5/21-Weather doesn\'t stop Shump Fri, but Sat sun shines for Simkins and others @ D1 @ Coatesville

Eight Photo Galleries by Don Rich of 5/20-21 District 1 AA/AAA Championships @ Coatesville PA

Coming Wednesday - Photo Gallery by David Tavani of 5/21 PIAA District 1 AAA meet @ Coatesville

The athletes had to overcome the rain and cold on Friday, but when they did, it was a beautiful day of competition Saturday for the District 1 Track and Field Championships at Coatesville HS. North Penn boys and Coatesville girls picked up the AAA team titles and Gwynedd Mercy Academey and Octorara boys picked up the AA teams titles.

In AA girl's competition, the ladies of GMA were victorious once again, despite the team effort from St. Basil Academy. Kate Vernon and Liz Kearins of GMA went 1-2 in 800, 2:17.88 and 2:17.91. Vernon also picked up the AA 1600 in 5:05.63. The GMA girls picked up all three relays, their best effort being the 4x800 that they won in 9:29.11. Gwynedd also took care of business off the track. Thrower Cristina Brenner took the discus in 102-4 and the javelin in 106-5.

For the AA boys, it was a close team race, but Octorara prevailed over Pottstown. Mike Malizia of Springfield Montco ran a very impressive wire-to-wire 1:57.08 win in the 800m by over three seconds. He also anchored his teams' 4x800 to a victory, beating the field by more than ten seconds. Pottstown?'s Jaris Mayes won the 110HH by almost a second in 14.80. Mayes also took the triple jump in 41-1. Pottstown?'s 4x100 ran a quick prelim, destroying the AA field, but was disqualified for handing off outside of the exchange zone. Springfield Montco then took away the 4x400 from Pottstown, beating them 3:27.45 to 3:28.68. Octorara;?s Ryan Fritz had a good day, taking the High Jump in 6-8, and finishing third in long jump.

The AAA girl's managed to turns some heads with some unbelievable performances from names like Simkins, Bowels, Williams, Krais, Shump, and many more. Wissahickon?'s star sprinter, Krista Simkins had a BIG day. After deciding to drop the 400m (in which she is #2 in the US), she went on to win the 100/200 double, and lead her 4x400 to a victory in 3:55.66. Simkin?'s 11.66 was good enough to take Janessa Murphy, Great Valley, who was second in 11.88. Simkin?s won the 200m in 23.81. Serita Lachesis of Wissahickon ran an impressive 800m, winning in 2:13.73. Lisa Vienneau of Strath Haven and Kristin Reed of Upper Perk battled it out in the 1600m, with Vienneau winning in 5:03.12 and Reed finishing in 5:04.09. Upper Dublin stand-out Lauren Bowels ran an astonishing 10:51.04 3200m. Although running most of race in no-man's land, Bowels managed to bring Perk Valley's Brit Long under 11 minutes as well. Long finished second in 10:58.81. PW?'s Chanel Williams looked to win the 100H through all rounds, but hit a hurdle wrong in the finals and lost to Methacton's Ryan Krais, 14.26 to 14.43. Williams has injured her hip in prelims on Friday, and scratched the 300 Hurdles finals. Krais also won the 300H in 43.01 by over a second and a half. Later on, Krais found herself battling with Great Valley'?s Janessa Murhpy in the long jump. Murphy took the title in 17-7.75, just two inches better than Krais. Pottsgrove?'s Megan Van Buskirk took the triple jump title by more than a foot in 38-11.25. The bad weather on Friday didn'?t stop Penncrest Freshman Karen Shump from breaking the meet record in shot put, winning in 43-06.5. West Chester Henderson destroyed the 4x100 field, winning by almost a second in 48.06. And the North Penn girls took a fast 4x800 in 9:11.95 over Hatboro-Horsham, 9:13.82.

The AAA boy's meet could not have been more exciting, each race just as thrilling as the one before it. Scott Da'rel of Plymouth Whitemarsh ran a slick 10.65 for a win in the 100m. Scott also took second in the 200m in 21.96, behind Bensalem?'s Reggie Carter who won in 21.90 and the 400m in 48.69. Jordan Hill, Wissahickon, won the 800m over a strong field in 1:56.76. Brandon Pomerantz toppled Sean Doyle in an aggressive 1600m, 4:15.58 to 4:18.68. Unionville?'s Colin Leak won an amazing 3200m in 9:17.08 bringing Amin Garnett of Coatesville, Paul Springer of Unionville, Keith Capecci of Council Rock North, and Jason Weller of Boyertown all in within five seconds. Carrington Queen destroyed the field in the 110HH field, taking the title in 14.24. Queen also managed to hold off Duane Hynes of Central Bucks South and Brian Hurst of Perkiomen Valley in a close 300IH race. Hynes also finished 2nd in the 110HH, took the Pole Vault (14'0), and the LJ (22-1.5). Coatesville took the 4x100 title, winning in 43.17 with North Penn very close in 43.20. Downingtown East won the closest race of the day, taking the 4x400 in 3:23.02 over Glen Mills 3:23.03. Boyertown'?s Ryan Kramer won the high jump in 6-6. North Penn?'s Brandon Turner took the triple jump by more than a foot, winning in 46-6.5. Russ Koch of Strath Haven won the Javelin over a strong field in 176-6 and Boyertown's Jon Warren prevailed in horrible weather conditions to take the discus title in 152-9.