Fisher’s Files: Quaker Valley adds to haul to trophy case during fall season to remember

By: Ray Fisher
Sunday, November 17, 2024 | 11:01 AM

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Mike Mastroianni, athletic director at Quaker Valley, undoubtedly had an extra-wide smile on his face on the first weekend in November.

And no, it wasn’t because he was counting down the hours to Election Day.

Mastroianni was gleeful over the performances of so many of the Quaker Valley athletes and teams in the WPIAL and PIAA playoffs.

QV reeled in five WPIAL titles in the fall season.

Cross country

Start with the Quaker Valley cross country program, which flourished in the postseason.

The boys team finished first out of 38 teams at the WPIAL Class 2A finals then secured the fourth spot at the PIAA championships.

The Quakers tacked on a third-place finish at the MAC championships to their 2024 season resume.

Individually, senior Clark LaLomia won the MAC crown in the Class 2A division while sophomore Jonah Montagnese placed third.

Later in the season, Montagnese earned seventh place at the PIAA Class 2A finals and LaLomia finished ninth.

Montagnese’s older sister Cecilia stole the show at the WPIAL Class 2A girls cross country championships by taking first place by a comfortable margin.

She also corralled third place at the PIAA finals and finished first in the girls 2A division at the MAC championships.

The QV girls cross country team placed third out of 35 teams at the WPIAL Class 2A finals and earned 11th place at the state race. The Quakers also were medalists as a team at the MAC championships.

Girls volleyball

The QV girls volleyball team enjoyed a historic season by winning its first WPIAL title in school history by rolling past Hopewell, 3-0, in the championship match.

The Quakers qualified for the postseason by winning the Section 1-2A crown with a perfect 14-0 record. After winning the WPIAL title, the QV girls dropped a dramatic 3-2 (25-27, 25-21, 25-15, 31-33, 11-15) decision to District 10 runner-up Cathedral Prep in the PIAA first round.

Girls tennis

The QV girls tennis program enjoyed a banner season starting with the MAC tournament in which the Quakers defeated 15 teams from either Class 3A or 2A in staking claim to the team championship.

The Quakers were the Section 5-2A titlists and WPIAL runners-up, losing to a tough North Catholic squad, 3-2, in the WPIAL championship match.

The QV netters moved on to the PIAA tournament where they finally saw their season end in the semifinals with a 3-0 loss to Scranton Prep.

Let’s not forget about the dominating performance of QV’s prolific doubles team of senior Kirsten Close and freshman Avery Allan.

Despite their age difference, the two quickly became friends and teamed up to earn the Section 5-2A championship, winning 6-0, 6-0 against an Aquinas Academy tandem.

Close and Allan also captured the WPIAL doubles championship in 2A with a 6-2, 6-2 victory against a North Catholic pair.

The QV girls qualified for the PIAA tournament and closed out their season as silver medalists via a close 6-4, 6-4 loss to the defending champions from Lower Moreland.

Girls soccer

The girls soccer team shared the Section 3-2A crown with Beaver, then advanced to the WPIAL finals where the Quakers edged Burrell, 2-1, to earn the championship trophy.

QV defeated Fort LeBouef, 2-0, and Trinity (Camp Hill), 3-0, in the first two rounds of the PIAA playoffs.

The boys soccer team shared the Section 2-2A title with Avonworth to qualify for the WPIAL playoffs.

The Quakers lost to Burrell in the first round of the team tournament in what could not have been a closer result. The two sides played to a 0-0 tie in double overtime before the Buccaneers finally won by a 5-3 score on penalty kicks.

Golf

Turning our attention to golf, QV senior Ethan Dai tied for fourth at the WPIAL Class 2A boys individual championships while senior Nolan Wagoner tied for ninth.

Both advanced to the state tournament where Dai tied for sixth and Wagoner tied for 32nd.

The QV linksters landed in fifth place at the WPIAL team tournament.

QV junior Makenna Kamnikar was a medalist at the WPIAL Class 2A girls individual finals with a seventh-place showing. Kamnikar qualified for the PIAA championships at Penn State and finished 33rd.

She also ended up eighth in the 2A girls division at the MAC championships.

Tags: Quaker Valley