BROOKVILLE — Bradford girls track and field coach Larry Stillman put it best.
“The girls did something remarkable.”
The Lady Owls track team edged runner-up St. Marys to win the District 9 Class AAA championship on Wednesday, clinching their third district championship in the last five years.
“We told the girls it was going to be close, and we weren’t picked to win a lot of events,” Stillman said. “If we were going to win, it was going to have to be a team effort, and it truly was.”
In addition to two first-place individuals that qualified for the state meet, Bradford rallied around a host of placewinners to prevail over the D9 field.
The Lady Owls compiled 94 points, enough to edge St. Marys’ 85.5 points. DuBois wasn’t far behind, racking up 77.5 points, while Clearfield managed 19 points.
Abbie Nuzzo took home a trio of first-place finishes and was awarded the meet’s most outstanding competitor. The junior won the javelin throw with a personal-best distance of 107 feet and one inch. She won the triple jump in 32 feet and 1.5 inches, and took the pole vault with a nine-foot jump.
“(Nuzzo) had a great day,” Stillman said. “She was going from event to event nonstop, and that’s quite an honor for her to win that award.”
Abbigail Schleicher added a pair of first-place finishes for the Lady Owls. She won the 200-meter dash in 25.7 seconds and the 400-meter dash in 1:01.48.
Schleicher also finished third in the 100-meter dash with a time of 13.4 seconds.
“(Schleicher was) outstanding in the sprints,” Stillman said. “She missed some time this season and came back strong with great times.”
Despite finishing second in two races and third in the other, the Bradford relay teams had perhaps their best performances of the season.
The Lady Owls’ 3200-meter relay team, which missed a school record that has stood since 1978 by four seconds, finished in second place. The team of Emily Bosworth, Korie Dixon, Hannah Lary and Marissa Miller finished the event in 9:52.17, the second-fastest mark in program history.
Bradford also finished second in the 1600-meter relay with a time of 4:11.18, and third in the 400-meter relay in 52.97 seconds.
“It’s hard to win a district title without winning a relay, and ours ran fantastic, but got edged out,” Stillman said.
St. Marys completed the 1600-meter race in 4:09.77, less than two seconds ahead of Bradford, and the 3200-meter event in 9:47.64.
Despite the hot temperatures that suffocated the meet’s conditions, Bradford saw strong performances from its distance runners.
“Pure guts,” as Stillman said.
Dixon finished second in the 3200-meter run with a time of 12:33.28 and fourth in the 1600-meter run in 5:45. Lary turned in a fourth-place performance in the 800-meter run.
Bradford’s throwers held their own, as well, as Allyson Luke finished second in the shot put with a throw of 37 feet and 7.75 inches. Sophia Asp was close behind with a 31-foot, 11.5-inch throw, good enough for third, and Asp finished second in discus with an 85-foot, one-inch toss.
Luke also finished third in discus, finishing at 78 feet and one inch.
“The throwers were incredible,” Stillman said. “Those kids were phenomenal all year, and they came through today.”
Other top Lady Owl performers included a tie for second place in the pole vault, as Kara Longo and Mackenzie Lucas each jumped eight feet. Bosworth finished second in the 400-meter dash, Swanson was second in the 300-meter hurdles and Kayelyn Eschrich finished third in the high jump.
Alexia Corignani turned in a third-place performance in the 100-meter hurdles, Kelcie Little earned third in the triple jump and fourth in the 100-meter hurdles, and Lilly Kemick checked in at fifth in discus.
After winning district titles in 2017 and 2018, Bradford was edged by St. Marys in 2019. This year, the Lady Owls reclaimed their place on top of the class.
Stillman thanked his assistant coaches, Natalie Marasco and Matt Teribery, as well as Bradford athletic director Mike Erickson. A district title, as he said, is the culmination of a community-wide effort.
“We told the girls that we were just so proud of them and what they, their families and the school district were willing to do to have a season,” Stillman said. “I’ve been at this since 1979, and this might be the most satisfying one, considering what these kids went through.”
GIRLS
AT BROOKVILLE
Bradford 94, St. Marys 85.5, DuBois 77.5, Clearfield 19
100: Caskey (SM) :13.1, 200: Schleicher (B) :27.15, 400: Schleicher (B) 1:01.48, 800: Roemer (D) 2:23.13, 1,600: Hayes (SM) 5:16.39, 3,200: Roemer (D) 12:00.92, 400 relay: DuBois (Grimm, Stroka, Barrick, Fenice) :51.77, 1,600 relay: St. Marys (Catalone, Caskey, Grotzinger, Hayes) 4:09.77, 3,200 relay: St. Marys (Blythe, Grotzinger, Johnson, Hayes) 9:47.64, 100 hurdles: Fontaine (D) :16.88, 300 hurdles: Caskey (SM) :49.04, long jump: Grimm (D) 15-7.5, triple jump: Nuzzo (B) 32-1.5, high jump: Crabtree (D) 4-8, shot put: Bauer (SM) 36-1, discus: Bauer (SM) 94-11, pole vault: Nuzzo (B) 9-0, javelin: Nuzzo (B) 107-1
