By STEPHEN MAZZONE
Located in the Hall of Fame area at Abington High is a plaque hanging right next to the locker room entrance. It’s not just any plaque to the members of the boys’ track & field team.
Photo courtesy of Brian Deck
This one in particular has special meaning. It was awarded to the 4x440-yard relay squad that won the prestigious Championship of America race at the Penn Relays in 1968. Anchoring the winning team was current and longtime head coach William Neely, who uncorked a 48-second split to spur his team to victory.
For the last decade (and more), the Galloping Ghosts of Abington have manufactured some quality teams worthy to hang another plaque alongside the one their mentor was instrumental in bringing home to the Pennsylvania school.
Come late April, Abington has potential to possibly add two more. That became evident during a record-breaking weekend at the New Balance Collegiate Invitational a few weeks ago at the Armory in New York City when the Galloping Ghosts etched their name in the state books not once, but twice with their 4x400- and 4x800-meter relay squads.
The quartet of Josh Swift, Macy Watson, Tevin Smith and Will Taylor kicked off the meet on Feb. 4 by blazing to a time of 3 minutes, 16.78 seconds in the 4x400, smashing the old mark of 3:18.73 set by Glen Mills in 2002. The next night it was the 4x800 team’s turn with Smith, Watson, Taylor and Kyle Moran sailing to a time of 7:45.93, dipping nearly two seconds under the previous record of 7:47.48 by North Penn in 2002. Both times are presently ranked No. 1 in the country.
“I think it was something we thought was possible,” said Moran, about the dual records. “After the 4x400 team ran such a great race on Friday, it just set off that atmosphere. All factors contributed to having a great weekend.”
Abington’s rich tradition in the middle-distance relays has certainly been prominent over the past few years. Last March, the school sent a team that placed second to Shaker (N.Y.) High in the 4x800 at the Nike Indoor Nationals and was seventh at the Championship of America race at the Penn Relays the next month. The 4x400 squad was a runner-up at the National Scholastic Indoor Championships two years ago and captured the Suburban National title at Penn last year.
“We just keeping getting better,” Abington coach Brian Deck said. “We have always had a lot of talent in the school, but the last five years it’s much more than before. We’ve always had one good quarter-miler and 800 runner and now we have five or six. We got some eighth- and ninth-graders that are coming up that could be as good as this group talent-wise. But that’s on paper. We’ll see if they can actually commit to the training that this year’s team has done.”
Abington doesn’t have access to an indoor track facility and, like most teams in the northeast part of the country, hasn’t been blessed with ideal conditions for outdoor training with the excessive snow that has blanketed the region.
Deck has incorporated pool and bike workouts among other things to build up his runner’s strength.
“We haven’t been on a track in five or six weeks,” he said. “We haven’t done any real speed workouts. We do some hill workouts on the school’s campus. Maybe one day a week we’ll do hall workouts. We haven’t actually done speed all year.”
Moran, a talented middle-distance runner who ran 1:54 for the 800 in his sophomore year, believes team unity has certainly been an asset to Abington’s successful relays given the adverse circumstances. Several of the team members have been together all throughout their high school careers.
“We are all so close,” he said.”We are all working towards the same goal. It’s something we all want. When I run it’s not just for me, it’s for everyone else. I think we all feel that way.”
“They definitely run for each other,” Deck added. “They don’t want to let the others down. Every time they step on the line, they don’t want to be the one messing it up for the other three. They just train extremely hard.”
Abington’s banner weekend at the New Balance meet was only the second time that the relays were on the track this winter. On Dec. 28, both teams captured their respective races at the Marine Corp Holiday Classic at the Armory. The 4x400 won with a 3:23.05 clocking and the 4x800 combined for a time of 8:00.36.
Everything clicked when Abington arrived at the Armory for the New Balance meet. In the 4x400, Abington held off a pesky DeMatha Catholic High squad by less than five meters. The Maryland school finished second with a time of 3:17.41.
Even though Swift (49.4) and Watson (49.4) ran strong 1-2 legs, the Galloping Ghosts trailed DeMatha by a few strides. Smith gave Abington the lead for good by sizzling to a 48.8 on the third leg and Taylor maintained the cushion with a 49.1 split.
“We were in contention right away,” Deck said. “We were about a step behind before the third leg and Tevin just blew it open and gave us about a 10-15 meter lead on DeMatha.”
The following night in the 4x800, Abington withstood a stiff challenge from Shaker, which took second at 7:46.87. Smith ran the opening leg with a solid 1:58.3 clocking and then Watson got the baton and flew out of the gates en route to a 1:56 leg.
Photo courtesy of ArmoryTrack.com
“Macey just opened it up,” Deck said. “He went out in 53 seconds (for the first 400) and we never backpedaled and just kept hammering. He opened it up for us. He has really good track speed. It was only his second 800 ever. He's only run track for us since last March and has run 48 seconds for the 400. He did a great job.”
Despite a 1:58.7 leg from Taylor, Shaker held a slight edge over Abington after three legs. Moran made sure it would be short-lived, coming home with a blazing 1:52.8.
Moran outkicked Shaker's anchor Christian Delago. On Friday, it had been Delago who got the best of Moran when he finished a placement ahead of his rival in the Junior 1,000-meter run, taking third with a time of 2:28.86 to Moran's 2:28.93.
“I think Kyle was a little upset from that,” Deck said. “He ran a great race coming back after the 1,000.”
Moran admitted he gained some motivation from his race a day earlier.
“I really thought I could have run a better race on Friday had I not sat back in the pack,” he said. “I was going to run my own race this time. I went out hard and when it came down to the kick, I brought it home.”
The upcoming PTFCA State Indoor Track and Field Championships will take place on Feb. 26 at Penn State. Abington will have its relays squads there, but the concentration may not be on breaking records. The Galloping Ghosts may have a shot at the state crown.
“We are going to let all our kids run individually,” Deck said. “After that, we'll see how they feel.”
After the state meet, Abington will be eyeing a title and possibly some more state records when it competes at the New Balance Indoor Nationals (March 11-13) at the Armory.
“Coach has focused things on not just the relay but individually at the states. With our depth, we may have enough points to win a state title. Our team has a chance,” Moran said. “That's definitely exciting and a great way to segue into the nationals. At the nationals we'll make a challenge to possibly break another state record.”
On the weekend of April 28-30, Abington will then try and earn a coveted plaque (or two) at the Championship of America race at the Penn Relays with its gifted 4x400 and 4x800 teams.
“That has been a goal of ours, to get that plaque,” Moran said. “I think we have a good opportunity to do so. It's really something we want to be part of. Looking up at the wall and seeing that (1968) plaque and being in the high school, it means a lot.”
“We make sure they see it everyday,” Deck said.
