SportsZone for May 17, 2024

This edition of SportsZone covers Penn Charter athletic events played between May 9 and 16. This will be the penultimate spring edition of SportsZone, which will return the first week of June for a season wrap-up of our PC varsity squads.

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

The regular season of spring sports season at Penn Charter wrapped up this week for everybody but boys tennis, leaving just postseason events on the calendar for our other Upper School teams. Let’s take a look at how the majority finished up, as well as a look ahead to what still remains on the schedule:


BOYS TENNIS

The Quakers completed a season sweep of SCH Academy on May 13, defeating the Blue Devils 4-3 for the second time in a two-week span.

Thanks to inclement weather, Penn Charter still has two regular season matches on its schedule, both against Germantown Academy. The two teams were set to meet on May 14 at GA, but rain caused that match to be delayed. The Quakers and Patriots completed the rain-delayed match as well as the other rescheduled match on May 16 at 4 p.m. 

Additionally, PC was awarded the No. 7 seed (out of 11 teams) in the upcoming PAISAA Tournament. The Quakers (4-7, 3-5) will host No. 10 Mercersburg Academy in a first-round match at 12 p.m. on Sunday, May 18.


BOYS TRACK & FIELD

The Quakers finished fifth out of six teams with 59 points at the Inter-Ac Championship at PC on May 11. Episcopal also won the boys title, finishing with 180 points.

PC’s 4x800 relay team won its race in 8:14.19, while the 4x100 squad finished in second place with a time of 43.16.

Other top-ten Quakers who finished at the league championship meet included Zahir Kalam Id-Din in the 100 (second, 11.13); TJ Zwall in the 3200 (second, 9:37.20) and the 1600 (third, 4:22.38); Nate Johnson in the 3200 (third, 9:51.65) and the 1600 (fourth, 4:22.47); Matthew Dunn in the 3200 (fifth, 10:02.01); Peyton Burnett in the 3200 (sixth, 10:06.54); Oliver Jackson in the 300 hurdles (fifth, 43.29); and the 4x400 relay team with runners Mason Knight, Chima Auguste, Owen Miner, Lamir Calloway secured a fifth place finish in 3:41.65. In field events, Auguste placed a sixth-place finish in the High Jump with a height of 5 feet, 10 inches. 

The team’s final race of the season will be the PAISAA Championship at Malvern Prep on May 18. 


GIRLS TRACK & FIELD

Penn Charter hosted the Inter-Ac Championship on May 11, with the Quakers finishing second out of seven teams with 117 total points. Episcopal won the event with 163 points.

Michaela Poland had several strong showings in her events, winning the 400-meter dash in 56.94 seconds. She finished third in the 100-meter dash (12.71) and 200-meter dash (25.80) and also nabbed a second-place result in the high jump at a height of 5 feet, 2 inches. 

Alli DeLisi was victorious in both the 800-meter run (2:19.53) and 1600-meter run (4:51.24) while securing a third-place finish in the 3200-meter run (12:02.26). 

The 4x800 relay team also won their event, finishing in 10:13.44. 

Other top-three finishes on the day included Logan Lloyd in the 400 (third, 59.37); Alex Jaffe in the 800 (third, 2:23.78); Lucy Sokoloff in the 300-meter hurdles (50.09); Louella Whitaker in the pole vault (third, 8 feet, 6 inches) and Mariah Mays in the javelin (second, 90 feet, 5 inches). 

The team’s final race of the season will be the PAISAA Championship at Malvern Prep on May 18. The Quakers have won the last two PAISAA titles.   


GIRLS LACROSSE

Penn Charter ended its regular season on a five-game win streak, most recently defeating Germantown Academy 18-5 on May 14 to complete the season sweep of the Patriots.

Harbor Campbell and Grace Walter led the charge with five goals apiece, and Aditi Foster had a fantastic all-around performance with three goals, six assists, two ground balls and five draw controls. Cate Wall scored twice for the Quakers, and Molly Dougherty, Ella Lewandowski, Nora Maione and Eva Walter all found the back of the net twice.

Grace Walter added two assists, Dougherty collected five ground balls and Maeve Magarity made five saves in goal.

The Quakers (15-7, 7-3) also collected a runaway 23-1 victory over Gwynedd Mercy Academy on May 10.

Now, the team will focus on the upcoming PAISAA Tournament, in which PC is seeded third out of 11 teams. The Quakers will host No. 6 Notre Dame in the quarterfinals on May 17 at 4:30 p.m. Penn Charter beat Notre Dame twice this season, defeating the Irish by a 10-goal margin in overtime on April 2 and April 26. PC has made it to the last two PAISAA title games, losing to Agnes Irwin in overtime last year and beating the Owls in the same matchup in 2022.


BOYS LACROSSE

For the first time, the PAISAA Tournament includes boys lacrosse in 2024. Penn Charter was awarded the No. 6 seed (out of eight teams) and traveled to face third-seeded Hill School for a quarterfinals match-up on May 15. Though the Quakers were hoping to win their third straight game for the first time all season, Hill proved too strong in a 21-11 PC loss. 

Gavin Michener scored four goals and two assists in the team’s final game of 2024. Casey Felter posted two goals and two assists, and Mikey Banks also had two scores for the Quakers. Ben Zabierek chipped in a goal and an assist, and James Joel had a score and two helpers. Nolan Duffy added a goal, Lucas Weinstein had two assists and Charlie Kraus came up with 14 saves in goal.

Consequently, PC finished its regular season on a strong note, winning two straight games for just the second time this season. On May 10, the Quakers cruised to a 15-2 Inter-Ac finale victory against Germantown Academy to complete the season sweep of the Patriots. PC won both games by identical 15-2 scores.

Weinstein led the attack against GA with four goals and three assists, while Felter, Evans Burnite and Joel all scored twice. Single-goal scorers for the Quakers included Michener, Zack Curtin, Banks, Jevyn Dyer and Eian Kilpatrick. Joel added three assists and won 16 of 19 face-offs, and Michener and Jack Sheward compiled assists as well. Harrison Quinn made six saves in the goal.

A day earlier, the Quakers (5-15, 2-8) picked up a tight 11-10 non-league road victory at Moorestown. Michener had seven goals and an assist, while Felter and Weinstein each had two scores and an assist. Joel and Zabierek added an assist each, and Kraus had a strong effort in goal with 17 saves.


SOFTBALL

On May 14, PC completed the season sweep of Germantown Academy with a demonstrative 19-8 win over the Patriots. Penn Charter trailed 8-3 going into the bottom of the third inning before the offense sprung to life, plating four in that inning and another 12 runs in the home fourth. 

Eight of the nine Quakers (10-9, 5-4) in the lineup had at least one hit, and Elaina Nicolucci contributed an RBI when she was hit with a pitch (taking one for the team). Lauren Gedraitis led the charge with her second home run of the season, with two RBIs and three runs scored. Ryan Hatty and Nora Prasad knocked in three while scoring multiple runs, and Arielle Willis was 2-for-3 with two RBI and two runs. Macie and Maddie Bergmann combined to bat 3-for-7 with two RBIs and five runs. 

The Quakers will wrap up their regular season against the Baldwin School on May 17 at 4 p.m. at Max Gross Field. This game will also serve as their second-round match of PAISAA due to the forfeit of Cristo-Rey in the first round. The Quakers were ranked No. 3 out of 14 teams in the PAISAA Tournament. 


BASEBALL

The Quakers wrapped up their regular season at Central Bucks South on May 16 with a 7-5 loss.

Prior to that, the Quakers dropped a 5-3 decision to Plymouth Whitemarsh on May 11. Joey Langham had an RBI double and scored a run, while Nate Hartman also knocked in a run in the losing effort. Garrett Schwartz got the start on the mound for PC, allowing two runs on four hits in three innings, striking out three and walking three. Ryan Conrad took the loss in relief, yielding two runs and four hits with a walk and a strikeout. Kevin Cotton surrendered a run and one hit in his lone inning.

A day earlier, the Quakers (7-19, 2-8) dropped a 3-1 league finale to Germantown Academy. Mason Avrigian scored the team’s lone run and also stole two bases. Cole Stocks pitched very well in a losing effort, tossing seven innings while allowing five hits and three unearned runs. Stocks struck out five and walked two. 

Despite hitting a rough patch in its season, Penn Charter still has an opportunity to turn things around in the upcoming PAISAA Tournament. The Quakers will be the No. 11 team in the field (out of 12) and will travel to face No. 6 Friends’ Central in a first-round game on May 17 at 4 p.m.


CREW

The Penn Charter crew team was idle from competition last weekend on the heels of the team’s brilliant performance at the Philadelphia Scholastic Rowing Association on May 4-5. The Quakers had six boats make it to the finals, with five nabbing top-three finishes and two winning their respective races.

PC has two events left on its schedule: the Stotesbury Cup Regatta on the Schuylkill River from May 17-18 and the Scholastic Rowing Association of America Nationals from May 24-25 on the Cooper River in South Jersey. 

Written by: Ed Morrone OPC '04

Photos by: Zamani Feelings