Quaker Valley athletes shatter records at WPIAL meet

By: Ray Fisher
Sunday, May 25, 2025 | 11:01 AM

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Quaker Valley’s boys team was responsible for three of the 11 records that were broken May 14 at the WPIAL Class 2A track and field championships at Slippery Rock University.

“It was a very impressive performance across the board,” QV coach Jared Jones said.

QV senior standout Davin “Macky” Gartley won the boys 300-meter hurdles in 38.15 seconds, bettering the 2A district record set in 2012 by Washington’s Dustin Fuller (38.50). Macky also reset the school record.

“I’m really happy with my performance. I’m proud to have the 300-meter hurdles record at the meet,” Gartley said. “I did want to run faster in the 110-meter hurdles; however, that headwind was fierce.”

The 6-foot-3, 175-pound Gartley holds three school records and has won seven gold medals in WPIAL track and one gold in cross country in his accomplished career.

Gartley, 18, has a 4.28 grade-point average and plans to attend and compete in track at Washington and Lee.

“My favorite (high school) memory was winning the WPIAL team championship last year,” he said, “or the bus rides to and from meets.”

Gartley also has participated in the peer jury program at Quaker Valley.

“It’s a program that allows legal cases to be heard by their peer juries in lieu of going to court,” he said.

Gartley captured first place in the 110 hurdles in 14.36 seconds at the WPIAL meet and earned medals in QV’s 1,600 relay victory and third-place showing in the 400 relay.

“I was very proud of Mackey’s performance in all of his events,” Jones said.

Two district records in 2A were broken by QV relay teams.

The Quakers shattered the WPIAL 2A mark in the boys 1,600 relay with a 3:22.36 time. QV’s foursome consisted of Gartley along with sophomore James Irwin and seniors Jackson Pethel and Clark LaLomia. Riverside held the record (3:24.26) since 2018.

“Our 4-by-400 did good, but we know the best is yet to come for us,” Gartley said. “We weren’t being pushed to our fullest, so we know we can run faster.”

Pethel and Lalomia teamed with junior River Capek and sophomore Jonah Montagnese to snap the WPIAL boys 3,200 relay record in 7:51.89. The Quakers set the mark (7:57.16) in 2012.

Gartley was joined in the 400 relay event by senior Winston Clifford, Irwin and sophomore Kieran Cain.

Montagnese also was a four-time medalist, as he placed third in the 1,600 and 3,200, fifth in the 800 and ran a leg in the 3,200 relay.

Two other individual titlists for the Quakers were LaLomia, thanks to a 1:55.33 effort in the 800, and Clifford, by clearing 6 feet, 3 inches in the high jump. LaLomia, who plans to compete in track and cross country at High Point, ended his day as a triple medalist.

Irwin finished third in the 400 and eighth in the high jump to join Gartley and Montagnese as four-time medalists for the boys squad.

Pethel, who finished as the runner-up in the 800 in 1:55.44, was a triple medalist.

Three other individual medal winners were juniors Xander Vescio, fifth in the 110 hurdles, Jayden Juliano, sixth in the 400, and Aiden Dwyer, sixth in the triple jump.

Other WPIAL qualifiers for the boys team included junior Tyler Bell (1,600), Capek (400), sophomore Hugo Castellini (300 hurdles), Dwyer (high jump), senior Ethan Dai (pole vault) and freshman Eli Walker (pole vault).

The Quaker Valley girls team’s outstanding senior long-distance runner, Cecilia Montagnese, finished first in the 1,600 and 3,200 events at the WPIAL meet with times of 5:58.55 and 11:02.51, and second in the 800 in 2:16.62.

Montagnese, a Villanova track and cross country recruit, added a fourth medal to her day’s activities by running a leg on the girls 3,200 relay team that placed sixth.

QV’s Oumou “Mimi” Thiero, a 6-4 junior, won the girls high jump competition by clearing a school-record height of 5-8.

Similar to the boys team, the QV girls finished with a healthy dose of medalists at the WPIAL meet.

Senior Kwilai Karto was a four-time medal winner by finishing third in the 200 and sixth in the 100 and also competing on the 400 and 1,600 relay teams.

Jay Olawaiye, another senior, was the runner-up in the triple jump with a distance of 37-6.

Karto is an Emory track recuit and Olawaiye is headed to Brown.

Sophomore Evie Rosselli placed third in the pole vault and fifth in the 100 hurdles and ran a leg on QV’s 400 relay team while freshman Lucy Montagnese zeroed in on sixth place in the 3,200 and seventh in the 1,600. Montagnese also ran a leg in the 400 relay.

Sophomore Rose Pocasangre was a triple medalist by placing seventh in the 100 hurdles and fourth in the 300 hurdles and running a leg in the 400 relay.

Vanessa Pickett took sixth place in the long jump and was a medalist in the 400 and 1,600 relays. Sarah Minard finished fourth in the pole vault. Both are seniors.

“I am so beyond proud of all our accomplishments and with all the work we put in to get there,” Minard said. “This team is truly so supportive and great to be around.”

All three QV girls relay units were WPIAL medalists.

The 400 relay team placed second with a 48.74 time, setting the pace for the 3,200 and 1,600 runners who took sixth and seventh, respectively.

Rosselli, Karto, Pickett and Pocasangre competed in the 400, senior Emily Bablak, sophomore Maggie Doz and the Montagnese sisters ran in the 3,200, while Pickett, junior Mia Gartley, Pocasangre and Karto participated in the 1,600.

Other WPIAL qualifiers in girls events for QV included Bablak (800), Doz (3,200), Gartley (300 hurdles, high jump) and Olawaiye (long jump).

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