Brianna Smith (Cheltenham) / Photo by Patty Morgan
Some top Pennsylvania squads made the trip to New York yesterday for a rare Monday night meet. The Varsity Classic at the Armory is a small, but very competitive hand-timed meet. Let's delve into some of the action from last night.
Cheltenham's MaryGrace Rittler showed off her fitness in the 1600 meters, taking a convincing win over New Jersey star and Foot Locker Northeast champion Alyssa Aldridge of Mainland Regional. Rittler clocked a time of 5:02.3, good enough for a PA#1 over that distance and PA#3 when converted to the mile. Germantown Friends' Griffin Kaulbach took third in 5:17.0.
Cheltenham's Brianna Smith also had a big day. The freshman won the high jump, clearing a season best of 5-6. That moves her into a four-way tie for the PA#2 spot in the high jump. Smith also took second place in the 55-meter hurdles.
In the 800 meters, Great Valley's Amy Willig continued her strong season with a win. Willig timed in at 2:16.7, slightly faster than her PR and PA#4 in the half mile. Neumann Goretti's Ariana Ruffin placed third in the 55 meter dash and sixth in the 200 meters.
James M. Coughlin's Madisyn Hawkins placed second in the pole vault, clearing 12-0.
Aqeel Bacchus (Bensalem) / Photo by Howard Anderson
Bensalem continues to show they can be a serious threat in the 4x400-meter relay. The Owls won the 4x4 in 3:28.4, which puts them at PA#8 on the season. Bensalem's Aqeel Bacchus also placed second in the 800 in a time of 2:00.6. Bishop Shanahan ran well in the 4x800, placing third in a PA#9 time of 8:11.8.
The DMR was a very quick race. The boys from CBA (NJ) ran a US#1 of 10:19.2, which knocks off the previous national leaders Carlisle. West Chester Henderson placed fifth in a PA#5 time of 10:36.1 and Lower Merion was sixth in a PA#6 10:38.0
West Chester Rustin's Xavier Feliciano won the pole vault, clearing an indoor PR height of 14-6 for the win. Downingtown West's Drew Alansky took second in the 3200 meters, running a time of 9:47
