by Tom Utescher

Host Gwynedd Mercy Academy got the better of Mount St. Joseph on the track, but a strong performance by the throwers and jumpers for the visiting Magic earned the visitors an 80-69 victory in last Wednesday’s Catholic Academies meet.

The Mount improved to 3-0 in league competition, with its previous victories coming against Sacred Heart and Villa Maria. Gwynedd’s Monarchs slipped to 1-2, having beaten St. Basil while losing to Villa Joseph Marie.

As in the Mount/Gwynedd contest, Villa Joe’s verdict over Gwynedd came largely through the Jems’ ability to pile up points in the field events. Unfortunately, a scheduled head-to-head meeting between the Magic and Villa Joe was scratched due to bad weather, and can’t be made up.

Sophomores Sam Bauer and Grace Gelone put Mount St. Joe on solid footing with their efforts in the throws. Bauer won the javelin (74’6”) and the shot put (26’9.75”) and finished second in the discus (61’5”), while Gelone, a product of Norwood Fontbonne Academy, placed first in the discus (78’2”) and was runner-up in the javelin (71’1”).

Another 10th-grader, Maddie Riehman, was second in the shot (22’4”) and third in the discus (56’11”), while junior Bridgid Murphy placed third in both the jav (69’8”) and the shot put (21’11.5”).

The Magic also staged a one-two-three sweep in a fourth field event, the high jump. Senior Maddie Reiche won it with a 5’1” leap, while second and third went to sophomores Sarah Rothenberg and Kieran Glowacki, respectively. They both topped out at 4’8”.

The only two athletes who attempted the pole vault were both from Gwynedd, and the only one who made the starting height was Rebecca Roque, who cleared the bar at 6’4”.

Freshman Grace Wallis won the long jump for the visitors (16’7.5”) and garnered third place for the Magic in the triple jump (31’8.75”).

Catherine Peel of the Monarchs was second in both of those events (15’3” in the long, 32’1” in the triple), and Gwynedd got third place in the long jump courtesy of Shea Tomlinson (15’0.5”).

MSJ sophomore Julie Hoover won the triple jump by travelling 32’6.5”, and she did some leaping out on the track, as well. She placed second in the 300 meter hurdles (50.1 seconds), one spot ahead of senior teammate Grace Havard (53.1).

Mount St. Joe got a victory in the 100 hurdles, where junior Katie Strosser survived a little contact with one of the barriers to win in 19.7 seconds. Behind her were Gwynedd’s Amanda Derstine (20.0) and Tomlinson (21.1).

The winner in the 300 hurdles, with a time of 48.6 seconds, was Mary Claire Casey of Gwynedd Mercy. A real workhorse for the Monarchs, Casey also did some relay running for the hosts, and won the individual 800 meters in 2:25.6. She had enough kick at the end to fend off Mount senior Tara Gallagher (2:28.6), who’d been a close second most of the way. Third in the 800 was Sydney Hirokawa of the Monarchs (2:34.3).

In the sprints, Rachel Koller of the host team was the winner in both the 100 (12.8) and the 200 (26.0). In the 200, she led a GMA sweep, ahead of Bridget Casey (26.3) and Maggie Maguire (27.3). Mount sophomore Sarina Clary was just out of the point positions, coming in fourth. Clary took third in the 100 (13.3), coming in after the runner-up for the Monarchs, Madi Grimaldi (12.9).

The Magic fared better in the 400 meters and in the two longest races. In the former, senior Aidan Moroz won in 59.9 and sophomore Siobhan McBride was third in 1:05.2, with GMA’s Maguire in between at 1:00.5.

The Mount recorded a one-two finish in the 1600 thanks to sophomore Ava Self (5:40.8) and junior Julianna Kardish (5:43.0), with Caroline Dennin (5:45.1) placing third for Gwynedd. MSJ junior Gabby Good ran with three Gwynedd Mercy rivals through most of the 3200, but she drew away on the last lap to win in 13:04.1. Finishing next were Monarchs Gabby Saxon (13:11.6) and Emily DeGrandpre (13:12.4).

Gwynedd Mercy quartets won all three relays. For a victory in the 4 x 400 in 49.8 seconds, the Monarchs led off with Koller and followed with Georgia Powell (a Norwood Fontbonne grad), Grimaldi, and Bridget Casey. The visitors got second in 52.7 with Clary, Lauren Ciasullo, Cianna Kisailus, and Leah Carreras.

Koller again started it off for the home team in the 4 x 400, and after her Bridget Casey, Maguire, and Mary Claire Casey wrapped up the win in 4:10.4. Second, in 4:33.8, were Mounties Ciasullo, Casai High, Kisailus, and Carreras.

In the 4 x 800, the Monarchs finished in 10:05.8 for a comfortable win over their Mountie guests, who checked in at 10:38.7. The order for GMA was Peel, Maguire, Hirokawa, and Bridget Casey, and running for Mount St. Joseph were Good, Grace McCullough, Tess Worthington, and Jane Prior.