Sewickley Academy senior basketball players Caiden Battles, Amare Spencer and Justin Prunzik teamed up with senior soccer standout Chase D’Antonioto to pull off an impressive championship feat.
Battles, a 5-foot-8 guard on the Panthers’ WPIAL and PIAA title-winning basketball team, Spencer and Prunzik, both forwards, and D’Antonio won the WPIAL Class 2A boys 1,600-meter relay May 14 at Slippery Rock University.
The Sewickley relay team finished with a time of 3.26.71.
“This boys 4-by-400 relay (group) has astonished me with each competition,” Sewickley coach Derek Chimner said. “They opened the meet season by taking down the previous school record of 3:39.34 and have consistently beaten that time with each competition.
“Since that first meet on April 8, the boys dropped 11 total seconds — truly an incredible feat for a group of athletes who have only run the race four times all season (including WPIALs) and weren’t on the radar for any media outlet’s previews. Now, the boys can call themselves WPIAL champions.”
The performance earned the Panthers a berth in the PIAA Class 2A championship meet May 22-23 at Shippensburg University.
“I know these boys are motivated to continue this run and believe they can dig even deeper,” Chimner said.
“They have trusted the training my staff and I have given them and rely on each other’s competitive drive to push at the end of our workouts. I told them that reaching states is an achievement in itself but having that state medal is something to cherish forever.
“I believe their relationship outside of school has helped to fuel the fire. Amare, Caiden and Chase have been close friends since middle school and when Justin arrived last school year, they brought him right into their circle. Add in girls high jump state-qualifier Herlynn Niepa, and this group of seniors has been remarkably special.”
Battles was proud of the championship achievement attained by his group of friends.
“It feels amazing, especially for this being my first year running track. I’m glad I stuck with it,” Battles said.
“I’m really proud of our relay and the dedication we’ve had this season. We felt we were prepared for the moment and had a good chance to make the podium. We knew we had to stay focused and warm.
“I think I started out strong and tried to keep myself within the top five. Amare was the MVP of the race. On the last 100 stretch, he got us up to first after being in the back half. Justin continued the momentum we had and kept us up front, then Chase took over at the end and brought us home.”
Spencer believed the Panthers had a chance to win if everything went right.
“But at the same time, we were definitely a little surprised because of how competitive the field was,” he said. “We knew it would take everyone doing their job for us to pull it off.
“I thought we did really well. We weren’t projected to win, but we still went out there and got it done. It was a great feeling because a lot of people doubted us coming in, and we were able to prove ourselves against really strong competition.”
Spencer provided a “play-by-play” of his team’s impressive performance.
“Caiden started off really well and got us into about fourth place after the first leg,” he said. “I was able to close the gap and get us tied for first. Justin then did a great job maintaining our position and keeping us in the race heading into the anchor leg. Chase finished it off for us and secured the win in the final stretch.
“Winning WPIALs gave us a lot of confidence, and we’re hoping to carry that momentum into the next meet. We’re all are really excited and looking forward to states now.”
D’Antonio’s only expectation for the WPIAL race was to give his best possible effort in it.
“I’m very happy,” he said. “I’ve always wanted to be a WPIAL champion in anything. I’m glad I got to achieve this with some of my closest friends.”
By the time D’Antonio received the baton from Prunzik, the Panthers were leading the race.
“Caiden got out very strong and put us in a good position to fight for a top spot,” D’Antonio said.
“Amare did an outstanding job passing multiple people and closing the gap to the leaders. Justin had a super strong leg to get us into first. All I had to do was hold the lead.”
Sewickley came in seeded fourth.
“Winning the relay was an amazing feeling especially since it could’ve been the last race of our careers,” Prunzik said. ”I knew we could definitely drop time, but I wasn’t completely sure how fast the competition was going to be in a WPIAL championship setting. All four of us are very competitive, and I knew we definitely had a very good chance at winning if we all ran our best.
“The race started off with us bouncing around from fourth to sixth until Amare really pushed hard on the last stretch to hand me the baton in about third place. The exchange zone was all bunched up, but I luckily got the baton and was able to get us back in first for half the third leg. I eventually got passed coming around the second bend and I knew if I got the baton to Chase in first place, no one would catch him, so I kicked as hard as I could. I got it to Chase with a slight lead. He got the baton, took off, cut into Lane 1 and was in the lead the whole last lap.”
The same four runners placed fifth in the 400-meter relay.
Prunzik also was an individual medalist with a seventh-place showing in the 300 hurdles.
He ended up 10th in the high jump.
Prunzik was still thrilled days later from the aftereffects of the Panthers’ winning effort in the 1,600 relay.
“At the beginning of the season, we didn’t even have a fully planned 4-by-4 relay team and in our first race of the season we ran a 3:37,” Prunzik said. “Three races later, we won the WPIAL with a 3:26.”
Sewickley sophomore distance runner Zak Sharara captured fifth place in the boys 3,200-meter run at the WPIAL championships.
“Zak has been mixing in triathlon training throughout the season,” Chimner said, “so with a proper taper for PIAAs, I believe we still haven’t seen the best from him yet.”
Sharara took top honors in Class A at the WPIAL boys cross country finals last fall at White Oak Park.
Turning to the Sewickley girls, freshman Claire Karsman placed third in both the 100 hurdles and 300 hurdles in 15.22 and 47.24.
“Claire remained consistent,” Chimner said. “Our goal for her as a freshman was to qualify in the hurdle events and put herself in a position to reach the state podium. She has the mindset of a senior athlete. I’m so excited to see her against the top competition.”
Niepa, a senior, cleared a height of 5-2 to tie for third in the high jump event.
“Herlynn excelled in the high jump after experiencing a disappointing WPIAL final last year,” Chimner said.
“Our goal was to clear 5-0 and 5-2 in one jump each, and she stayed true to that using only three jumps total. I know she has a higher height in her and is ready to show up for states.”
The girls 400-meter relay team, consisting of Herlynn Niepa along with sophomores Lisette Niepa, Marsha Gorloff and Ava Gibbs, ended up in 10th place.
Both boys relays teams, along with Sharara, Karsman and Herlynn Niepa, qualified for the PIAA championships.
“I knew our athletes could make the podium in their main disciplines and be in contention for top five PIAA qualification,” Chimner said.