SportsZone for April 26, 2024

This edition of SportsZone covers Penn Charter athletic events played between April 18 and 24. 

Visit the Penn Charter Athletics webpage for the most up-to-date game schedules and scores.
 

BOYS LACROSSE

The Quakers split a pair of Inter-Ac contests last week, able to deliver first-year head coach Conor Resch his first league victory in a 15-2 triumph over Germantown Academy on April 23.

Gavin Michener and Casey Felter each recorded hat tricks, while Ben Zabierek, Zachary Curtin and Lucas Weinstein tallied two scores apiece. James Joel added a goal and an assist while winning 10 of his 11 face-offs.

“James did an incredible job taking on all comers, which was great,” Resch said. “Our offense was clicking, moving the ball more crisply and comfortably than the last couple of games. Hopefully we can use it as a springboard in terms of confidence. The guys felt good after the game and I was very happy with the showing.”

On April 19, the Quakers (3-10, 1-4) dropped a 15-7 decision to Malvern Prep. PC trailed 6-1 after one quarter and the Friars’ lead got as large as 8-1, but the team rallied to cut the deficit to 12-7 at one point. 

Felter and Zabierek again scored two goals, while Michener, Joel, and Jack Sheward all had one each. Charlie Kraus made 17 saves in a strong performance in goal. 

The Quakers are now halfway through their league schedule, and Resch hopes the increased confidence level can translate to some more wins down the stretch. 

“Obviously the goal is to win every game, but if that’s not going to happen then we want to put together four quarters more consistently,” Resch said. “We’ve played really good lacrosse in stretches, but being able to put it together for all 48 minutes is something we’re still working toward. We’re continuing to take strides, and we want to be playing our best ball heading into the last couple of games.”

PC will get its second look at Haverford School on the road on April 26. The Fords defeated Penn Charter 9-4 back on April 9.


GIRLS LACROSSE

Penn Charter’s seven-game win streak came to an end on April 23 as the Quakers dropped a 12-5 decision to Episcopal Academy. Harbor Campbell led the offensive attack with three goals and an assist, while Ana Buckley and Grace Walter also found the back of the net. Maeve Magarity made eight saves in goal while also registering two ground balls and two caused turnovers apiece.

Prior to that on April 20, the Quakers (8-6, 4-2) defeated Bishop Shanahan 8-3, making it four consecutive games in which the team allowed three goals or fewer. Magarity again posted a strong game in the cage, coming up with eight saves, a ground ball and two caused turnovers. Offensively, Walter and Aditi Foster each scored three times, and Campbell and Kenighan Mattice also registered goals.

PC has a pair of Inter-Ac contests on tap over the next week, first hosting Notre Dame on April 26 at 3:30 before traveling to Agnes Irwin on April 30 for another contest at the same time. The Quakers defeated both teams earlier this season while on their long win streak.


BOYS TRACK & FIELD

One week after setting the school record in the one-mile run at the Haverford Invitational, Nate Johnson was at it again at the Penn Wood Invitational on April 20. This time around, Johnson set the school record in the 3200-meter run, winning the event with a time of 9:27.92. Johnson’s classmate TJ Zwall also had a strong race in the 3200, finishing just behind his teammate in second place in 9:41.79. Zwall previously held the record in the 3200 before Johnson eclipsed the mark last weekend.

“The two of them are virtually side by side,” head coach Steve Bonnie said. “It could turn around by states or champs where TJ ends up with both records, or maybe the two of them will split them. They’re two absolute horses, they are outstanding distance runners.”

Two other standout performances from Penn Wood belonged to Matthew Dunn and Chima Auguste. Dunn placed second in the 1600 (4:31.48), while Auguste scored a second-place finish in the high jump (5 feet, 11 inches).

“Matt Dunn was amazing,” Bonnie said. “He’s a big, strong kid as a ninth grader who is also very coachable. As for Chima, he has excellent potential overall and just missed clearing six feet in the high jump.”

Next up for the Quakers will be the 128th Penn Relays on April 26-27. On April 26, the team will compete in the 4x800 relay, followed by the 4x400 relay the next day. Bonnie is still figuring out relay lineups due to some key injuries on the team, but regardless of who competes, the longtime head coach is just looking forward to the experience.

“We’re one of only two schools in Pennsylvania to qualify in the 4x800, which is pretty amazing,” he said.


GIRLS TRACK & FIELD

The girls track team was also in action at the Penn Wood Invitational on April 20, with Mariah Mays in particular having a very solid day. Mays won the javelin event (98 feet, 8 inches), placed second in the shot put (34 feet, 2.5 inches) and nabbed a third-place result in the discus (92 feet, 3 inches).
“Mariah has definitely been doing a great job and excelling in her events,” head coach Candice Lee said. “She has also helped with the new throwers, explaining different techniques to help them.”

Michaela Poland also performed well for the Quakers, taking second place in the 400-meter dash (57.45) and grabbing sixth place in the 200-meter dash (25.34). Both marks were season-bests for her.

“Michaela continues to grow and get stronger each season,” Lee said. “She ran a personal record in the 400 and missed a personal record by .01 seconds in the 200.”

Additionally, the 4x800 relay team of Emily Bierwith, Chloe Greenwalt, Margo Baum and Jackie Plastaras earned a fifth-place finish with a time of 11:12.15. Lee singled out Greenwalt, Plastaras and Logan Lloyd as rising ninth graders who have already made a difference in their inaugural varsity season.

The Quakers will compete in the 128th Penn Relays on April 25-26. The team qualified in the 4x100 relay (Lloyd, Kaylinn Bethea, Haley Lewinski, Poland) and the 4x400 (Lloyd, Bethea, Poland, Alli DeLisi). DeLisi will also run the 1600.

“We are currently number one in PA in the 4x400, so I am looking for big things from this team,” Lee said. “We need to have clean hand-offs for the 4x100. I expect both relays to advance to Friday's competition.”


BOYS TENNIS
 

The Quakers dropped their only match played over the course of the last week, falling 5-2 to Haverford School. The team’s record now sits at 2-5 overall, with a 1-3 mark against Inter-Ac competition.

The team will be much busier over the next week. In addition to league matches next week on April 30 (versus Episcopal Academy) and May 2 (at SCH Academy), PC will also compete in two tournaments.

First up is the Inter-Ac Singles Championship on April 25 at Germantown Academy. Then, from April 26-28 at Episcopal, Penn Charter will compete in the Shafer Doubles Tournament. 

Both of those events will be recapped in next week’s edition of SportsZone. 


CREW

At long last, weather and river conditions were cooperative enough to allow the Quakers a full day of racing on the Schuylkill at the 5th Flick on April 21. The team put nine boats in the water, garnering two first-place finishes, as well as one boat in second place and another two in third place.

“The Fifth Flick was an exciting day for PC Crew,” head coach Katherine Farrell York said. “We had three more novices out there for their racing debut and enjoyed the best conditions we've had on a race day to date. Many boats felt that the puzzle pieces came together for this race, and enjoyed the benefits of weeks of hard work.”

Full results from the 5th Flick are listed below:

• Boys Novice 1x: Jackson Stoddard, seventh place (7:39.30) 
• Girls Freshman/Novice 2x: Sophia Toncich-Mandel/Miranda Dziedzic, third place (6:57.26)
• Girls Novice 4x: Parker Grimes/Grace Choate/Libby Taub/Ava Gonella, fourth place (6:25.91)
• Boys JV 1x: Avi Mondgock, 15th place (6:50.71)
• Girls JV 2x: Zoe Page/Grace Magee, first place (6:06.57)
• Boys JV 2x: Ross Lee/Jack Davey, first place (5:26.25)
• Boys JV 4x: Liam Haines/Alexander Brown/Tiernan Perkins/Rainer Malhotra, 11th place (5:21.77)
• Girls Varsity 1x: Grace Agosto, third place (7:17.48)
• Girls Varsity 2x: Claire Lewis/Ellie Choate, second place (6:10.15)

York was especially complimentary of Stoddard, Toncich-Mandel and Dziedzic in the first two events, as it was the first-ever race for all three student-athletes.

“We were so impressed by Jackson’s courage, he crushed it,” York said. “And Sophia and Miranda really worked together and trusted in each other to make this a positive first racing experience. We are so proud.”

Up next for the team is the Philadelphia Scholastic Rowing Association City Championship on May 4-5. Both the Girls JV 2x and Boys JV 2x boats will be seeded first in the event by virtue of winning their races at the 5th Flick. 

“We have two weeks to prepare and a lot of hard practices are ahead,” York said. 


BASEBALL

PC endured a difficult stretch last week, dropping all three of their games. 

Most recently, the Quakers fell to Germantown Academy 2-0 on April 23. Will Vieira pitched a strong game, allowing one earned run on three hits while striking out seven, but the PC bats were limited to just four singles over seven innings.

Against Neumann-Goretti on April 20, Penn Charter fell behind 6-0 in the first inning and ultimately dropped a 14-3 decision to the Saints. Garrett Mathias had a two-run single, and Ryan Musial knocked in a run and stole a base in the losing effort.

PC also surrendered 14 runs to a very strong Malvern Prep squad on April 19. Cole Stocks kept the Quakers (7-8, 2-3) in the game early on the mound, allowing three runs on four hits in 3.2 innings of work, but the Friars erupted for seven runs in the fifth inning to put the game out of reach. Tazio Perkins went 2-for-4 with a double and three RBI. 

Penn Charter has a loaded week ahead, with games at Haverford School and La Salle on April 26 and April 27, followed by home games against Episcopal on April 30 and Saint Joseph’s Prep on May 1. 


SOFTBALL

Penn Charter’s four game win streak came to an end on April 24 against Episcopal Academy, with EA coming out on top in a dominant 10-0 win. The Quakers managed just one hit off Episcopal’s starting pitcher, who struck out an eye-popping 16 batters on the day.

“We have to compete at the plate a lot more than we did,” head coach Charles Warren said. “Get into more hitter-friendly counts and be more selective. It’s always good for us to get to compete against one of the better teams in the league, and it’s a shame we don’t get to see them a third time.” 

Things went decidedly better on April 20 at Mount Saint Joseph Academy in which PC rallied from a 3-2 deficit in the top of the seventh, storming back with a three-spot and leaving the field 5-3 victors. Ryan Hatty tied the game at 3 on an RBI single before Lauren Gedraitis doubled home the decisive two runs with two outs. 

Macie Bergmann homered for the Quakers, which helped back a stellar pitching effort from Hatty, who yielded one earned run on eight hits while striking out five and walking two.

“They played us hard and didn’t give us an inch,” Warren said. “I told our team that this is what championship teams are made of, being able to come back from one or two or three runs down. It will help our championship DNA going forward. The ladies did what they needed to do on defense, and Ryan pitched a heck of a game.”

The Quakers (7-7, 2-3) also picked up an 8-2 win over Baldwin on April 18 and now have eight games remaining on their regular season schedule as a tune up for the PAISAA Tournament. That said, PC is still hoping for a late run at the league title before PAISAAs, even if the team currently sits three games behind Episcopal in the standings.

“Losing the way we did against EA yesterday puts us in reset mode,” Warren said. “We’ll be ready to bounce back on Friday [against Notre Dame] and get it going again back to the things we do well. We still have a tough game against GA, play Notre Dame twice and still play SCH at home, so it’s not over yet. The season is not lost down the drain because we lost to EA. We still have a whole second half, and as long as we stay focused and locked in then we’ll be fine.”
 

Written by: Ed Morrone OPC '04

Photos by: Zamani Feelings