Quaker Valley girls prepare for WPIAL meet

By: HSSN Staff
Friday, May 4, 2018 | 11:00 PM

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Quaker Valley sophomore Annie Wicker won recently at the Midwestern Athletic Conference track and field championship meet, but a greater achievement came in a loss earlier.

Wicker placed second of 69 competitors in the girls 1,600-meter run (5 minutes, 5.40 seconds) at the Butler Invitational on April 20. Her time was better than in a smaller MAC field (5:13.91) on April 25 at Mars.

She set a school record and was the top finisher among WPIAL competitors, trailing only a runner from Parkersburg, W.Va. (5:04.07).

Wicker said at MACs, the Quakers were not super focused on times but just getting another race in. The Quakers came in fifth of 24 teams.

“I was definitely eyeing the 1,600 record at that meet, but I didn't dwell on the time too much because I was happy with how I did at Butler,” Wicker said. “I know that it wasn't my best race, but I'm happy with the win.”

Wicker, the WPIAL Class AA cross country champion last fall, looked forward to competing at the Baldwin Invitational May 4.

“Running well at Butler definitely boosted my confidence,” she said. “I'm hoping to improve on the time from that invite come Baldwin, WPIALs and states.”

The WPIAL individual championships are May 17 at Baldwin. Top finishers will advance to the PIAA championships May 25-26 at Shippensburg.

Wicker was WPIAL Class AA runner-up in the 1,600 last season.

Senior Franzi Nace in the girls triple jump was the only Quaker to win at MACs (36 feet, 2 ¹⁄₂ inches) and the Butler Invitational (37-3 ¹⁄₂).

Freshman Claire Kuzma, in the girls discus (107-5); senior Noah Berry, boys high jump (5-11 ¹⁄₂); and junior Dom Lagnese, boys discus (155-3), claimed MAC crowns.

Kuzma (112-2) and Lagnese (150-6) were second in the discus at Butler.

Quaker Valley assistant coach J.J. Veshio said this is one of the better years of his 10 working with Quaker jumpers.

Besides the two first-place finishers, sophomore Colm Lang was MAC runner-up in the boys triple jump (41-10).

“It's really fun to see them progress,” said Veshio, whose father, Jerry, is Quaker Valley head coach.

Lang said Nace, the WPIAL and PIAA runner-up in the girls triple jump last season, sets the pace.

“(We) push each other,” Lang said.

Nace credits Veshio for her success.

“I have improved so much since I came in as a freshman, and a lot of it has to do with the careful time he takes analyzing the nuances of my technique and the drills he uses to lengthen and strengthen each phase of my triple jump,” she said.

Karen Kadilak is a freelance writer.

Tags: Quaker Valley