Quaker Valley track teams finished season with once-in-a-lifetime showing

By: Ray Fisher
Thursday, July 3, 2025 | 10:30 PM

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There wasn’t a more impressive Western Pennsylvania track and field program in the spring season than the Quaker Valley Quakers.

QV’s track and field teams delivered a historic performance at the PIAA Class 2A championships, as both the girls and boys tracksters captured state titles — the first time in school history for the girls and the second for the boys.

With multiple records shattered, individual state champions crowned and both the boys and girls teams earning state titles, the 2025 PIAA track and field final has been recognized as one of the most celebrated weekends in QV athletics history.

In fact, it’s been labeled a once-in-a-­generation achievement.

The QV boys team lived up to high expectations, entering the state finals as the 2A favorite and delivering one of the most dominant performances in PIAA history.

“The boys set three school records at the state meet,” QV coach Jared Jones said. “The boys team now owns six school records and five second-best all-time performances. Ten different boys from this team hold top two marks in QV history.

“The boys joined Aliquippa as the only other 2A team in the WPIAL to win a state championship in track and field.”

The Quakers amassed a staggering 75 points — the most ever by a boys team in PIAA track and field competition across both 2A and 3A classifications.

Jonah Montagnese, Clark LaLomia, Gavin “Macky” Gartley, James Irwin and all three relay teams displayed memorable efforts.

Montagnese won the 1,600 with a school record time of 4:11, finished fourth in the 3,200 and earned top six finishes in four distance events.

“We knew we were the favorites for the state championship,” Montagnese said, “but that didn’t mean we weren’t going push as hard as we could in every race. I think this group of guys knew from the start of the season what the goal was, and I think all of our hard work and training really came together for the perfect ending to this historic season.

“I don’t think any school will replicate our team’s overall performance for a very long time, if ever,” Montagnese said. “The odds of anyone having a team as well rounded as us is hard to imagine. I think we all left this season happy with the ending and excited for the future of the program and where we can take it.”

The 3,200-meter relay team — Montagnese, River Capek, Jackson Pethel and LaLomia — cruised to a four-second victory. LaLomia also placed second in the 800 and anchored the Quakers’ winning 1,600 relay team. LaLomia was grouped with Gartley, Jayden Juliano and Irwin.

Gartley set a school record in the 300-meter hurdles, diving across the line for second place in 37.58 seconds. The QV hurdler also earned silver in the 110-meter event.

Irwin placed third in the 400 with a school-record 49.17 performance and helped seal the Quakers’ 1,600 relay victory.

QV’s 400 relay team, consisting of Gartley, Irwin, Kieran Cain and Winston Clifford, tacked on another medal-winning effort with a seventh-place showing.

It marked only the second time a boys track and field team from the WPIAL won a PIAA title. And when comparing scores across all classifications, the Quakers’ total would have placed them third in Class 3A, behind only State College and Palmyra.

Going into the state finals, QV’s girls team was projected to finish fourth in 2A. But in one of the most memorable meets in school history, the Quakers surged ahead to claim the state title with 54 points, outpacing runner-up Lewisburg by seven points.

“For the girls, this marks the first time any QV team has won a state championship in any sport,” Jones said. “They join only two other WPIAL 2A schools to ever win a state championship in (girls) track and field.”

The four-time WPIAL Quakers were sparked by the standout performances achieved by team members Jay Olawaiye, Cecilia Montagnese, Evie Rosselli, Mimi Thiero and Vanessa Pickett.

“I think our team had a little bit of a rough start (in 2025) due to athletes being absent at practice because of other commitments and some injuries,” Olawaiye said. “I was very happy to see that the team made a quick recovery and secured the victory in the end.

“What a weekend for Quaker Valley track. I am so proud of the girls team for coming through and winning the state title. Each girl contributed majorly to the win. I was so glad that I had the privilege to stand by this group of girls while holding the state trophy. Everyone on the team is so talented athletic and determined; their hard work helped QV win the title.”

Montagnese finished second in both the 1,600- and 3,200-meter runs while placing fourth in the 800, setting multiple school records at the meet.

Rosselli, originally projected to place eighth in the pole vault, shocked the field by taking the runner-up spot thanks to a new school record (12 feet).

Thiero also secured second place in the high jump, clearing 5 feet, 7 inches in rainy conditions.

Pickett secured seventh in the long jump and ran a leg on QV’s fourth-place 400-meter relay team along with Rosselli, Kwilai Karto and Rose Pocasangre.

Olawaiye capped off the weekend with a state title in the triple jump, which sealed the team championship for the Quakers.

The PIAA championship was the first for QV in any girls sport.

And for fourth-year seniors on the team, the WPIAL season proved especially rewarding as the Quakers captured their fourth consecutive district championship.

“It was a feeling like no other,” Olawaiye said. “I was ecstatic, and I will cherish that moment for the rest of my life.”

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