Padua revs for spring with dominant DIAA winter track win

DOVER – This is the first week of practice for high school spring sports in Delaware.

It’s safe to say Padua Academy propelled itself into a promising track and field season on Wednesday.

The Pandas won the girls team title at the DIAA Winter Track and Field Championships in dominant fashion at Dover High, where they took first place in 10 of the 15 events.

The team title was Padua’s ninth in a row and 17th in winter meet history. Padua’s 178½ points were topped in meet history only by its 192½ in 2015.

The meet was held outdoors this year because of the COVID-19 situation rather than at the Prince Georges Sports & Learning Center in Landover, Maryland, the site since 2014. There is no indoor track facility in Delaware. Sunny, mild weather graced the day.

“Not even kinda hard it was really hard,” Padua double-winner Jia Anderson said of preparing for this year’s winter championships.

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 “We didn’t really have anybody to push us so we were basically running against ourselves. So I think that really showed our integrity and that we were really good, we were strong regardless of what happened and how much time we had. So I think we did a really good job this year.”

The altered season that prevented out-of-state competition lessened the number of schools fielding teams, as did the virtual-learning situation that has lessened participation in all sports in 2020-21.

There was, for instance, only one Blue Hen Conference school, Middletown, in Wednesday’s meet.

“We were less competition race ready I would say,” said Padua coach Marnie Giunta. “But it is what it is and you’ve gotta make the best of it and we are going to make the best of it. They rose to the occasion. They knew it was time to come in and compete.”

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The odd winter didn’t seem to undermine the Pandas too severely.

And after last year’s spring season was erased by shutdowns that followed the arrival of the pandemic, Padua will certainly be revved up and ready to go when the 2021 outdoor schedule kicks off in late March.

“We tried to stay as disciplined as we possibly could,” Giunta said. “Keep a steady schedule. Keep ourselves focused on an end goal. We didn’t know what that end goal might be but the end goal was this. And we were just [grateful] that we had the opportunity to do it and, again, celebrating as a team. It doesn’t get any better than that.”

The Pandas received victories from Anderson in the 55-meter dash (7.37) and 55 hurdles (8.69). But she did scratch from the 200 because of a minor injury.

On the track, other Padua winners were Juliana Balon in the 200 (26.28), Grace Zamrowski in the 800 (2:28.32), Katie Dorsey in the 1,600 (5:17.57) and the 4 x 200 and 4 x 800 relay teams.

Padua also got field-event wins from Anastasia Watson in the shot put (37-4 ¼), Mackenzie Sobczyk in the high jump (5-0) and state-record-holder Erin Kelleher in the pole vault (12-0).

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Padua’s sweep on the track was interrupted by Ursuline senior Alaina McGonigle winning the 400 (1:02.44) and St. Mark’s Tiffany Herrera taking the 3,200 (personal-record 11:10.40).

McGonigle also anchored Ursuline’s 4 x 400 victory as the Raiders placed second in the team standings with 82½ points ahead of third-place Smyrna (61).

The other field event champion was a double winner as Polytech senior Casey Talamini-Kelemen swept the long jump (16-5) and triple jump (36-5 ¼).

They’ll all return in May to Dover for the outdoor championships hoping to be better prepared and even more fit.

“At least we have time now,” Anderson said, “to work on everything and go to a couple meets, qualify and come back here.”

DIAA Winter Track and Field Championships

At Dover High

GIRLS RESULTS

Team scoring

1-Padua Academy, 178.5; 2-Ursuline, 82.5; 3-Smyrna, 61; 4-Tatnall, 59; 5-Cape Henlopen, 38; 6-Polytech, 31; 7-St. Mark's, 28; 8-Tower Hill, 19; 9-Archmere, 17; 10-Sussex Central, 14; 11-Sussex Academy, 13.5; 12-Milford, 12; 13-Middletow, 11.5; 14-(tie) Conrad; Charter School of Wilmington, 6; 16-Wilmington Christian, 4; 17-Wilmington Friends, 2; 18-Caesar Rodney, 1.

55-meter dash

1-Jia Anderson (Padua), 7.37; 2-Balon (Pad), 7.40; 3-Crews (Smy), 7.57; 4-Kelsic (SC), 7.58; 5-Jones (CH), 7.73; 5-Holgado (Pad), 7.75; 7-Dennis (TH), 7.77; 8-Sudler-Brooks (Urs), 7.98.

55 hurdles

1-Jia Anderson (Padua), 8.69; 2-Crews (Smy), 9.09; 3-Tarlue (Tat), 9.47; 4-Gall (Tat), 9.58; 6-Langlois (TH), 10.95; 7-Johnson (Milford), 11.29.

200

1-Juliana Balon (Padua), 26.28; 2-Howard (Tat), 26.66; 3-Kelsic (SC), 26.77; 4-Abdul-Kareem (Smy), 27.77; 5-Carter (Smy), 28.21; 6-Odle (Urs), 28.40; 7-Jones (CH), 28.72; 8-Zhou (TH), 28.89.

400

1-Alaina McGonigle (Ursuline), 1:02.44; 2-Harris (Tat), 1:03.47; 3-Tunnell (SA). 1:04.04; 4-Jarvis (CH), 1:04.24; 5-Napier (Conr), 1:04.53; 6-Maney (CH), 1:05.14; 7-(tie) Querey (Pad); Walsh (Mid), 1:05.15.

800

1-Grace Zamrowski (Padua), 2:28.31; 2-McLaughlin (pad), 2:28.77; 3-Dougherty (Urs), 2:29.18; 4-Lindia (Urs), 2:29.82; 5-Bochetti (Pad), 2:30.70; 6-Zehner (TH), 2:32.13; 7-Criscimagna (WF), 2:39.93; 8-Gebhardt (StM), 2:41.71.

1,600

1-Katie Dorsey (Padua), 5:17.57; 2-Pryor (Urs), 5:27.74; 3-Higley (Pad), 5:32.40; 4-Priest (Arch), 5:34.70; 5-Young (Smy), 5:35.97; 6-Collick (Mid), 5:45.14; 7-Vitola (Arch), 5:48.98; 8-McCarthy (Pad), 5:52.79.

3,200

1-Tiffany Herrera (St. Mark’s), 11:10.40; 2-S.Herrera (StM), 11:21.67; 3-Dorsey (Pad), 11:34.73; 4-Pryor (Urs), 11:45.77; 5-Andreasen (CSW), 12:01.51; 6-Laur (Pad), 12:01; 7-Holloway (Conr), 12:19.65; 8-Young (Smy), 12:21.33

4x 200 relay

1-Padua (Sophia Curtis, Julia Querey, Sophia Holgado, Alessandra DeAscanis), 1:51.04; 2-Tatnall1:51.17; 3-Archmere, 1:52.73; 4-Ursuline, 1:53.69; 5-Cape Henlopen, 1:53.76; 6-Tower Hill, 1:56.90; 7-Polytech, 1:57.64; 8-Middletown, 1:59.16.

4 x 400 relay

1-Ursuline (Loghan Dougherty, Jane Burns, Ragan Odle, Alaina McGonigle), 4:10.48; 2-Padua, 4:12.20; 3-Tatnall, 4:25.84; 4-Cape Henlopen, 4:26.91; 5-Archmere, 4:29.06; 6-St. Mark’s, 4:29.77; 7-Smyrna, 4:33.37; 8-Tower Hill, 4:33.97.

4 x 800 relay

1-Padua (Kelsey Wolff, Natalie Spadaccini, Judith McLaughlin, Grace Zamrowski), 9:49. 86; 2-Ursuline, 9:54.41’ 3-Tower Hill, 10:28.04; 4-Cape Henlopen, 10:31.05; 5-Tatnall, 11>01.89; 6-Polytech, 11:30.32; 7-Sussex Academy, 11:38.85; 8-Wilmington Christian School, 11:47.92.

Shot put

1-Anastasia Watson (Padua), 37-4 1/4; 2-Paolella (Urs), 35-3 ¼; 3-Hessler (StM), 31-1 ¼; 4-Archambault (CH), 26-5; 5-Lenhart (Milf), 25-4 ¾; 6-Buckley (SC), 24-9 ¾; 7-Foulk (CSW), 24-7 ¾; 8-Sekscinski (Milf), 24-4 1/4.

High jump

1-Mackenzie Sobczyk (Padua), 5-0; 2-Carter (Smy), 4-10; 3-(tie) Whalen (Urs); Tunnell (SA), 4-8; 5-Becker (Pad), 4-8; 6-Duke (Smy), 4-6; 7-Kossak (WC), 4-6; 8-Paraskewich (WC), 4-6.

Long jump

1-Casey Talamini-Kelemen (Polytech), 16-5; 2-Tarlue (Tat), 15-9 ½; 3-Crews (Smy), 15-5; 4-Carter (Smy), 15-4 ¼; 5-Callaghan (Pad), 15-2; 6-Jarvis (CH), 15-1 ¼; 7-Balon (Pad), 15-0 ½; 8-Turpin (Smy0, 15-0 ¼.

Triple jump

1-Casey Talamini-Kelemen (Polytech), 36-5 ¼; 2-Earnest (Pad), 33-6 ¾; 3-Gall (Tat), 33-3 ¼; 4-Curtis (Pad), 32-8; 5-Callaghan (Pad), 31-11; 6-Bennett (Mid), 29-11 ¼; 7-D’Ambrogi (CH), 28-9; 8-Hammack (CR), 28-2.

Pole vault

1-Erin Kelleher (Padua), 12-0; 2-Maguire (Urs), 10-6; 3- Talamini-Kelemen 9Pt), 9-6; 4-Willey (Milf), 7-6; 5-(tie) Waltemire (Mid); Morrone (Pad); Johnson (Smy), 7-0; 8-Logue (Smy), 6-6.

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