On a rare Wednesday meet with many teams on spring break, some big performances were popping off at the Rustin Invitational. PennTrackXC was there to take in the action. Check out the recap and other links below:
GIRLS' RECAP
The girls' distance races took centerstage on Wednesday with some big names toeing the line. Germantown Academy's Abbe Goldstein raced in PA for the first time this spring. Goldstein took the win in the 1600 meters in a time of 5:03.32. Coatesville's Brooke Hutton took second in 5:14.12.
In the 3200 meters, Downingtown West's Aislinn Devlin raced an open event for the first time since the end of XC. Devlin suffered from some tendonitis in her foot at her win at NXR Northeast. She still raced the following week at NXN, but ended up missing the entire indoor season. Devlin won the 8-lapper in 11:13, taking the lead on the first lap and gapping the field.
Lower Merion's Aja Davis won the 100 meters in 12.53 (though she ran 12.51 in the prelims). Second was Souderton's Cara Jackson, but the senior got redemption later in the day, winning the 200 meters over Davis in 25.93. Coatesville's Porsha Miles ran 58.96 to run away with the win in the 400 meters.
The Eberlys from Coatesville had a productive day at Rustin. Arianna Eberly took first in the 300 meter hurdles, running a time of 48.77. Makayla Eblerly followed that up with a win in the 800 meters, clocking a PA#6 2:19.61.
Avon Grove's Chloee Kleepsies had a strong day in the throws. Kleespies took home gold in the shot put, throwing 41-0.25, just off her PR and season best. She came back to win the discus with a throw of 123-9. Kleespies is tops in District 1 AAA in both of those events.
West Chester East's Caroline Lewis was another double winner, capping off a great meet. Lewis jumped 17-11.75, a PA#7 for the win. She also cleared 5-3 in the high jump to tie her at PA#9. She also added a third place medal in the 200 meters in a time of 27.70. All three are PRs for Lewis.
BOYS' RECAP
Souderton had a pair of double winners on the day. Connor McMenamin picked up wins in the 1600 and 800 meters in a busy day. In a great dual in the 1600, McMenamin kicked past a strong field that included Springfield-Delco's Liam Galligan and Germantown Academy's Owen Ritz. He clocked a time of 4:19.70 there, and then he came back to win the 800 meters in 1:58.77.
Shamar Jenkins, also from Souderton, picked up a pair of wins in the horizontal jumps. Jenkins jumped 22-2.5 in the long jump, and then he came back to win the triple jump with a leap of 47-2.5. That also takes back the state lead, which Jenkins recently lost to Stroudsburg's Shaq Mitchell, by a mere half inch.
Terrance Laird and his Coatesville teammates had a terrific day in the sprints. First, the relay team took first in the 4x100 meter relay, besting their own PA#1 with a time of 42.14. Laird and Eric Kirk then returned to go 1-2 in the 200 meters. Laird beat his own PA#1 there by .01, running 21.76 for the win.
We spoke with three-fourths of that 4x1 relay after the meet:
Downingtown East won the 4x800 meter relay to start off the meet, clocking a 8:13.66. West Chester East looked strong to close out the meet, running a 3:24.80, a PA#3 for the win.
Glen Mills' Quadir Gibson won a good competition in the shot put. Gibson threw 52-8.25 for the win, while his teammate Semaj Robinson was second with a toss of 50-2. Rustin's Connor Cummings won the discus with a throw of 145-6. Rustin's Charles Dever beat out Kennett's Xavier Feliciano in the pole vault. Both cleared 14-0, but Dever took the win on jumps.
Germantown Academy's Kyle Garland showed off his versatility on Wednesday. He won the 110 hurdles in a time of 14.41. In the prelims, he ran a season-best of 14.28 to take the win. There was a strong headwind, particularly in the finals. He also took third in the 200 meters (22.61) and fifth in the shot put (47-1.25).
Garland told us his season is gearing towards the decathlon. He'll have a busy postseason that will include a trip to Cuba to be apart of the select team at the Caribbean Scholastic Invitational, where he'll contest the decathlon.
Watch an interview with Garland below: