Quaker Valley’s Mia Gartley shows multi-sport skills in cross country, volleyball, track

By: Ray Fisher
Sunday, October 26, 2025 | 11:01 AM

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Mia Gartley is a high jump aficionado in the Quaker Valley girls track and field program.

Gartley also knows how to jump smoothly from one season to the next for the Quakers. She is one of the most athletic girls at the high school.

“Mia is one of those student-athletes who stands out because of her balance of natural ability and strong work ethic,” said Ryan Kelly, QV’s cross country coach. “She’s versatile, coachable and driven — someone who elevates not only her own performance but also the energy of the entire team. Whether it’s in workouts or on race day, she competes with focus and confidence.

“Mia is the type of student-athlete every coach values. She’s dependable, positive and team oriented. She’s been a steady leader for our team and a great example for the younger runners. I’m proud of the progress she’s made and excited to see how she closes out her senior year.”

Gartley actually competes in two sports in the fall — volleyball and cross country.

The 5-foot-8 senior has been playing high school volleyball since her freshman year. This season was her first venture into cross country running.

“Mia has had an impressive senior season,” Kelly said. “After opening with a 23:25 at the Blackhawk scrimmage, she quickly dropped nearly two minutes at the Red, White and Blue Classic.

“She continued to show consistency and resilience, culminating in a season-best 20:59 at the MAC championships, her first time breaking 21 minutes this year. Her steady improvement reflects her experience, competitive mindset and determination to finish strong.

Gartley has been a key member of the girls track and field program for four years. She participates on QV’s indoor team in the winter months.

“In the past, I have only focused on high jump during winter track,” Gartley said. “But this year I’m looking to expand it to running, as well.”

She has won two WPIAL Class 2A outdoor titles in the high jump during the spring season and has been a member of three team championships at the district level.

As a freshman, Gartley secured the top spot in the girls high jump at the WPIAL finals and placed fifth at the PIAA finals at Shippensburg.

She repeated as the Class 2A girls high jump titlist in the district in her sophomore season.

“I’m confident Mia will carry her momentum (from the cross country season) into outdoor track,” Kelly said. “She’s developed a great foundation of endurance and race strategy through cross country, and those strengths should translate really well on the track.

“I expect her to be a key contributor in the distance events as well as in high jump and to continue chasing personal-bests in the spring.”

Gartley, who has four older brothers, also plans to participate in the 300-meter hurdles and 1,600 relay.

“I trained for all my sports in the summer as well on my own or with my teams,” Gartley, 17, said. “I’ve always loved running and playing sports with my brothers when I was little. That’s where my love for sports originated. I’ve tried every sport in the book and loved most, but the one that drew me in was track and field.

“The high jump quickly became something I felt passionate about. I loved the competitiveness of the high jump and also the running aspect of track. And for volleyball, I always thought it was such a cool sport to watch; that’s what made me passionate to play.”

Despite such an active daily agenda, Gartley, a Sewickley resident, has maintained a 3.91 GPA and is a member of the National Honor Society, Key Club and student council. She is thinking of majoring in biology or business in college.

“My schedule is jam packed,” she said. “I go to school from 8 to 2 then I have cross country from 3 to 4:45, then volleyball varies either from 5 to 7:30 or 6 to 7:30. After that is when I get to complete my academics. I love staying busy, so it’s the perfect schedule for me.”

Track and field — particularly the high jump — is Gartley’s favorite sport. She has grown from a 5-2 dynamo as a seventh grader to a two-time WPIAL high jump champion.

“I would say it is track and field because not only did I find so much success in it, I met lifelong friends through the sport,” she said.

Her favorite memories at Quaker Valley?

“This is such a hard question because I have so many good athletic memories,” Gartley said. “My top three are competing at states my sophomore year, winning WPIALs team championship my sophomore year in track and field and winning the WPIAL volleyball title my junior year.

“In volleyball, we were section champions my sophomore and junior years for the first time in school history, along with WPIAL champions for the first time in school history.”

One of the biggest influences in her athletic career has been John Doucette, assistant track and field coach at QV.

“My coach (Doucette) somehow convinced me to quit lacrosse my freshman year and take track seriously,” Gartley said. “He definitely keeps me accountable on attendance and discipline, which is something I appreciate.”

Gartley is an outside hitter on the girls volleyball team and a three-year starter. She also is a team captain along with Bella Jarrett, a senior outside hitter, and Megan Harris, a junior libero.

“I think Mia is one of the most athletic girls I have had the pleasure of coaching,” said Mike Vavrek, QV’s volleyball coach. “Some of the plays she makes and things she does on the court really speaks volumes to her athleticism. Mia did not start her volleyball career until the eighth grade. I could see her athleticism from the moment I saw her at middle school open gym.

“She is a great teammate and competitor. Her freshman year, she played outside hitter for the JV team and did a great job. Her sophomore year, we were looking for a middle hitter at the varsity level, and Mia was the first girl we looked at. She stepped in and learned a new position at the varsity level and did a good job for us. She finished that year with 32 kills.”

Gartley increased her kills total to 103 in her junior season.

“Last year, while still playing middle, she became more of an offensive weapon for us,” Vavrek said. “In last year’s WPIAL and PIAA playoffs, she had 23 kills and four errors on 49 swings. That is almost a .400 hitting percentage. She was a big part of our run to winning the WPIAL championship.

“This year, she was asked to take on an even bigger role. She had to relearn the outside hitter position, as well as being a primary passer for us in serve-receive. So, in the past, she was only a three-rotation front row player, and now she plays all six rotations and never comes off the floor. She surpassed the 103 kills mark this year and leads us in kills. She is second on the team in aces and third in digs.”

QV celebrated senior night Oct. 16 with Gartley, Jarrett, Gabby Frank (MH/RS), Ella Palmer (DS) and Donika Keo (DS) being honored.

The Quakers defeated Northgate, 3-0, that night and qualified for the WPIAL playoffs for a fourth consecutive season.

QV finished fourth in Section 1-2A and 8-10 overall.

“I am super proud of our volleyball team,” Gartley said. “We have a lot of young players that have really stepped up to help out the team.

“Recently, we’ve been playing a lot better together and I’m excited for what the future holds.”

The No. 15 Quakers defeated No. 18 Keystone Oaks in five games in the WPIAL preliminary round Oct. 20 and advanced to a first-round match Oct. 21 with second-seeded Waynesburg.

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