (22-63⁄4). The Centurions went 2-1, beating Riverview, 88-61, and North Catholic, 80-69.
“We did really well,” GCC coach Pat Hassler said. “We had a couple illnesses and a couple other things we had to battle through. Some kids were hurting, but the guys battled all year to get to be in this position.”
North Catholic won a trio of events: the 100 dash (Jack Kandravy, 11.19), the 400 (Logan Schade, 49.88) and the 400 relay (Schade, Kandravy, Will Waskiewicz and Ryan Snyder, 43.49).
Riverview didn’t pick up a first-place finish, but its depth in scoring seconds and thirds throughout the 18 events helped it top North Catholic, 83-67. The Raiders, undefeated in section meets this season, competed in the WPIAL finals for the first time since 2012.
“The process here made this special for the guys,” Riverview coach Dave Illnicki said. “We overcame a lot this year, and our kids did a great job on this big stage. We had a lot of competitive performances. We had three of the other best schools in the WPIAL here, and I felt we held our own.”