Girls' Relays Recap
North Penn started the 2017 indoor state meet the same way they started the 2016 meet: winning. The Maidens 4x800 meter relay, which returned three of four from last year's state championship squad caught a fast-starting Baldwin School team and then held off a late-charging Strath Haven relay for the win. The North Penn team of Ariana Gardizy, Jenna Webb, Natalie Kwortnik, and Mikaela Vlasic ran a time of 9:18.10, a mere .08 faster than a year ago for the repeat win.
We had another returning champ in the 4x200. Cheltenham, which returned all four members from its 2016 winning squad repeated as champs and even took down its own state meet record. The Panthers ran 1:39.19, breaking the record from 2016 of 1:39.48. Norristown was a strong second in 1:40.19 and North Penn took third. The Cheltenham quartet of Bria Barnes, Brielle Lewis, Alexis Crosby, and Chanel Brissett has its sights set on the overall state record and possibly a 1:47 at nationals.
The DMR was a fantastic battle between a pair of very strong distance teams. Perkiomen Valley and Strath Haven separated themselves from the pack and we saw a race to the line involving Perk Valley's Annie Glodek and Haven's Grace Forbes. Ultimately, it a sprint to the line, Glodek got the advantage and PV won in a time of 12:08.10 to SH's 12:09.06.
In the 4x400 to close out the meet, the girls from Penn Wood pulled away for the win. The team consisting of Janae Pitt, Elicia Moore, Kyra Carroll, and Terri Turner clocked a new state meet record time of 3:49.25, breaking a West Catholic meet record that stood since 2005. Neumann Goretti was strong early, but Carroll seized the lead and haned off to the 800 meter champ Turner, who brought it home for the win. Neumann Goretti ended up second, just ahead of third place Cheltenham.