Indoor Track: Springfield’s Stone soars to gold at first indoor meet

The battle for the pole vault title at the Track and Field Coaches Association of Greater Philadelphia’s first meet came down to a pair of Delco competitors Saturday.

Ultimately, Springfield’s Chris Stone rose above the Division II competition. Stone cleared 14 feet, earning a spot in the state meet and a gold medal ahead of the efforts of Marple Newtown’s Gurjeet Rai (13-6) at Lehigh University. Stone was part of a dominant effort from the Delco field contingent that yielded four golds in five events.

Delco also claimed a pair of relay titles. Strath Haven’s 4×800 relay of Ahmir Gordon, David Reeves, Greg Kotchick and Conan Beckley-Gray crossed the line first in 8 minutes, 32.05 seconds, while Radnor’s distance medley relay claimed first in 11:14.10. Penncrest was second in both the 4×200 and 4×400.

In Division 1:

Haverford’s Tyler Green dashed to second place in the 200 in 23.86 seconds, one of two second-place finishes for Delco competitors. The other came via shot putter Khalaf Jihad, who threw 45 feet, three inches. Hunter Small of Garnet Valley was third in the 400 (a spot ahead of Haverford’s Justin Moscoe), and Penn Wood’s Ahmere Ponzo added a third-place finish in the 800.

Girls

In a shot put battle, Janese Lynch had enough to come out on top Saturday. Lynch set the mark with her throw of 41 feet, 1¾ inches, narrowly besting Garnet Valley’s Nina Gambacorta (39-11/2) to earn the win at the first Delaware Valley Girls Track Coaches Association meet of the winter.

Lynch’s win was the only gold for Delco at Lehigh University. Silvers were won by Penn Wood’s Agnes Mansaray in the 1,000 (just ahead of Strath Haven’s Claire Van Duyne in third, Ridley’s Brianna Wallen in fourth and Upper Darby’s Ashley Thompson in fifth) and Penncrest’s Alicia Collier in the 200. The best relay finish was a third-place result for Strath Haven in the distance medley relay.