Luthor Trask from Abington Heights celebrates after learning the team won a regional title and earned a chance to compete for a state championship.
Submitted Photo
SCOTT TWP. — The Abington Heights Unified track and field team is headed to Shippensburg University to compete in the state championships.
Danny Dolcetti led the way Wednesday at Lakeland when Abington Heights posted the highest score in the seven-team field to claim the Northeast/Pocono Unified Champion Schools Regional Championship.
Dolcetti joined Isaiah Sorge from East Stroudsburg North as the only people to win their individual track and individual field events as well as being part of a winning relay.
Sorge led East Stroudsburg North to second place.
The two teams advance to compete in the UCS State Championships that are held along with the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association Track and Field Championships at Shippensburg University May 23-24.
Abington Heights scored 74 points to finish first, five ahead of East Stroudsburg North. Wallenpaupack was third with 67, followed by Wyoming Valley West with 54, Hazleton Area 53, East Stroudsburg South 51 and Mid Valley 39.
UCS is a Special Olympics program in which proportional numbers of athletes with and without intellectual disabilities compete as teammates. Sports, club activities and whole school engagements are all part of the UCS program, which is designed to promote social inclusion.
In UCS track and field, each participant can be part of one of the three track events (100, 400 and 800 meters), one of the field events (long jump, mini javelin, shot put) and in one relay (4×100 and 4×400). The 4×400 is not contested in the regional and state events.
Multiple divisions are created in each event, according to previous performances, grouping competitors together in co-ed competition at each track meet.
The thriving Abington Heights UCS program includes two competitive bocce teams in the winter and the maximum 40-person roster in track and field in the spring.
For the state championships in Shippensburg, each school selects a 12-person lineup while trying to earn one of the nine team state berths available through regional competition. Those 12, plus two state alternates, made up the 14 team members that earned the state spot through their performances at Lakeland.
Dolcetti finished first in the 400-meter run in Division 5, in the long jump in Division 7 and as part of the 400 relay in Division 1.
Matthew Tokash and Luthor Trask each won an individual event along with joining Dolcetti and Tanner Shane for the relay win.
Lindsey Bartell, Michael Shuey and Tokash won their divisions in the 100-meter dash.
Trask won in the 400.
Danil Dempsey won in the 800, Elizabeth Stanley in the mini javelin and Liam Fick in the shot put.
Vanessa Badalamente, Hilde Temblador, Aidan Fick and Ryan Finnerty are also part of the team that will be competing in Shippensburg. Stanley and Adam Gomaa are the alternates.
Debbie Musgrave is in her first season as head coach of the Abington Heights track and field team after also completing her first season as bocce coach.
