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Seals boys beat Braves for the first time since 2016 in split

alex mcginley, the daily item, sunbury, pa.
·7 min read

Apr. 16—SUNBURY — Entering Tuesday's meet, the Selinsgrove boys track and field team was tired of playing second fiddle to Shikellamy and wanted to make a statement.

That statement was clearly made as the Seals ended an eight-year drought against Shikellamy in a convincing 92-58 win on a warm and sunny day at Shikellamy Stadium. The cross-river rivals split the result as the Braves girls downed the Seals 82-68 in a Heartland Athletic Conference-Division I meet.

"It's the culmination of all the hard work that these kids have put in," said Selinsgrove boys coach Brian Catherman. "They put in the work. They deserve everything they got today. A lot of great times — we did some things that my other teams couldn't against Shikellamy.

"I think anytime you beat a quality program, it's a big piece for them. That's like they've accomplished something. A lot of my seniors, they haven't beaten them at all. For them, it's a huge accomplishment just because they haven't won against them."

The Seals boys team won 11 events overall. Brady Deivert and Colin Melhorn led the Seals by winning two events each. Deivert swept the hurdles as he came out with a time of 15.15 seconds in the 110-meter high hurdles before winning the 300 intermediates in 41.08 seconds.

Deivert also ran legs on the 4x100 and 4x400 relay teams that recorded winning times of 43.83 and 3:33.72, respectively. The Seals swept the relays as the 4x800 quartet of Derick Blair, Michael Andretta, Jack Kappen and Bobby Kruskie won with a time of 8:10.22, which smashed a previous record by 14 seconds.

Melhorn continued his throwing dominance as he won both the shot put and discus. Melhorn won the shot put with a throw of 56 feet, 6 1/2 inches while posting a distance of 156-4 in the discus.

Kappen (800), Wyatt Teats (400), Gavin Bastian (long jump) and Carter Young were also victorious in individual events for the Seals.

"I think it sets us up with Williamsport next week," Catherman said. "They're probably the leader right now. We're the underdogs, and we'll see what we can do. We have Milton the following week, so it's really gonna come down to us and Williamsport to see who's the number one team."

Shikellamy lost its second consecutive dual meet after going seven years without a loss. Despite that, there were still a lot of encouraging signs for the Braves.

Jayden Packer, whose speciality lies in the pole vault, led Shikellamy with three first-place finishes. Packer took two of the sprints with victories in the 100 (11.47) and 200 (22.92). Packer also won the triple jump with a mark of 41-6.

Sam Hennett also won multiple events for the Braves, finishing ahead in the 1,600 (4:38.93) and 3,200 (9:58.30). Hunter Bordner and Andy Hallman also won events for the Braves after claiming the high jump and pole vault, respectively.

"We gotta see what we're made of, how we respond from this," said Shikellamy coach Jonny Evans. "Coming off of two losses ... we haven't had two losses in a row in a very, very long time. But we have an outstanding group of kids and I know that there's no quit in them, and we're gonna fight til the end."

Girls

Shikellamy's girls won a close meet, taking 10 events with sweeps in the pole vault and triple jump.

Olivia Solomon led the effort with victories in three events. Solomon picked up wins in the 800 meters (2:27.85), 1,600 (5:30.62) and 3,200 (12:12.98). Solomon was also a part of the 4x800 relay quartet that won with a time of 10:12.29.

The Braves took all three relays as the 4x100 and 4x400 relays posted times of 50.39 and 4:19.05, respectively.

Elli Ronk (400), Aly Bingaman (pole vault), Emma Koontz (triple jump) and Olivia Spontarelli (javelin) also won their respective events. Spontarelli set a personal record in the javelin with a distance of 102-4. Additionally, Jilly Deivert set the school-record in the 200 with a time of 25.88 despite finishing second to the Seals' Carly Aument.

In the 400, Ronk was trailing Aument for a short period of time, but Ronk passed her for photo finish. Ronk won with a time of 58.62 seconds, while Aument finished just 0.08 seconds behind her with a 58.70. After the race, the two competitors embraced and limped off the track together.

"Carly's a great runner, Elli's a great runner — they both can go back and forth," said Shikellamy girls coach Matt McConnell. "We told Elli 'You go out hard, you can win that race,' and she ran a smart race. She ran it tough, and she got the result she was looking for."

Aument (100, 200) and Abby Parise (100 hurdles and long jump) led the Seals with two wins apiece. Parise's teammate, freshman Gigi Veach, edged Parise in the 300 intermediates after Veach won by 0.01 seconds. Veach clocked a time of 47.60, while Parise crossed the finish line in 47.61 seconds.

Maddy Fertig (high jump), Isabella Furgison (shot put) and Abby Mangels (shot put) were also winners for the Seals.

"It's always fun to beat your rivals," McConnell said, "but they came out and performed and trusted themselves, trusted their coaches, and they did everything that we asked of them, and supported each other. That's what happens when the team comes together and they give 100 percent."

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BOYS

Selinsgrove 92, Shikellamy 58

100: Jayden Packer (Shik), 11.47; Devon Mitchell (Sel); Noah Walter (Sel); 200: Packer, 22.92; Mitchell; Walter; 400: Wyatt Teats (Sel), 38.20; Evan Dagle (Sel); Luke Snyder (Shik); 800: Jack Kappen (Sel), 2:05.95; Lucas Dunkelberger (Shik); Keaton Lattimore (Shik); 1600: Sam Hennett (Shik), 4:38.93; Michael Andretta (Sel); Derick Blair (Sel); 3200: Hennett, 9:58.30; Blair; Andretta; 110HH: Brady Deivert (Sel), 15.15; Carlos Stuter (Sel); Aidan Tressler (Shik); 300IH: Deivert, 41.08; Stuter; Tressler; 400R: Sel (Deivert, Mitchell, Gavin Bastian, Walter), 43.83; 1600R: Sel (Teats, Dagle, Deivert, Stuter), 3:33.72; 3200R: Sel (Blair, Andretta, Kappen, Bobby Kruskie), 8:10.22; High jump: Hunter Bordner (Shik), 6-0; Matthew Stebila (Sel); Aaron Bucher (Shik); Pole vault: Andy Hallman (Shik), 11-6; Bucher; Teats; Long jump: Bastian, 19-10 1/4; Thomas Pollock (Shik); Luke Hackenberger (Sel); Triple jump: Packer, 41-6; Stebila; Bordner; Shot put: Colin Melhorn (Sel), 56-6 1/2; Derek Turber-Ortiz (Shik); John Rosinski; Discus: Melhorn, 156-4; Nick Bradigan (Shik); Carter Young (Sel); Javelin: Young, 156-6; Chase Carter (Sel); Teagan Carper (Shik).

GIRLS

Shikellamy 82, Selinsgrove 68

100: Carly Aument (Sel), 12.51; Jilly Deivert (Shik); Lily Persing (Shik); 200: Aument, 25.54; Deivert; Elli Ronk (Shik); 400: Ronk, 58.62; Aument; Lauryn Ross (Shik); 800: Olivia Solomon (Shik), 2:27.85; Ross; Lake Dent (Sel); 1600: Solomon, 5:30.62; Shaela Kruskie (Sel); Eden Daku-Treas (Shik); 3200: Solomon, 12:12.98; S. Kruskie; Daku-Treas; 100H: Abby Parise (Sel), 16.12; Alyssa Varias (Sel); Carly Harter (Shik); 300IH: Gigi Veach, 47.60; Parise; Harter; 400R: Shik (Persing, Deivert, Emma Koontz, Sam Newman), 50.39; 1600R: Shik (Koontz, Deivert, Persing, Ronk), 4:19.05; 3200R: Shik (Solomon, Daku-Treas, Ross, Ally Updegrove), 10:12.29; High jump: Maddy Fertig (Sel), 4-10; Braelyn Heim (Sel); Lauryn Michaels (Shik); Pole vault: Aly Bingaman (Shik), 10-0; Sarah Bronowicz (Shik); Lily Campbell (Shik); Long jump: Parise, 17-6 1/2; Ross; Koontz; Triple jump: Koontz, 31-1 1/2; Savanah Yount (Shik); Newman; Shot put: Isabella Furgison (Sel), 32-8 1/2; Shakiya Stapleton (Sel); Abby Mangels (Sel); Discus: Mangels, 86-5; Stapleton; Miah Bassler (Sel); Javelin: Olivia Spontarelli (Shik), 102-4; Persing; Furgison.