WILMINGTON SWEEPS TEAM TITLES AT BIG RED INVI

WEST MIDDLESEX – Everyone has to start somewhere, so Saturday served as a baseline for 8 Mercer County contingents at the 5th annual West Middlesex Track & Field Invitational. Twenty-four hours removed from snow, teams converged on Big Reds Stadium for one of their initial outings of the 2017 season. Wilmington won in a sweep, with the Greyhounds and Lady ‘Hounds amassing 124 and 159 points, respectively. “I’m just glad we finally got some spring-like weather,” West Middlesex mentor and meet director Ed Pikna said regarding Saturday’s sunny skies and mid-50’s temperatures. Pikna playfully kidded Wilmington Coach J.R. McFarland that his squads were invited only because the remainder of the county contingent wanted to gauge the Greyhounds’ great depth. “Very pleased, because I think like a lot of the other teams, they’ve maybe had one dual meet, so we’re still finding out a lot about the kids,” McFarland began. “So to come here and have a great day, get good competition and to win both the boys’ and girls’ (titles) is pretty nice. “Everybody’s healthy. Keep kids healthy, keep training, have some nice weather, and we’ll see what happens down the road,” the veteran McFarland mused. Wilmington was led by Leann Wynder, who won the 200-meter dash and lent legs to the Lady Hounds’ winning 4x1 and 4x4 relay teams. Julie Strobel pole-vaulted 9-6 and also lent a leg to Wilmington’s winning sprint-relay foursome. For the Greyhounds, Jacob Winters was Wilmington’s leader as he swept the 800- (2:09.8) and 1600-meter runs (4:52.3). Wilmington also won the day’s concluding event, the 4x4 relay. Arguably the day’s top individual performance was posted by Kennedy Catholic’s Channing Phillips, who finished 1st in the 100- (11.0), 200- (22.6) and 400-meter (51.3) dashes. Sharon’s Nenad Rapaja recorded top throws in the discus (131-3) an javelin (178-5), while his Tigers’ teammate Jordan Williams was close to mid-season form as she the senior swept the 1600- (5:15.7) and 800-meter (2:23.4) runs. Also, Slippery Rock’s Brady Dalton swept the highs (15.9) and intermediate hurdles (45.8). The annual PIAA Championships, as always, are set for Memorial Day weekend, which is not as far in the future as it seemed on Friday with snow, wind and temperatures in the mid-30’s. So Saturday served as a start to that ultimate goal for area athletes.

WILMINGTON SWEEPS TEAM TITLES AT BIG RED INVI

Photo Credit: Matt Durisko