Quaker Valley Boys Finish Fifth at Track and Field Invitational

Thanks to some fast legwork and a strong arm, the Quaker Valley boys finished fifth overall at the Pine-Richland Track and Field Invitational Friday.

Quakers junior sprinter L.J. Westwood set a meet record in the boys’ 800-meter run, circling the track twice in 1:56.77.

Westwood also ran the anchor leg for Quaker Valley’s two-mile relay team, which captured another top finish with a meet-record time of 8:07.79.

“With the WPIAL’s coming up, we really wanted to see what we could do (in the two-mile relay),” said Quaker Valley junior Nat Fox, who ran the second 800-meter leg of the race.

“This gives us confidence we can go out and defend our title,” he said.

Quaker Valley has a history in the two-mile relay. The Quakers won the state Class AA championship in the 3200 relay last year with a blistering 7:46.46 finish. Fox and Westwood took part in that memorable run, but have two new members on the two-mile relay this season in sophomore Roy Hadfield and senior Andrew Hotchkiss. They replaced Omar Hyjek and John Yankello in the fast lineup.

Hadfield leads off the relay, and Hotchkiss runs the third leg while continuing his recovery from broken ankle and hip injuries which were the result of running stress.

“It’s really great to be back at the competitive level of the game,” Hotchkiss said. “Only time will tell how good our relay will be this year. We still have a lot of work to do before states.”

While Westwood and the relay team members took care of business on the track, Quaker Valley junior Robbie Love supplied team points with a fourth-place finish in the discus.

“The discus is all about technique,” Love said. “The key is to get a lot of height on it. You know right away when it goes out of your hand nice. You can just feel it.”

Love hit 126 feet, 11.5 inches with his best discus throw and won first in his flight.

Love said he uses track and field to maintain his conditioning for football. He plays defensive end and offensive tackle for the Quakers in the fall.

“I really don’t know how we’ll do in football next season, because we’re between coaches right now,” he said. “But I’ll be back for my senior season.”

Love said he’d like to pursue a career someday as an athletic trainer.

Quaker Valley’s boys team scored 43 points to finish third behind Greensburg Salem (91), Canon-McMillan (57), Pine-Richland (54) and Bethel Park (49). The

Quaker Valley girls placed 22nd in the 30 team field led by Hampton with 82 points.

In other top finishes for Quaker Valley:

-Hotchkiss finished fifth in the 800-meter run in 2:01.56.

-Joe Rakowski placed third in the pole vault after clearing the bar at 13 feet.

-Sarah McKendry captured third in the girls 3,200-meter run in 11:52.02, and finished eighth in the 1,600 in 5:37.11.

In top finishes for Sewickley Academy:

-Amanda Nocera finished sixth in the girls shot put with a top throw of 31 feet, 3 inches.

-Emily Mistick placed 17th in the girls 300-meter hurdles in 51.81.