Mike Vukovcan 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.
