The Abington Heights girls track and field team completed its 16th straight unbeaten, championship season May 1.
Submitted Photo
A younger-than-usual lineup did nothing to reduce the separation between Abington Heights and its Lackawanna Track Conference Division 1 girls track and field rivals.
The Comets extended their streaks to 16 straight division titles and 96 straight dual meet wins, including crossover meets scheduled by the conference, but not included in the divisional standings.
Abington Heights outscored its four Division 1 opponents, 499-89. The Comets won 125-24 over Scranton at home April 4, 117-32 at Valley View April 11, 141-9 over Scranton Prep at home April 18, and then 116-24 over West Scranton May 1 at home.
“This is one of the youngest teams that we’ve had,” Comets coach Frank Passetti said. “We have very few seniors that score points in our meets.”
That youth is reflected in the team’s personality, something Passetti noticed when Abington Heights opened the schedule in May with a 93-57 victory over defending District 2 Class 3A and LTC Division 2 champion Wallenpaupack.
“They’re always keeping the atmosphere light,” Passetti said. “We started the year with Wallenpaupack, the defending District 2 champion and we knew we could have our hands full.
“The girls are able to create an environment where they deal with their stress and pressure pretty well by just having fun together.”
Freshman Anna Pucilowski has continued her distance running success after winning the District 2 Class 3A cross country title in the fall.
Sophomore Tomara Seid has excelled in the jumps, including setting a school record in the triple jump in the Scranton meet with 36-8¼.
Lilia Calvert, a freshman who is new to the sport, is making progress in the sprints after being encouraged to try track when she showed off her speed on the soccer field. She won the 200 in the finale.
Recap
Seid won the long jump, triple jump and pole vault in the West Scranton meet to assure the Comets of the outright division title. The javelin was not contested because of weather conditions, but Madison Zalewski, who set a school record in the event earlier in the season, had a big day in the high jump, clearing 5-2 in the difficult conditions. Maggie Coleman won the 100- and 400-meter dashes and ran a leg on the winning 400 relay. Emma Horsley (800) and Reese Morgan (1600) each won an event and were part of the 3200 relay win. Gianna Julian won the shot put and discus. … Zalewski’s javelin record is 116-11, set in a 100-50 crossover victory against North Pocono.
