DELCO Championships - Meet Recap
-By Abby Huber
GIRLS RECAP
Cardinal O'Hara, the defending girls DELCO team champions, won again at Rose Tree Park on Saturday. Scoring 40 points overall, the O'Hara pack was led by seniors Eleanor and Elizabeth Mancini who were individually first and second overall.
Right from the gun, the Mancini twins pulled away from the rest of the pack, leaving no doubt that they will be a force to be reckoned with in the postseason. El Mancini won the meet in 18:55, a personal best time on the course on a hot and humid day. O'Hara's third runner, Katie Till, came in sixth overall.
The Cardinal O'Hara team hopes to defend their team AAA title at states. However, the girls know it will take more than the Mancini twins to win the championship. Every runner on the team is focused on improving, including O'Hara's fifth runner, freshman Kaitlyn Durning, who moved up considerably to place right behind their fourth runner this weekend, Christine Mancini.
The Strath Haven girls were second overall as a team. Their first two runners, Taylor Barkdoll and Ava Crawford, were ninth and tenth overall individually. Haverford was third and Radnor was fourth
Msgr. Bonner & Abp. Prendie's Jenna Rastatter had a strong day, coming in third overall in 20:19 to help her team to a fifth place finish.
BOYS RECAP
By the time the boys race went off at Rose Tree Park, there was no denying the heat was definitely affecting everyone on the course. The first pack of guys stuck together through the first mile, but at two miles there was a clear front runner, Penncrest's Avery Lederer. Lederer collapsed at the finish line running a 16:27 for the win.
The battle for second and third place was exciting. Ridley's Zack Forney out-kicked Bonner & Prendie's Anthony Harper in the last hundred meters, to grab second place overall. The boys were only separated by a second, running 16:47 and 16:48 respectively.
Lederer's first place finish helped Penncrest boys win the team title. Senior Patrick Theveny and sophomore Justin Senackerib took fourth and fifth overall to contribute to the Penncrest boys low score of 45 points.
This is the first time in eight years that an O'Hara boys team has not won the DELCO team championship. Haverford Township was second overall as a team and the O'Hara boys came in third