Mount track and field back outside and ready to compete

by Tom Utescher
Posted 3/17/21

Although there have been a lot of changes in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, Mount St. Joseph Academy cross country and track athletes have kept on running. At the end of last fall's slate of …

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Mount track and field back outside and ready to compete

Posted

Although there have been a lot of changes in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, Mount St. Joseph Academy cross country and track athletes have kept on running. At the end of last fall's slate of Athletic Association of Catholic Academies dual meets, the Magic won the AACA championship race for the third year in a row. They also participated in the PIAA District 1 championships.

During the winter, the Mounties took part in a series of indoor meets held at Glen Mills School in Delaware County, and a few athletes traveled down to Virginia Beach during the month of February to compete at major invitationals that attracted athletes from all over the East Coast and beyond.

The Magic emerged outside in last week's warm weather to begin spring track and field practice, although their meet schedule is still being negotiated.

Two seniors who have committed to participating at the collegiate level are sprinter Annie Lemelin and high jumper Margaux Rawson. Lemelin, who will enter the U.S. Naval Academy, was also a member of the Magic's cross country squad in the fall, and Rawson, who'll attend Cornell University, played soccer for the Mount up until this year.

At the Glen Mills indoor meets operated by the Delaware Valley Girls' Track Coaches Association (DVGTCA), Lemelin recorded first place finishes in the 55 meter hurdles and the 200 meter dash. Running in a 60 meter hurdles event at the East Coast Invitational in early February (in Virginia Beach), she placed seventh with the top 2021 time of any Pennsylvania runner up to that point.

Rawson won the 55 hurdles in another one of the DVGTCA gatherings, and in late February she came in sixth in the high jump in another major event in Virginia, the Adidas® Indoor Nationals.

At various DVGTCA meets junior Mary McGrory won the 3000 meters twice and came in second in the mile, while sophomore Maggie Murphy captured first place in the 3000 and in the mile.

In other action at Glen Mills, senior Maya Charles placed third in the 400, and classmate Emily Carr came in fourth in the 800. Another 12th-grader, Lexi Westawski, garnered fourth in the 55 meter hurdles.

Sprinter Kathleen Downs, a junior, logged a second-place showing in the 400 and a third in the 200, while sophomore Katie Bakley placed fourth in one of the 400 meter races. Coming in fourth in one of the DVGTCA long jump competitions was junior Katie McGovern.

Veteran coach Kitty McClernand pilots both the track and cross country teams at Mount St. Joseph. Based on what she saw indoors this winter, McClernand feels she has the makings of some strong relay teams with the likes of Lemelin, Charles, and Downs. Freshman Lilly Bradfield showed promise in the dash events over the winter.

A number of Mount distance runners showed their abilities not only indoors over the winter, but also during the fall cross country campaign.

McGrory was the 2020 Catholic Academies X-C champion, and Murphy was third in the league in 2019.

Complementing Rawson's prowess in the jumps this spring will be emerging sophomore Liz Sadorf, and in the throwing events, Mount mentor McClernand feels that freshman Saani Jones will have an immediate impact.

Helping keep things organized for the Magic is junior Allie Petkunas, a team manager since her freshman year and also an all-league player on the Mount's AACA champion golf team. 

Coach McClernand hopes that Mount St. Joe will be able to host an invitational or two, while also arranging league dual and tri-meets. Only one of the eight Catholic Academies schools is located in Philadelphia proper and is subject to the city's stricter COVID-19 regulations.