Home Hopewell Track and Field
Category:

Hopewell Track and Field

Hopewell Track and Field

Busy Weekend for Hopewell Track and Field

by Mike Vukovcan
written by Mike Vukovcan 2 minutes read

The Hopewell Track and Field team split up to compete in two different meets this past weekend. The bulk of the team traveled to Hickory High School to compete in the City of Hermitage Invitational, while the girls 4x100m and 4x400m relays went to Philadelphia to compete in the historic Penn Relays.

Emma Palmieri, Nevaeh Persi-Jones, Reese Murray, Maya Richburg, Madi Inderelst, and Avery Boyd made the trip to Philadelphia. The Penn Relays is one of the largest meets in the country, with hundreds of schools from many states, and even several teams from Jamaica competing. College and professional athletes also competed there over the weekend, so the girls got to see how athletes at every level go about their business. While the girls did not match their fastest times of the season (51.33 in the 4×100 and 4:23 in the 4×400), the experience will pay dividends, as every track and stadium will seem small by comparison, and the bonding and memories of this trip will last a lifetime.

The weather once again turned on us as the rest of the team dealt with windy sub-50-degree weather at the City of Hermitage Invitational. Despite the tough conditions, several Vikings made the podium.
Senior Zach Lucas finished 4th in the 110m hurdles with a time of 16.11. Freshman Tessa Burgess finished in the top 10 in the 100m hurdles with 17.99.
Zach Kovell placed 8th in the 100m, 3rd in the 400m, and 6th in the 200m. Freshmen Harley Hample and Cadence Zito ran personal best times in the 100m (13.96 and 14.79).
Tre Cameron cleared a new personal best in the high jump with 5’7”, and Avery Bokor matched that height. They placed 4th and 5th, respectively. Harley Hample just missed the podium in the girls’ high jump, clearing 4’7”, but finishing 9th on tiebreakers.

Connor Progar placed 4th in the pole vault with a 12’6” – a tough task in the windy conditions. Emily Bauknight placed 8th in the girls vault with 7’6”. Sam Milligan cleared a new personal best with 10’6” and was 11th overall.
Marlee Page was 10th overall in the javelin with a 90’6” throw.
The Vikings now have 3 meets left to hit qualifying marks and times for the WPIAL Championship meet. They will compete at Robert Morris University’s track on Neville Island Thursday, May 1st, and then the following week at a pair of Last Chance meets – at Pine Richland on May 8th, and at Montour on May 10th. The top 16 AA girls in each event qualify for the WPIAL Championship. For the boys, they must be in the top 24 AAA marks/times in each event.
0 comments
0 FacebookTwitterPinterestEmail
Hopewell Track and Field

2 Hopewell School Records Broken at MAC Championship Meet

by Mike Vukovcan
written by Mike Vukovcan 3 minutes read

The Hopewell Track and Field team traveled to Shenango High School for the MAC Championship on Wednesday, and two Vikings made school history. Seniors Emma Palmieri and Connor Progar took advantage of beautiful weather and broke school records.

Connor broke his own record that he set last year in the pole vault, clearing 13’10”. He also had 2 very close attempts at the next height (14’4″) indicating that he could improve on this record a few more times this season. He finished 2nd on the day in a jump-off with Mohawk’s Joe Whippo, who also set his school’s record.

Emma’s record came in the 200m dash, when she ran 25.65, besting Lauryn Speicher’s time of 25.77 from just 2 years ago. This is Emma’s second school record- she also has the 4x100m relay record along with Speicher, Aubryanna Snyder, and Maya Richburg.

She has her sights set next on Elise Farris’ 400m record (57.64) that has stood since 2010. She recently signed with Mercyhurst University, where she will be part of their new track program competing at the Division 1 level.


Emma also made the podium with both the 4x100m and 4x400m relay teams. She, along with Maya Richburg, Avery Boyd, and Nevaeh Persi-Jones earned a 4th place finish with their best time of the season (50.44). The 4×400 team of Palmieri, Richburg, Reese Murray a, and Madi Inderelst placed 6th. Both teams are traveling to Philadelphia to compete in the historic Penn Relays on Friday.

The javelin throwers had a big day for themselves. Vinny Boris made the podium, placing 6th with his personal best throw of 137’4″. Mike DiNardo also threw a PB of 129’6″. Marlee Page inched closer to the century mark with her best effort of 99’9″.

Zach Kovell ran his best times of the season in the 200m (22.68) and 400m (51.03), placing 3rd and 4th, respectively. After a few rough meets earlier in April, he is back on track for his goal of adding another school record or two to his resume before continuing his career at Westminster College.


Zach Lucas continued his strong senior campaign. The Geneva College commit placed 5th in the 110m hurdles with a 15.99 run in the finals. Senior Reese Murray improved her 300m hurdle PB to 51.01, by dominating her heat.

In the jumps, Nick Adams placed 6th in the triple jump with 40’8″. Senior Sam Milligan jumped a new personal record of 10’4″ in the pole vault. Senior Mia Blakeslee reached new heights in the high jump as well, clearing 4’8.5″. Avery Boyd had a season best 31’11” triple jump.

Several freshman athletes had big days. Avery Bokor placed 4th in the high jump with 5’8.5″ clearance.

Harley Hample cleared a new PB in high jump, matching Mia Blakeslee at 4’8.5″. Tessa Burgess made remarkable progress in her 100m hurdles, maintaining her 3-step rhythm for the entire race on her way to a new PB time of 17.80. Tre Cameron ran the anchor leg on the boys 4×100 relay that ran 44.84. Brody Rock threw a huge PB of 117’7″ with the discus. Jack Biega had a monster day on the track, dropping a PB of 2:05.98 in the 800m and splitting 52.9 as the anchor of the boys 4×400 team that matched their best time of the season with 3:39.

The Vikings have a lot of action up this weekend. The girls relays will run at the Penn Relays in Philadelphia on Friday, and the rest of the team will compete in the City of Hermitage Invitational on Saturday at Hickory High School.

0 comments
0 FacebookTwitterPinterestEmail
Hopewell Track and Field

Hopewell Track and Field Celebrates Their Seniors with Big Personal Performances

by Mike Vukovcan
written by Mike Vukovcan 3 minutes read

The Hopewell Track and Field team recognized their senior class of 2025 before their final home meet of the season against Central Valley and Ambridge. This group has accomplished a lot – 3 school records, and 16 WPIAL medals between them – and still have so much more to do before they are done. With the sun on their faces, and the wind at their backs, the team showed their appreciation for their seniors with many of their best performances of the season, and their lives.

On the track, after the Girls’ 4×800 team of Keira Mann, Angelina Clarry, Skylar Elias, and Caylee Sundy won, all 5 of Hopewell hurdlers ran personal best times. Freshman Tessa Burgess was 4th overall with a 17.84 in the 100m hurdles, and Bri Inderelst (19.07) and Eileen Chen (20.58) also posted PB times. In the 110 m hurdles, Zach Lucas blew the field away with a new personal best time of 15.62, and Luke McGrail was second, running his best race ever in 16.02.

The 100m brought even more personal bests. Aided by a healthy tailwind, most of the Viking sprinters had their best day ever. Maya Richburg broke under 13 seconds for the first time ever, winning in 12.96. Nevaeh Persi-Jones ran her best time of the season with 13.66, and Cadence Zito (14.90) and Layla Biller (16.33) also set new personal records.

The boys were also cooking. Zach Kovell won the 100 in 11.32, a massive personal best. Tre Cameron (11.75), Julian Baldwin (11.93), Zach Gigliotti (12.01), Greg Gigliotti (12.13), Austin Martinez (12.35- nearly .7 seconds faster than his previous best!), Mike Garciulo (12.44), Maddox Fattore (12.53), Roman Amadio (12.65), Rameer Reeves (12.70), and Christian Chalmers (12.79) all showed off their continued improvement with their fastest times ever.

Freshman Skylar Elias continued to drop her mile time, winning the 1600m run in 6:47:34, a new personal best. She also ran a personal best in the 800m of 3:02, earning another win against CV. Antony Flitcraft led Jackson Valvo and James Pistorius to a Hopewell sweep of the boys 1600m.

The girls 4x100m relay stormed to a dominating victory, and the boys team won a measure of revenge on the Ambridge squad that had edged them at the County meet last Saturday, holding off their anchor for a close victory.

Keira Mann won the girls 400m dash with a new PB of 1:11.93. Bri Inderelst earned a new PB in the 300m hurdles (54.70) to go with her PB in the 100h, and Caylee Sundy made her 300h debut with 55.81.

The hits kept coming in the field events as well. Marlee Page was the overall winner in the girls’ javelin with a 91’4″ throw. Freshman Lillian Gruber (48′) and Samantha Anskate (47’4″) had their best throws ever. Vinny Boris led a clean sweep for the boys’ javelin, with Mike DiNardo 2nd, and Chris Shiel- who broke the century mark for the first time ever – 3rd.

Freshman Brody Brock had a big day, winning the discus with a PB throw of 104’1″, and came in second overall in the shot put with a PRB of 41’1″. Dom Gaughan was just behind him in both throws. Cullen Casey, Reese Jacobs, Zach Maxin, and Will Holland all posted PB throws in the shot and discuss.

Bryce Ray led a team of jumpers who leapt to new distances. He broke the 20-foot mark for the first time ever, winning the long jump with 20’4″. Avery Bokor hit 19 feet for the first time, and Grant Houy, Maddox Fattore, Manny Gomez, and Greg Gigliotti all jumped personal bests. Andy Gaguzis earned his first triple jump victory, and Houy and Gomez also jumped PBs. Avery Boyd won the triple jump on the girls’ side with a season best 31-foot jump.

Avery Bokor earned his second high jump victory of the season, clearing 5’8″, and Tre Camerson cleared a new PRB of 5’6″. Harley Hample led the Hopewell high jumpers with a 4’6″ jump.

The Vikings travel north for the Butler Invitational on Thursday before taking a break for Easter and recharging for the run to the WPIAL Championship meet.

0 comments
0 FacebookTwitterPinterestEmail
Hopewell Track and Field

Vikings Battle the County and the Cold to Crown 4 Champions

by Mike Vukovcan
written by Mike Vukovcan 3 minutes read

Vibes were resilient Saturday as the Hopewell Track and Field teams traveled to Riverside High School for the Beaver County Championship meet. The meet fell on yet another cold and dreary April day, and several athletes were dealing with sickness or coming off of injuries, but they were all determined to persevere. The Vikings earned 4 golds and got several personal best performances in their first big meet of the season.

Senior Zach Lucas was the first to top the podium with his victory in the 110m hurdles. He overcame a tough start to win an intense race in 16.05. Sophomore Luke McGrail ran his best race of the season to finish 3rd in 16.36. Zach returned to the podium in the 300m hurdles with a 6th place finish.

The girls 4x100m relay team of Maya Richburg, Emma Palmieri, Avery Boyd, and Nevaeh Persi-Jones did not have their cleanest run of the season, but they were able to win comfortably by more than a second and a half over their closest competitor.

Junior Nick Adams took the gold in the triple jump with his best hop-step-jump of the season with a 40’3” effort. He was also 4th in the long jump, and junior Bryce Ray was 6th

The girls 4x400m relay team of Richburg, Palmieri, Madi Inderelst, and Reese Murray closed out the meet with another gold medal run.

Junior Vinny Boris was finally healthy after dealing with a stubborn shoulder injury, and opened up his season with a huge personal best javelin throw of 135’9” that earned him silver in the event, behind only the defending WPIAL champion

Sophomore Marlee Page also threw a huge PB with the javelin. Her throw of 97’2” was also good for silver. She and the Hopewell throwers are all rounding into form at the right time.

Senior Emma Palmieri had a rough day battling through sickness, and was not her usual dominant self, but did add two silver medals in the 200m and 400m to her two golds in the relays. She will be back to form after some much needed rest.

Junior Maya Richburg had a breakout day in the sprints, taking second in the 100m with 13.20, and third in the 200m with a big PB of 27.54. Those medals made a lot of noise clinking around with her two relay golds

Senior Reese Murray took the bronze in the 300m hurdles to pair with her gold in the 4×400. She ran a very clean race, and clocked her second best time ever – 51.21

The girls 4x800m relay team of Madi Inderelst, Keira Mann, Skylar Elias, and Caylee Sundy took home bronze medals, running 11:23.05 in the opening event of the meet. Madi also took bronze in the open 800m, and finished the day with 3 medals around her neck.

An injury to Josh Brunton forced the boys 4×100 relay to improvise, and they were able to finish third with two substitutes and a new order. Junior Julian Baldwin started strong, and freshman Tre Cameron (who ran a huge PB of 11.82 in the 100m earlier) did a fine job as the last minute replacement on the final leg. Zach Kovell and Nick Adams adjusted their order as well, and the team ran a respectable 45.19 through the adversity.

Senior Zach Kovell added a bronze and a 4th place finish in the 400m and 200m dashes. Both were season best times, as he regains his form from his stellar junior season


Freshman Jack Biega filled in for Brunton on the 4×400 relay, and helped Baldwin, Adams, and Kovell to a 5th place finish. Biega also earned 5th place points with the boys 4×800 relay, along with Antony Flitcraft, Joel Olshanski, and Aaron Dickhart.

In high jump, senior Mia Blakeslee earned a 4th place finish with a new PB of 4’7”. Freshman Harley Hample also cleared 4’7”, but tiebreakers pushed her to 7th place. On the boys side, Avery Bokor placed 5th in his first County Championship with a 5’5” clearance.

Sophomore Avery Boyd returned to the podium after the triple jump, earning a 4th place ribbon for her 30’2” jump.

In the pole vault, junior Emily Bauknight tied for 5th with a 7’7” clearance. Senior Connor Progar was not pleased with his 3rd place finish and 12’1” jump despite just coming off an injury. It was the first competition of the season for both jumpers, and they will be back to their WPIAL and State qualifying form soon.

The Vikings next meet will be at home on Wednesday with Central Valley and Ambridge. They will then compete at the Butler Invitational on Thursday before resting up over Easter for the stretch run of the season, when the focus turns to qualifying for the WPIAL and PIAA Championships.

0 comments
0 FacebookTwitterPinterestEmail
Hopewell Track and Field

Recap of Hopewell Track and Field’s Tri-Meet Against Beaver and Avonworth

by Mike Vukovcan
written by Mike Vukovcan 2 minutes read

The Hopewell Track and Field team traveled to Avonworth Monday for a tri-meet with the Antelopes and the Beaver Bobcats. In the team scores, the Hopewell Girls came out with a 76-56 victory over Avonworth, but a narrow 71-70 loss to Beaver. The boys were out of sorts in many of the events on the track, and dropped both team scores, 82-59 to Beaver, and 76-60 to Avonworth.

Despite the team losses, there were, as always, bright spots to highlight for several individuals.

Sophomore Emma DiCicco earned her first event victories of her career with a personal best throw in the shot put of 26’9” that took first place against both teams, and a discus throw of 63’10” that was good for first against Avonworth and second against Beaver. Interestingly, she throws the shot put with her left hand, and the discus with her right, so she had both hands in the victory jar.

Sophomore Amelia McCloskey earned her first points of the season in the discus, and Emma Majewicz scored in the shot put.

Freshman Tessa Burgess ran her way to her first victory as well, taking first overall in the 100m hurdles with a huge personal best of 18.28.

Senior Mia Blakeslee and junior Lahna Murray both cleared new heights in the high jump, tying at 4’6.5”, a personal best for each of them.

Junior Madison continued to shave time off of her PB in the 800m with a 2:37.85 run that earned first place against Beaver, and second against Avonworth. She also anchored the 4×400 team to a victory over the Bobcats.

Freshman Skylar Elias was again a distance workhorse for the Vikings, running 3.5 miles worth of races. She earned third place points against both teams in the 1600m with a new PB of 6:51.58.

Senior Emma Palmieri did her thing with victories in the 100m – a season best time of 12.84 – the 200m, 400m, and 4×100. The relay team that included Maya Richburg, Avery Boyd, and Nevaeh Persi-Jones improved their season best time with a 51.97 run.

On the boys’ side, freshman Brody Rock took his first win in the shot put with a 39’8” heave. Mike DiNardo and Colton Baker took first and second against Beaver in the javelin. Baker’s throw of 107’11” was a massive PB for him. 

On the track, the boys simply did not get the strong performances they expected of themselves. Whether it was Murphy’s Law or a case of the Mondays, few things went well. The 4×100 relay did run a season best time of 44.12 but lost at the line to Beaver by .07 seconds. 

First year seniors Aaron Dickhart and Zach Gigliotti both had good days individually. Aaron improved his 400m PB to 56.65, and Zach ran his best 200m in 25.28. They combined with Jack Biega – who ran a PB in the 100m of 12.05 – and Greg Gigliotti to finish the meet with a strong effort in the 4×400.

The Vikings have the rest of the week to get right and have a shot at redemption on Saturday when they will travel to Riverside High School for the Beaver County Championship meet. Expectations remain high, and if they perform the way they are accustomed to, they will be strong contenders for a team championship.

0 comments
0 FacebookTwitterPinterestEmail
Hopewell Track and Field

Hopewell’s Hurdler’s Hard Work Lands Him on National List

by Rich Donahue
written by Rich Donahue 3 minutes read

They talk about late bloomers in sports all the time, whether it’s pro, college or high school.

On the track, Hopewell’s Zach Lucas is blossoming at the right time!

A senior hurdler for the Coach Jeff Brunton’s Track and Field program, Lucas joined the team for the first time last season. Though he had never run track before, Lucas had always dreamed of competing in the hurdles. After trying out some different events, Zach knew the hurdles were his right spot.

“Last year was my first year and I’ve always wanted to do hurdles for practice,” said Lucas. “I did a little bit of the triple jump and I just hurt my leg too much so I decided that wasn’t for me.”

“Going to our first meet last year, I ended up doing the 100 and the 200. I didn’t even touch hurdles to start. Then going to the second half of last season. I started off doing the 300m hurdles and then the 110.”

That first year track was a great experience for Lucas, filled with memories with his teammates and running in the WPIAL Team Championships.

Hopewell’s Zach Lucas

“Last year was amazing,” Lucas said. “We went to team championships for WPIAL, which we haven’t really been there much, that was really exciting. Going to invitationals was really exciting, too. It was really fun.”

“One of my favorite parts about invitational is we would go to the meets and the meets will be done 6-7 hours later. It would be like 8 o’clock at night and we would go out to eat afterward as a team and it was just like one of the best times ever. I think that’s what really encouraged me to come back. I really just enjoyed that.”


The fact that Lucas is starting to excel has also made the sport fun.

The confidence Lucas gained last year has already shown up in a big way. MileSplit USA, a national website, listed the senior as one of the top 50 most improved 110m hurdlers, going from 19.20 to 15.89 on his time.

Lucas couldn’t believe it when he saw that he made the list.

“I was really shocked,” Lucas stated. “I was just going to MilesSplit and I saw my name had been included in a headline and I scrolled down there. I was 50 on the dot. I was like this is crazy.”

A lot of that improvement Lucas credits to his coaches.

“They’re all really supportive,” Lucas said. “I think that’s one thing that Coach Brunton is known for. He’s very supportive and he really looks out for you. He really encouraged me to push through it and that I can do it. I really adapted to how he’s been teaching us. We get individual work with him so we can refine our technique.”


“When Zach came out for track as a junior, I knew hurdles would be a good event for him, because there are so many technical aspects to work on, and I had seen him relentlessly practice football drills on his own for the two years prior,” said Brunton. “I knew he was going to absorb instruction and obsess over every detail to improve. That has been his super power – his unending work ethic.”

With the encouragement of Coach Brunton, Lucas will run track next year at Geneva College. Though he is excited for the next chapter, Lucas wants to end his senior season on a high note.

“I was two seconds shy of WPIALS last year for my 300 because that was the only event I ended up doing towards the end of the season,” Lucas said. “Now that I know I have the speed to do it, I just have to get the mindset right to just run it. It’ll be the first time for me going to an Individual WPIALs rather than just a Team WPIALS.”

0 comments
0 FacebookTwitterPinterestEmail
Hopewell Track and Field

Hopewell 9th Grader Jack Biega Running/Working to Be Great

by Mike Vukovcan
written by Mike Vukovcan 4 minutes read

All kids that participate in sports would like to excel, that’s only normal. However, not all kids are willing to put in the necessary work in order to be a standout.

As Michael Jordan, arguably, the greatest basketball player of all time famously said, “Some people want it to happen, some wish it would happen, others make it happen.”

That’s a pretty accurate way to describe Hopewell freshman Jack Biega and his passion for the sports of Track and Field.

When researching this story, I only knew of Biega for his participation in basketball. Little did I know that his interest and love for running goes as far back as when he started playing basketball.

“I’ve always worked out and ran with Coach Brunton, probably since I was 4 years old, particularly in the summer, running and sprinting with him. Before I started playing football, I used to run with the cross-country team. I was actually only in 4th and 5th grade but I would run and just work out with the varsity cross country team,” said Brunton. “


“So, I’ve always had interest in cross country and track and couldn’t wait until I was in high school so that I could be on the team.”


“We have been waiting a long time for Jack to get to the high school, because he has been running and working out with us in the offseason since he was 8,” said Coach Jeff Brunton. “He’s very talented and very dedicated. He has sprinter speed with a miler’s gas tank.”

The dedication from Biega isn’t just during the track and field season. It helps that Jack enjoys running but also realizes the running benefits him more than just in track season. Biega tells Vikings Sports Now that he works out 5 to 6-days a week and is a frequent visitor at Any Time Fitness in Hopewell. When he’s not at the gym, his workouts consist of running 3-4 miles around Hopewell.

“Then in the summer and fall, I jog throughout Sweet Brier 3 to 4 times a week and continue that when the weather is good during track season. I just like to be active and make sure that I’m in shape for sports,” said Biega.

“This definitely helps me with basketball as far as the conditioning. Two laps on the track are a lot to sprint and the practices that we do for long distance, we run laps around the track nonstop, so that’s obviously going to help me during basketball season.”

When asked to evaluate his conditioning level during basketball season, Biega told me that aside from one game this season in which he played the entire JV game and then a lot in the varsity game, he rarely gets tired on the basketball court.

Hopewell 9th Grader Jack Biega

The basketball court is what most people link Biega to but that might be changing soon. In Hopewell’s first two meets of the 2025 season, despite being a newcomer, Biega has finished in first place twice in the 800m. Aside from that event, Jack runs the 4×800, the 100 and the 4×400.

When asked which of the races was his favorite, Biega’s answer wasn’t a surprise.

“My favorite is the 800. I actually just started doing that this year and just wanted to try something new. So far, I’ve won the first two races that I’ve been in so now I really like it, it’s fun. Yeah, I surprised myself a little with the fact that I’ve won it two times in a row. I didn’t know what to expect but now I’m proud of what I’ve done because I’ve pushed myself to try and do well.”

“My coach told me to stay behind the leader in the first lap and then in the second lap, go take off and win the race,” said Biega. “So, I go in knowing who to stay behind and then as soon as I get to the 40-yard line on the home stretch, I take off and win it.”

As far as the early success that he’s had, Biega was quick to point out the impact that his head coach has had on him.

“He’s a workaholic,” said Biega. “He’s here every day and always helping kids on our team. I can’t describe the impact that he’s had on me individually. He’s helped me to get faster, helping me in the long distance to have a bigger gas tank that my competitors. Coach Brunton is just a super hard worker and someone that really cares. He’s someone that is willing to critique you, not to criticize you in order to make you better and once it’s perfect, it really is perfect.”

Despite being so early in his high school career, that hasn’t stopped Biega for wanting to be perfect and to create high expectations for himself and lofty goals to reach. Biega isn’t going to be satisfied with being good, he wants and plans on being great.

“No doubt, 100%. I expect to make the WPIAL’s next year, then my junior and senior year, I expect to win the WPIAL’s and in my senior year, I want to win the State Championship. That’s my ultimate goal,” said Biega.

“We expect him to work incredibly hard to achieve his potential, and when he does, he will make the 800m a show stopping event.”

0 comments
0 FacebookTwitterPinterestEmail
Hopewell Track and Field

Photo Gallery: Hopewell Boys and Girls Track and Field Meet vs. Blackhawk

by Mike Vukovcan
written by Mike Vukovcan 1 minutes read

HOPEWELL TOWNSHIP– The Hopewell Boys and Girls Track and Field teams were in action Tuesday afternoon at Tony Dorsett Stadium as they hosted the Blackhawk Cougars.

It was a successful day for the program as the Boys team defeated Blackhawk, 103-47, while the Girls lost by the score of 95-51.

Regardless of the outcomes, it was a great day as many Hopewell athletes had personal best days, including Madi Inderelst, Reese Murray, Emma DiCicco, Harley Hample, Lahna Murray, Mia Blakeslee, Skylar Elias, Josh Brunton, Jack Biega, Avery Bokor, Dom Gaughan and Michael DiNardo.

As we announced yesterday on Facebook, Vikings Sports Now has added a new member to our staff in photographer Ed Thompson. Welcome aboard Ed!

Thompson is an accomplished photographer in the Pittsburgh market and brings with him years of experience shooting Pittsburgh sporting events. For the last two years, Thompson has been with Alan Saunders and Steelers Now traveling to all Pittsburgh Steelers home and away games.

Ed had his first assignment yesterday with VSN as he attended the Hopewell Track and Field meet.

Here is a photo gallery of what Ed was able to shoot.

 

 

0 comments
0 FacebookTwitterPinterestEmail
Hopewell Track and Field

Big Personal Best Performances Highlight First Home Meet For Hopewell Girls Track and Field

by Mike Vukovcan
written by Mike Vukovcan 1 minutes read

HOPEWELL TOWNSHIP- The hard work that the Hopewell Girls Track and Field team has put in for months began to blossom in the April sun on Tuesday.

Several girls had long awaited and hard-earned breakthrough performances in the showdown against Blackhawk, pointing to the promise of big things to come.

Senior Madi Inderelst ran the two fastest 800m races of her career – 2:39 in the open 800m, and a 2:34 split in the 4x800m relay- before splitting a courageous 64 second leg in the 4x400m relay that gave Hopewell the lead, and lead to a commanding victory in 4:18:65.

Senior Reese Murray, fresh off the best practice of her career, won the 300m hurdles in 51:07 – a more than 2 second improvement from her previous best. Bri Inderelst charged from behind to take 2nd in the race, passing the Blackhawk hurdler in 3rd by .12 seconds.

Marlee Page won the javelin by nearly 23 feet with a big 90’4″ throw – her first time back over 90′ this season.

Emma DiCicco decided she was left-handed and added nearly a foot to her personal best shot put, managing a 3rd place finish with her 26’6″ heave.

Mia Blakeslee, Lahna Murray, and Harley Hample all cleared 4’6″ in the high jump, matching winning height. Hample also had big personal bests in the 100m (13.90) and 200m (28.80).

Freshman Skylar Elias was a workhorse for the distance squad. She ran on the 4×800 relay, and then also posted personal bests in the 1600m (6:57) and 3200m (15:59).

Senior Emma Palmieri had her typical dominant performance, winning the 100m (12.88), 400m (59.85), and anchoring the 4×100 and 4×400 relays to their season best times.

Junior Maya Richburg found her form in the 100m (13.15) and 200m (28.28) with season best times.

Despite the strong performances, the Hopewell girls did fall in the team score to Blackhawk, 95-51. They will travel to Avonworth next Monday, April 7th for a tri-meet with the Antelopes and the Beaver Bobcats.

 

 

0 comments
0 FacebookTwitterPinterestEmail
Hopewell Track and Field

Hopewell Boys Track and Field Cruise to Win Over Blackhawk

by Mike Vukovcan
written by Mike Vukovcan 1 minutes read

HOPEWELL TOWNSHIP– The first day of April brought out the sunshine for the first home meet of the spring at Tony Dorsett Stadium, and also brought out some big personal best performances, as the boys track and field team defeated Blackhawk, 103-47.

The Vikings flexed their strengths in the sprints and hurdles, taking the top 2 spots in the 100m, 200m, 110m hurdles and 300m hurdles, while also winning 400m, 4x100m relay, and 4x400m relay.

Josh Brunton won the 100m with a big personal best time of 11.53, and Zach Kovell took second. Freshman Nasir “Bruiser” Wade won the 200m in an easy 23.36, with Brunton in second. Zach Lucas won the 110m hurdles in 16.37, with Luke McGrail close behind. He also won the 300m hurdles in 45.30, right next to Julian Baldwin in 45.31. Zach Kovell won the 400m in dominant fashion and also anchored the 4×100 and 4x 400 relays to commanding victories.

Freshman Jack Biega and senior Charlie Houston also went 1-2 in the 800m, crossing in s:20 and 2:21. They were also part of the winning 4x800m relay team. Antony Flitcraft had a busy day, taking 2nd in both the 1600m and 3200m, as well as running on the 4×800.

In the field events, Sam Milligan won the pole vault with a 9’0″ clearance, and Chris Holland took second. Nick Adams led a Hopewell sweep of the triple jump, winning on one jump of 39’4″. Andrew Gaguzis and Thomas Pipkins took 2nd and 3rd to shut Blackhawk out of the event. Freshman Avery Bokor went off in the high jump, winning an impressive 5’10” clearance, and had several good attempts at 6’0″. Bruiser was third with 5’8″.

Michael DiNardo pulled out an upset victory in the javelin with his best throw of the season (118’8″). Dom Gaughan broke the century mark for the first time in the discus, and his 101’3″ throw was good for 3rd. He also took 2nd in the shot put.

The boys will be back in action next Monday, April 7th for a tri-meet against Avonworth and Beaver. The meet will be held at Avonworth.

0 comments
0 FacebookTwitterPinterestEmail
Newer Posts
Older Posts