SportsZone for May 3, 2024

This edition of SportsZone covers Penn Charter athletic events played between April 25 and May 2. 

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

The arrival of May signifies that we have reached the final month of the spring sports season. The Penn Charter varsity squads have a few weeks left in their respective campaigns; let’s see how all are faring:

SOFTBALL

The Quakers picked up a demonstrative victory in their only game last week, a 19-4 triumph over Notre Dame on April 26. In addition to its 10 hits, PC also took full advantage of 12 free passes issued by the Irish pitching staff.

Macie Bergmann went 3-for-3 with three RBI and three runs scored, while her sister Maddie was 2-for-4 with two RBIs and three runs. Lauren Gedraitis, Nora Prasad and Ari Willis all plated two runs as well.

Ryan Hatty struck out seven over four innings of work in the pitching circle, as the Quakers got back in the win column after getting shut out 10-0 by Episcopal in their previous game.

“It’s always good to get back on track and do the things we do well,” head coach Charles Warren said. “We played good defense, and the communication was strong.”

One of the many good things about a 15-run league win is that Warren was able to get 15 players into the game, including some underclassmen that tend not to see the field as much during the throes of Inter-Ac competition.

“Macie looked over to me at one point and said to a group of us, ‘Wow, that’s the next generation of PC softball out there,’” Warren said. “It was really good to see the younger girls we have in our ranks. To be so layered at the high school level is very beneficial. Our girls have accepted their roles no matter how big or small, and it shows us where we’re at going into the future. I love seeing the program continuing to grow.”

Following a second straight win over Notre Dame on May 2 – this time a 13-3 PC win – the Quakers will now prepare for a huge battle against SCH Academy on May 3. The Blue Devils got the best of PC all the way back on March 20, but the Quakers are a much different, stronger team now than they were in the third game of the season.

Since then, the team has won seven of its last 10 games, and with SCH sitting directly above Penn Charter (9-7, 4-3) in the standings, May 3 represents a golden opportunity to make up some ground in the standings with only a few games left on the regular season schedule.

“We are absolutely not the team we were back then,” Warren said. “Since then, we’ve found out who and what we are. Maybe we weren’t as assertive or confident in our identity as we are now. We want to assert some dominance and put our stamp on the Inter-Ac. We also bring a different type of energy at home, and everyone is really excited and super refreshed for Friday.”

BASEBALL

Penn Charter endured a stretch of five games over the last seven days, one the team will not be remembering fondly after dropping all five.

Even so, the Quakers got some excellent pitching during that stretch, with four of the five contests being competitive and low-scoring, excluding an 11-6 home loss to Saint Joseph’s Prep on May 1. Kyle McKernan went 3-for-4 in that one, while Ryan Musial posted an RBI triple. 

On April 30, the team dropped a 3-2 nail-biter to Episcopal Academy, with the Churchmen claiming victory on a walkoff single. Will Vieira had a strong game on the mound, yielding two earned runs on three hits with eight strikeouts and two walks in 6.1 innings. Noah Hall had PC’s lone RBI with a run-scoring double in the sixth that tied the score at 2. 

On April 27 at La Salle, Rowan Griffith tallied two of the three PC hits, with Ryan Conrad and Tazio Perkins teaming up to allow five hits and two earned runs with eight punchouts. 

The day before, the Quakers dropped a 5-1 decision to Haverford School, with Perkins knocking in the team’s lone run. Cole Stocks allowed five runs on five hits in 5.2 innings, striking out six Fords batters.

Finally, the Quakers (7-13, 2-5) had only two hits against Holy Ghost Prep on April 26, a 6-0 defeat. Penn Charter will look to snap its eight-game losing streak at SCH Academy on May 3 at 4 p.m.

BOYS TENNIS

It has been quite a busy week in the world of Penn Charter tennis. In PC’s most recent Inter-Ac match against Episcopal Academy on April 30, the Quakers lost 6-1 to one of the league’s most talented teams. Nonetheless, there were still some positives to take from the defeat. 

Ninth grader Henry Senoff was asked to step into the singles lineup in place of classmate Simon Zoldan, who needed some extra recovery time after participating in both the Inter-Ac Singles Tournament and the Shafer Doubles Tournament last week (more on that below). 

“Everybody played better than the first time we played them [EA],” assistant coach Julio Toledo said. “We don’t have a team filled with year-round tennis players, so for everybody to perform three times better was great. The kid who stood out the most was Henry, who came up short but absolutely played some of his best tennis. He took on the challenge, and while he was exhausted, it was a great match for him.”

On April 27-28 at Episcopal, PC competed in the Shafer Doubles Tournament, with the clear highlight of the event being Zoldan and Nate Arnold advancing all the way to the finals before falling. The duo won three of their four matches.

“The doubles tournament was great,” Toledo said. “Nate and Simon had a very solid tournament with great attitudes. They were ready to play, and part of that was due to the momentum they had both gained in the singles tournament.”

The Inter-Ac Singles Championship was held at Germantown Academy on April 25, with Arnold and Zoldan again having great days overall. Arnold, who won the tournament last season, made it to the finals for the third consecutive season, a tremendous accomplishment even if he was defeated this time around. Zoldan advanced to the semifinals as a ninth grader, coming very close to defeating his opponent and making it to an all-Penn Charter championship round.

“Both matches could have gone either way,” Toledo said of Arnold and Zoldan’s final bouts. “The tension was high and the day was long, and their willingness to compete was exciting. They started at 2 p.m., with Nate's match lasting until almost 8 with only 25 minutes between matches. It’s simply not easy, and they both wanted it badly. It made them both excited to have a second chance to have an even better doubles tournament.”

Following a 4-3 victory over SCH Academy on May 2, the Quakers sit at 3-6 overall and 2-4 in league play with four matches left on the regular season schedule. Next up for PC will be a May 7 battle at Malvern Prep, a team the Quakers defeated on April 16. 

GIRLS TRACK & FIELD

The Quakers swept their final Inter-Ac race of the regular season on April 30, defeating Germantown Academy (94-40), Baldwin School (96-36) and Notre Dame (109-22).

Michaela Poland won the 200-meter dash (26.20) and finished second in the 100 (12.99) and 400 (59.16). Poland also nabbed second place in the high jump, her lone field event, posting 4 feet, 8 inches. 

Other winners included Alli DeLisi in the 400 (55.88); Zady Hasse in the 800 (2:30.82); Chloe Greenawalt in the 3200 (13:54.26); Haley Lewinski in the long jump (15 feet, 8.5 inches); Louella Whitaker in the pole vault (eight feet); and Mariah Mays in the shot put (33 feet, 7 inches). The 4x100 (52.30) and 4x400 (4:33.46) relay teams also won their respective events. 

“This was really used as a workout meet,” head coach Candice Lee said. “I have maybe four more practices left before Champs [on May 11] and we are fine tuning things to ensure we are sharp and ready.”

Penn Charter finished with a 7-0-1 record in head-to-head Inter-Ac competition this season.

The big event for PC last week was the 128th Penn Relays, in which the team participated this past weekend. First up was the High School Girls’ 4x400 Philadelphia Academic race, with the Penn Charter foursome of DeLisi, Kaylinn Bethea, Logan Lloyd and Poland finishing second out of 17 competing teams, doing so in 3:52.96. There was nearly a 10-second gap between PC and the third-place team.

“The race went great considering Penn Charter has no seniors compared to a [first place] Friends’ Central team that has two nationally-ranked seniors,” Lee said. “Kaylinn and Logan are new to the sport, and are learning and improving every day.”

On April 26, the quartet of Alex Jaffe, Bethea, Lloyd and Poland claimed sixth place (out of 12) in the High School Girls’ 4x400 Philadelphia Area event, completing the race in 3:58.92. They were less than a second away from a top-five finish.

“This relay team had stiff competition and each leg stepped on the line and ran their best,” Lee said. “They were able to run sub-four minutes, which ranks 13th in the state.”

Finally, DeLisi was the lone PC runner to compete in an individual event at Franklin Field, nabbing ninth place in the High School Girls’ Mile Run Championship (4:50.15), a great showing that gave her a new personal record in the mile. 

Up next for the Quakers is the 19th annual Hoka/Bryn Mawr Running Co. Henderson Invitational at West Chester Henderson High School on May 3. Lee said she will take a small group of athletes, with the majority sitting out due to the Inter-Ac Championships the following weekend.

BOYS TRACK & FIELD

Penn Charter competed in its final regular season Inter-Ac meet on May 1, hosting Haverford School and Episcopal Academy at PC. The Quakers split the two head-to-head matchups, defeating Episcopal 87-26 and falling to Haverford 86-46. PC finished its Inter-Ac season with an even 3-3 record.

Victorious Penn Charter athletes on the day included Matthew Dunn in the 3200-meter run (10:12.47) and Oliver Jackson in the 300-meter hurdles (44.30). Additionally, the 4x100 relay team also claimed first place, finishing the race in 44.62.

Other top-three finishes featured Julian Marmolejos in the triple jump (second place) and 110-meter hurdles (third); Britton Armbrister in the 100-meter dash (third); Jaxon Adams in the 100 (second) and 200 (third); Peyton Burnett in the 1600-meter run (second); Ben Berger in the 3200 (third); AJ Bouie in the 300 hurdles (third); Myles Jacobs (second) and Chima Auguste in the high jump (second); Ethan Leckerman (second) and Calvin Richter (third) in the long jump; Mason Knight in the triple jump (third); Michael Gambone in the shot put (third). The 4x400 relay team secured a second-place finish. 

Elsewhere, the Quakers competed in two races last weekend at the 128th Penn Relays. 

On Friday morning, the relay team of TJ Zwall, Dunn, Burnett and Nate Johnson finished 10th (of 16 teams) in the High School Boys’ 4x800 Small Schools event, one of only two Pennsylvania high school squads to qualify for the event. The boys completed the race in 8:12.85. 

The next morning, Armbrister, Auguste, Zwall and Johnson took fifth place out of six in the High School Boys’ 4x400 Inter-Ac event, completing their run in 3:31.48.

Up next for the Quakers is the 19th annual Hoka/Bryn Mawr Running Co. Henderson Invitational at West Chester Henderson High School on May 3.

GIRLS LACROSSE

Penn Charter split a pair of Inter-Ac contests last week, falling to Agnes Irwin on April 30 and defeating Notre Dame on April 26.

The Owls evened the score with PC in a 15-12 win after the Quakers had gotten the best of them earlier this season. Molly Dougherty and Grace Walter paced the attack with three goals each, while Harbor Campbell, Aditi Foster and Ella Lewandowski all found the back of the net twice. Ana Buckley and Caroline Tullo also contributed goals in the defeat.

“I knew it was going to be a close game,” head coach Colleen Kelly said. “Overall, it was a great game, a one-goal game at halftime. They had more momentum around the draws and our defense didn’t have as strong of a game as the first time we played them. They won more possessions and had more opportunities with the ball, but in general I was happy with the energy and effort.”

It was a different story against the Irish last week, as PC scored the most goals it has in a game all season in the 19-9 victory. Foster and Walter each scored five times, while Dougherty (four goals) and Campbell (three) also registered multi-goal efforts. Buckley and Cate Wall chipped in goals as well, and Maeve Magarity made nine saves in goal.

“We went to overtime the first time we beat Notre Dame, so this was a big win,” Kelly said. “It was a big positive that we were able to play so much better in a complete game. Really big win for us.”

That said, the Quakers (9-7, 5-3) are facing some adversity for the first time in awhile. After an eight-game win streak that stretched from April 2-20, PC has lost two of its last three games and will look to get back on track against SCH Academy at home on May 3 for a 4:30 p.m. start. Penn Charter dominated the Blue Devils 14-2 in the first meeting back on April 9.

“We’re obviously excited for every game we get to compete in,” Kelly said. “There aren’t many left for this team. SCH is always tough, they always battle hard so we can’t overlook them because we beat them by 10-plus last time. We want to play fast and have fun in a full team effort; if we do that, we should have a good day.”

BOYS LACROSSE

Much of this season for PC lacrosse has been measured in game-to-game progress. Even if the team is losing games, it was important for head coach Conor Resch coming into his first season in charge that the team’s effort remain consistent while improving aspects of their games on the field.

So, while the 8-7 loss to Episcopal Academy on April 30 was a little bittersweet given how close it was to a win, Resch was thrilled at how much better the Quakers looked against the Churchmen this time around. In the first meeting back on April 12, EA dominated in the form of a 16-2 blowout victory. In a much more competitive bout this time around, Gavin Michener scored four of his squad’s seven goals, while Zack Curtin (two goals) and Mikey Banks (one) also cracked the scoring column. Casey Felter, Lucas Weinstein and Ben Zabierek all chipped in assists, and goalie Charlie Kraus came up with 16 saves in the cage.

“Couldn't ask for more out of the effort from the guys,” Resch said. “Improvement is the goal, and they were not intimidated. Anybody who saw the film on that first game knew it was one of our worst of the year, and the guys wanted to go out and show what this team is really about. Would’ve loved a win, and we definitely had some late opportunities we didn’t cash in on, but we had contributions all over the field.”

By and large, even on a team with a 3-12 overall record and a 1-6 mark in league play, everybody has gotten stronger as the season has progressed. Resch praised Michener for both making individual plays on offense and getting those around him involved in the action. He singled out Curran Rahn, Eian Kilpatrick and Nolan Duffy for challenging EA in the face-off circle, as well as making life difficult for the opposition’s clearing game. Kraus, as he has done all season, made many key saves to keep the Quakers in the fight.

The Quakers, who also lost a 10-4 game to Haverford on April 26, are getting more and more positive contributions from players across the board. Resch, a defensive-minded coach, complimented the defensive unit of Rahn, Harrison Quinn and Pete Punchello, saying “they have done amazing things for us.” The coach also pointed out how much players such as Dom Comatile, Matt Furda and Charlie Rullo have improved, while ninth grader Jack Sheward has shined in high-leverage situations. 

“I’m excited about everything moving forward,” Resch said. “We’ve got a great group of young guys, even down in middle school, that are going to step into bigger roles [in the future].”

All of this leads up to another opportunity to exhibit game-to-game improvement as the team gets set for a May 3 tilt at SCH Academy. The Blue Devils beat PC 16-10 a couple of weeks ago, but after the close call against EA, Resch and company are hoping to nab the team’s second league victory, with three Inter-Ac contests still left on the regular season schedule.

“We are beyond excited to compete with SCH,” Resch said. “We think that we competed [last time], but there was a ton left on the table for us that we didn't take advantage of. A win would be great, of course, but for us it's process over results. We need to improve, win or lose, and be playing our best lacrosse at the end of the year.”

CREW

The Quakers were idle from regatta competition last weekend but will be back on the Schuylkill River this coming Saturday and Sunday. Up next, for the Philadelphia Scholastic Rowing Association City Championship on May 4-5, both the Girls JV 2x and Boys JV 2x boats for Penn Charter will be seeded first in the event by virtue of winning their races at the Horvat Regatta’s 5th Flick on April 21. 
 

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Written by: Ed Morrone OPC '04

Photos by: Zamani Feelings