Dock Mennonite wins District One AA boys track title again
With strong support and a couple of first-place finishes, Dock Mennonite captured the District One Class 2A boys track and field championship Saturday at Coatesville High School. It was the fourth consecutive year for the Pioneers to enjoy the honor.
Dock Mennonite finished with 124 points, easily outdistancing second-place finisher Jenkintown, who scored 102 points. Delaware County Christian School was third with 92 points.
In the girls team race, Delaware County Christian School won with 190 points. Dock Mennonite was second with 149 points and Sacred Heart Bryn Mawr was third with 60 points.
"This is extremely good feeling for us," said Dock Mennonite head coach Tim Eger. "We will take them any way that we can. I was a little concerned [at the beginning of the season]. We wanted to come out strong and we really didn't. But the guys were focused and came into this meet ready. I'm very proud of them."
"From there, we had a good supporting unit that kept us in the lead," said Eger. "That was the key, everyone coming together and this [team championship] is the result."
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Eger was especially proud of his two first-place finishers. In the pole vault, senior Cole Smeland cleared 12-0. In the javelin, Jonah Chavez threw a personal best of 162-0.
In Class 3A, host Coatesville won the boys title with 53 points. Pennridge (40 points) and Hatboro-Horsham (38) rounded out the top three finishers in team scoring.
West Chester Rustin won the girls title with 62.5 points. Haverford (51 points) and Cheltenham (41 points) closed out the top three finishers.
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Impressive finish for New Hope-Solebury senior
New Hope-Solebury was inspired by the first-place finish of senior Cameron Kolinchak. He easily won the 800 meter run with a 2:08.7. Dock Mennonite's Jurin Aiden was second with a 2:10.9
"I felt pretty good entering the race," said Kolinchak, who will be attending the University of Colorado at Boulder this fall. "This is my last time going for the state so I'd better make it good."
According to his coach, Dan McCafferty, Kolinchak has the potential to place at the state meet, which will be next weekend in Shippensburg.
"He has been working very had and this is a payoff," said McCafferty. "We have a few things that we're going to work on to get him ready for Shippenburg. I think he's going to be fine."
Central Bucks West making some noise
Led by senior Carter Fitzgerald, who will be running for Penn State this fall, the Bucks looked good in winning the 1,600 boys relay. Fitzgerald was the anchor leg behind behind Tekaleon Leaf, Noah Gartenber and Connor McFadden. The team finished in 2:17.1.
"We had it going pretty well," said Fitzgerald, who also won the 800 meter run with a time of 1:53.6. "We have been working very hard trying to get everything down. What we have is a few days before state. We're going to work very hard at getting everything right."
Central Bucks West head coach John Mahoney believes his team is headed in the right direction.
"They have a few things to clean up but they're ready [for the state championship]. Carter is going to help get them prepared."
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Eyeing a state crown
Joey Gant doesn't like to overly talk about his races but the Pennridge senior has people looking at him. Gant, who will be attending Princeton this fall, ran an impressive 21.6 to win the boys AAA 200 meter run.
"I'm looking forward to going to Shippensburg and seeing how I'll do," said Gant. "There will be a lot of competition for me that's for sure. I just have to get ready."
Coach Craig Stephens understands Gant's mindset.
"He's got to go in there with the attitude of doing his best," Stephens said. "I think that he can.''
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Injured runner
Norristown's Jaden Brown broke his own record in the boys 100 meter dash with a time of 10.52. He had established the new meet record with a time of 10.57 on Friday. However, Brown grabbed the back of his right calf after the race. His condition for the state meet is uncertain.
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This article originally appeared on Bucks County Courier Times: District One track and field meet results from Saturday's Day 2
