Fort Cherry girls on track for WPIAL team title
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Fort Cherry’s track and field team enters every meet trailing by nine points.
The Rangers don’t have any pole vaulters, which takes away five points for first place, three for second and one for third.
That, and not having a home track, has not stopped Fort Cherry from having one of the best seasons in the WPIAL, as the girls team will compete for the WPIAL Class 2A team title this afternoon at Peters Township’s Confluence Financial Partners Stadium.
The Rangers will compete against Knoch, Quaker Valley and Shenango. The meet is scheduled to start at 3 p.m.
Knoch is three students shy of competing in Class 3A, while Shenango is traditionally a strong team and Quaker Valley is seeking its 10th district championship.
“This is a big test for us against traditional powerhouses in track and field,” Fort Cherry coach Ben Maxin said. “We are used to going in as underdogs, and we lost nine points because we don’t have the ability to pole vault.”
Despite not having the facilities, Fort Cherry has the athletes, and defeated Winchester Thurston (78-63), Southmoreland (105-45) and host California (110-31) in the semifinals last Wednesday. The Rangers would have been a host if they had the facilities to do so.
“These kids don’t back down from anything, and they are big dogs when it comes to fighting,” Maxin said. “This is a good opportunity for our kids, win or lose, because they are going against some of the top kids in the WPIAL.
“We don’t have the facilities, but we have a brotherhood in coaching when it comes to track and field in that we all help each other out. Typically, Fort Cherry and Chartiers-Houston have a rivalry in sports, but we practiced at Chartiers-Houston’s facility Sunday. No one has ever raised a stink about us going to another school and practicing.”
Maxin appreciates what the Fort Cherry School District has done to help the track and field team.
“The school has done some nice stuff for us,” Maxin said. “They built us an area to use for the long jump, and they put in a stone and throwing pit last year for our shot putters. They also put in a discus circle for our kids. We appreciate what the school has done, and they don’t ignore us.”
The Rangers have experienced one of its best school years in athletics, starting in the fall with the football team winning the WPIAL title and playing for a state championship. The success carried over into the winter sports season and Maxin wants to see it end on a high note.
“I challenged my kids before the season started to keep the success in athletics rolling,” Maxin said. “We also have kids who succeed in other sports and still come out for track and field, which is rare in today’s age of specializing in one sport. We have kids who really care about their school, and they work really hard. I love these kids.”
Fort Cherry’s 3,200-meter relay team of Raney Staub, Emily Frankovich, Jazlyn Martino and Bella Bianchini have the fifth fastest time in the PIAA (Class 2A) at 9:57.28.
Staub has a personal best in the 800-meter run with a time of 2:24.56, which ranks fifth in the WPIAL. Frankovich is No. 6 in the 1,600 (5:20.97) and No. 7 in the 3,200 11:52.38) in District 7.
The Rangers’ 1,600-meter relay team of Bianchini, Martino, Staub and Ava Menzies are ninth in the PIAA at 4:10.41. Menzies’ time in the 200-meter dash of 25.86 puts her at sixth in the WPIAL in Class 2A.
The Fort Cherry boys team finished the team portion of their season at 8-2 after losing in the semifinals last Wednesday, but they have some top times and distances in the state.
The 400-meter relay team of Dylan Wudkwych, Tegan Henke, Shane Cornali and Matt Sieg sprinted to a victory in the Pine-Richland Invitational on Saturday in a time of 42.79, which is the top time in the state for Class 2A boys.
The Rangers’ Jonah Pfender has the sixth-best throw in the state in the shot put with a toss of 53-6.
“I am proud of all the individual accomplishments, but what the 4×100 relay team is doing is very special because we only work on our exchanges about once a week, and no matter how fast your guys are, if you mess up one exchange, you are not going to win the race,” Maxin said. “Our kids take full advantage of the time we have when we get to use a track because they know how precious that time is.”