Radnor's Lydia Ali Stars Again At Delcos

The Delco Championship always brings out a special edge in the athletes that compete in the event. It presents that rare chance to go outside the boundaries of league competition, and truly gauge who is the best in Delaware County. There is no other way to do that than to have the best of the area’s respective leagues test themselves against the best.

It’s also the first leg on a three-pronged journey towards the state championship(Delco championship, District 1 championship and the state championship). It’s where ’s Lydia Ali took off last year as a junior, and where Notre Dame’s Maria Seykora thrust herself in front of all the distance runners in the county.

It’s also where budding stars like ’s Sabrina Barbieri gain experience, and Lions’ thrower Alyssa Moat gain solid reputations.

That occurred Saturday at Upper Darby High School, where 19 girls’ track teams gathered for the Delco Championship. The expected occurred, as Strath Haven, an overwhelming favorite, won the team championship, led by star Rachel Van Metre placed in four events, winning three, and Ali took the 100 and 200, and Seykora captured the 1,600 and 3,200—as expected.

The top six finishers placed in each event, with points coming in a descending order (10 points for first place, 8 for second, 6 for third, 4 for fourth, 2 for fifth, and 1 for sixth).

placed fourth, led by Brittney Diehl and Jessica Matusky, who each placed in the 400-meter dash, Sophia Meehan who finished third in the 800-meter run, and Tess Meehan who took third in the 1,600-meter run and third in the 3,200-meter run. The Fords’ Ellie Houcke took sixth in the 3,200. Jessica McCarthy placed fifth in both the 100-meter hurdles (16.25 seconds) and 300 hurdles (47.22).

But the sprinting star was Ali, the reigning 100-meter state champion. The Pennsylvania University-bound runner blew away the competition on the 100, in 12.01 seconds, and easily blew away the field in the 200, winning that event in 24.80, almost a full second better than Penncrest’s Allison Van Zant (25.59).

As dominant as Ali was in the sprint events, Seykora was just as dominant in the distances. The Broomall resident held off Strath Haven’s Hannah Grossman to win the 1,600 in 4:58.16, and in the day’s most grueling event, the 3,200, the junior outdistanced the competition, winning in 10:49.67. Archbishop Carroll’s Katie Rodden came in second in 10:54.01, followed by Tess Meehan (11:20.23).

Barbieri, a Penncrest sophomore, gained a pile of valuable experience going against the best. She finished sixth in the 100-meter dash in 12.79.

In the field events, Strath Haven’s Van Metre really stood out. She won the 100-meter hurdles (14.96), the high jump (5-feet, 2-inches) and long jump (17-feet,
5-inches). Cardinal O’Hara’s Anna McCloskey was a double-winner, taking the discus (120-feet, 4-inches) and shot put (39-feet, 10.5-inches).

Alyssa Moat, a Penncrest junior, really helped herself though in shot and discus. She placed a distant second to McCloskey in the shot put (35-feet, 7.25-inches) and finished fifth in the discus (105-feet, 2-inches). But those numbers bode very well for Moat, who will enter the Central League championship this week with the top throw in the league, and trailed only Strath Haven’s Vicki Wilson (106-feet, 1-inch) in the discus.

Team Standings

• 1. Strath Haven 119
• 2. Upper Darby 87
• 3. Cardinal O Hara 58
• 4. Haverford 52
• 5. Penncrest 40
• 6. Radnor 32
• 7. Garnet Valley 27
• 8. Notre Dame 26
• 9. Archbishop Prendergast 22
• 10. Penn Wood 18
• 11. Springfield 14
• 12. Archbishop Carroll 13
• 13. Marple Newtown 11
• 14. Academy Park 10
• 15. Sun Valley 8
• 16. Chichester 6
• 16. Interboro 6
• 16. Ridley 6
• 19. Chester 3

100 Meter Hurdles

• 1. Rachel Van Metre Strath Haven 14.96
• 2. Georgia Mason Upper Darby15.16
• 3. Morgan Long Chichester 15.22
• 4. Rachel Clarke Strath Haven 15.32
• 5. Jessica McCarthy Haverford 16.25
• 6. Christina Descano Marple Newtown 16.87

300 Meter Hurdles

• 1. Emily Wenger Garnet Valley 45.26
• 2. Lynnese Beyan Upper Darby 45.98
• 3. Rachel Clarke Strath Haven 46.17
• 4. Katie Nappi Notre Dame 46.29
• 5. Jessica McCarthy Haverford 47.22
• 6. Shakiya Jacobs Upper Darby 47.84

100 Meter Dash

• 1. Lydia Ali Radnor 12.01
• 2. Allison Sharkey Cardinal O Hara 12.49
• 3. Liz Rivers Upper Darby 12.55
• 4. Tioni Mcneill Upper Darby 12.57
• 5. Christina Holmes Penn Wood 12.78
• 6. Sabrina Barbieri Penncrest 12.79

200 Meter Dash

• 1. Lydia Ali Radnor 24.80
• 2. Allison Van Zant Penncrest 25.59
• 3. Tioni McNeill Upper Darby 25.95
• 4. Liz Rivers Upper Darby 26.27
• 5. Abbie Worrell Ridley 26.68
• 6. Lindsi Wilson Academy Park 26.76

400 Meter Dash

• 1. Allison Sharkey Cardinal O Hara 57.55
• 2. Marina Rufo Radnor 59.52
• 3. Beyan, Lynnese Upper Darby 59.73
• 4. Megan O'Dell Strath Haven 59.85
• 5. Brittney Diehl Haverford 59.86
• 6. Jessica Matusky Haverford 1:00.61

800 Meter Run

• 1. Val Wilson Strath Haven 2:16.29
• 2. Katie Balmer Strath Haven 2:17.08
• 3. Sophia Meehan Haverford 2:18.30
• 4. Lauren Lamoureux Archbishop Prendergast 2:18.57
• 5. Katie Nappi Notre Dame 2:19.64
• 6. Alyssa Rudawsky Garnet Valley 2:20.86

1,600 Meter Run

• 1. Maria Seykora Notre Dame 4:58.16
• 2. Hannah Grossman Strath Haven 5:01.48
• 3. Tess Meehan Haverford 5:02.07
• 4. Katie Rodden Archbishop Carroll 5:04.73
• 5. Frances McNally Springfield 5:15.06
• 6. Grace Galligan Springfield 5:17.21

3,200 Meter Run

• 1. Maria Seykora Notre Dame 10:49.67
• 2. Katie Rodden Archbishop Carroll 10:54.01
• 3. Tess Meehan Haverford 11:20.23
• 4. Nicole Daly Cardinal O Hara 11:24.49
• 5. Grace Chang Penncrest 11:36.81
• 6. Ellie Houcke Haverford 11:51.05

4x100 Meter Relay

• 1. Upper Darby 48.70
• 2. Penncrest 48.71
• 3. Penn Wood 50.97
• 4. Ridley 51.20
• 5. Garnet Valley 51.24
• 6. Chester 51.96

4x400 Meter Relay

• 1. Strath Haven 4:00.50
• 2. Upper Darby 4:01.33
• 3. Garnet Valley 4:01.35
• 4. Cardinal O Hara 4:02.13
• 5. Radnor 4:03.34
• 6. Haverford 4:05.99

4x800 Meter Relay

• 1. Strath Haven 29:27.96
• 2. Cardinal O Hara 9:44.57
• 3. Haverford 9:50.88
• 4. Penncrest 10:07.48
• 5. Chester 10:07.54
• 6. Archbishop Carroll 10:17.00

Shot Put

• 1. Anna McCloskey Cardinal O Hara 39-10.50
• 2. Alyssa Moat Penncrest 35-07.25
• 3. Caitlin Yakas Sun Valley 35-02.00
• 4. Vicki Wilson Strath Haven 35-00.00
• 5. Raven Watson Archbishop Park 34-00.50
• 6. Mercedes Vaughn Academy Park 33-06.00

Javelin

• 1. Amanda Hughes Archbishop Prendergast 120-01
• 2. Melissa Scanzano Haverford 110-05
• 3. Aimee Tompkins Interboro 109-08
• 4. Lauren Peterson Garnet Valley 101-00
• 5. Erica Hanstein Sun Valley 94-03
• 6. Kristy Ennis Springfield 88-09

Triple Jump

• 1. Medeline Eustache Upper Darby 36-10.25
• 2. Rachel Van Metre Strath Haven 36-06.25
• 3. Nazirah Jones Penn Wood 36-03.75
• 4. Laurelle Holley Strath Haven 35-00.50
• 5. Elizabeth Clarke Strath Haven 34-08.25
• 6. Jenna Smith Cardinal O Hara 34-07.50

High Jump

• 1. Rachel Van Metre Strath Haven 5-02.00
• 2. Claudine Andre Upper Darby J5-02.00
• 3. Rachel Nowoswiat Penncrest 5-00.00
• 4. Sarah Hay Haverford 4-10.00
• 5. Jenna Senholzi Marple Newtown J4-10.00
• 5. Jenna Smith Cardinal O Hara J4-10.00
• 5. Laurelle Holley Strath Haven J4-10.00

Pole Vault

• 1. Kayla Thomas Springfield 10-00.00
• 2. Dena Feinberg Marple Newtown 9-00.00
• 3. Mei Bruist Haverford 9-00.00
• 4. Ashley Razzano Garnet Valley J9-00.00
• 5. Vittoria Boni Radnor 8-06.00
• 6. Taylor O'Connor Penncrest 8-00.00

Discus

• 1. Anna McCloskey Cardinal O Hara 120-04
• 2. Mercedes Vaughn Academy Park 112-03
• 3. Amanda Hughes Archbishop Prendergast 108-08
• 4. Vicki Wilson Strath Haven 106-01
• 5. Alyssa Moat Penncrest 105-02
• 6. Megan Ross Haverford 102-06

Long Jump

• 1. Rachel Van Metre Strath Haven 17-05.50
• 2. Medeline Eustache Upper Darby 17-00.00
• 3. Yuwen Michelson Strath Haven 16-10.75
• 4. Nazirah Jones Penn Wood 16-00.00
• 5. Allison Sharkey Cardinal O Hara 15-11.50
• 6. Christina Descano Marple Newtown 15-11.25