GFS girls run past Penn Charter

Posted 4/10/12

[caption id="attachment_12693" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="“GFS – McKenzie” - GFS sophomore Sarah Alden (right) hands off to senior Lydie McKenzie (with baton) for the anchor leg of …

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GFS girls run past Penn Charter

Posted
[caption id="attachment_12693" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="“GFS – McKenzie” - GFS sophomore Sarah Alden (right) hands off to senior Lydie McKenzie (with baton) for the anchor leg of the 4 x 400 relay. (Photo by Tom Utescher)"][/caption]

by Tom Utescher

There was a relatively casual atmosphere at last Wednesday’s girls’ track season opener at Penn Charter, with the Germantown Friends School Tigers strolling just a few yards down School House Lane to take on the host Quakers. The GFS girls had a little more spring in their step on the return trip, having won the non-league encounter by a score of 77-49.

“We were mainly looking to work on things with individuals, but it’s definitely nice to have this kind of a team victory,” said GFS head coach Rob Hewitt, who was also celebrating the recent birth of his first child, Emma (His wife, Claire, is an assistant cross country coach at St. Joseph’s University).

Freshman sprinter Taryn Millbourne won the 100 and 200 meter dash, leading one-two-three sweeps by the Tigers in both events. Another ninth-grader, Brigit Andersson, won the 400 meters and was second in the 200.

Over in the jump pit, junior Noni Davis made the longest leaps in both the long jump and the triple jump, and the high jump was won by sophomore teammate Pharr Bowser.

Bowser also finished second in the 300 meter hurdles, while her classmate Eliza Farran won the 300’s and placed third in the 100 hurdles.

Germantown Friends has traditionally been known for its distance running, and seniors Tess Doggett and Carey Celata delivered a one-two performance in the 1600 meters. In the 800, Germantown senior Lydie McKenzie and junior Lucy Guida came in second and third, respectively.

“One of the goals for the distance girls was to get a good race in the 1600 against Catie Skinner, because she’s really talented,” Hewitt said. “It was one of those sit-and-kick deals, and we were able to go one, two, and four.”

Skinner, the Inter-Ac League and Pa. Independent Schools champion in 2010, was second in the 1600, and she won the 800 comfortably after passing the early leader, McKenzie.

Quakers ninth grader Holly Webb won the 100 hurdles, and was second in the triple jump and third in the high jump.

“We have another freshman who is our best sprinter, but she’s on a trip to China,” noted Charter coach Liz Flemming. “Obviously that didn’t make a difference in the outcome of the meet, but she would’ve scored some points.

“We have other young kids who I think will really have an impact in the future,” Flemming added. “Right now they just need to get comfortable in varsity competition.”

A Quakers junior, Zoe Allen, finished second in both the 100 hurdles and the high jump, and in the shot put, senior Saagarika Thanvi headed up a PC sweep of the top three places. The defending Girls Inter-Ac champion in that event, Springside Chestnut Hill’s Ashlee Hale, has left the door open by choosing not to compete in 2012. She has accepted a field hockey scholarship at West Chester University and is busy honing her goaltending skills.

[caption id="attachment_12694" align="alignright" width="281" caption="Penn Charter freshman Holly Webb on her way to a victory in the 100 meter hurdles. (Photo by Tom Utescher)"][/caption]

Non-Inter-Ac field events such as the discus and javelin were not included in last week’s meet because Penn Charter was the host for the affair. The GFS team roster includes the defending Friends Schools League champion and runner-up in the javelin, but on this occasion they could not contribute to the Tigers’ overall score.

Germantown won both of the relays, with senior Livia Jaramillo, Millbourne, senior Morgan Ramsey, and Davis finishing the 4 x 100 meters in 53.9 seconds, while a time of 4:45.0 won the 4 x 400 for Andersson, Guida, sophomore Sarah Alden, and McKenzie. In the longer race, junior Katie Decker, freshman Defne Karabucak, junior Rachel Morris, and sophomore Hailey Bennett placed second for Penn Charter in 4:59.0.

RESULTS

100 Meters

1. GF Taryn Millbourne 13.0

2. GF Morgan Ramsey 14.0

3. GF Emma Greenstreet 14.1

200 Meters

1. GF Taryn Millbourne 22.4

2. GF Brigit Andersson 28.5

3. GF Livia Jaramillo 28.6

400 Meters

1. GF Brigit Andersson 1:07.3

2. PC Katie Decker 1:13.2

3. PC Defne Karabucak 1:14.8

800 Meters

1. PC Catie Skinner 2:30.8

2. GF Lydie McKenzie 2:38.9

3. GF Lucy Guida 2:46.4

1600 Meters

1. GF Tess Doggett 5:19.7

2. GF Carey Celata 5:22.3

3. PC Catie Skinner 5:22.8

3200 Meters

1. PC Julia Vahey 16:23.0

2. PC Emily Barkann 19:02.0

100 Hurdles

1. PC Holly Webb 20.4

2. PC Zoe Allen 21.0

3. GF Eliza Farran 21.1

300 Hurdles

1. GF Eliza Farran 56.7

2. GF Pharr Bowser 57.7

3. PC Carly Stern 1:03.8

High Jump

1. GF Pharr Bowser 4’4”

2. PC Zoe Allen 4’2”

3. PC Holly Webb 4’2”

Long Jump

1. GF Noni Davis 14’3.5”

2. PC Hailey Bennett 12’8.5”

3. GF Courtney Wilson 12’2.5”

Pole Vault

1. GF Eleanor Thompson 8’0”

2. PC Marisa Shepard 7’6”

3. GF Emma Clark 7’6”

Shot Put

1. PC Saagarika Thanvi 27’2”

2. PC Caroline Jones 24’1”

3. PC Ashleigh Brown 23’9”

Triple Jump

1. GF Noni Davis 32’9”

2. PC Holly Webb 30’6.5”

3. GF Courtney Wilson 27’11”

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