Knoch girls finish 3rd at WPIAL team finals
PETERS TWP — Falling short of the goal didn’t diminish the accomplishment of being able to strive for it.
Knoch’s girls track and field team finished third by a small margin at Tuesday’s WPIAL Class 2A Girls’ Track and Field Championships, held at Peters Township Middle School. The Knights defeated Shenango, 81-69, and narrowly fell to second-place Fort Cherry, 76-74. Repeat champion Quaker Valley beat Knoch, 85-65.
“It’s been four years of getting to this point,” said Knights senior Ava Santora, who placed first in the 1,600- and 3,200-meter runs. “Coming in my freshman year, we were not that strong of a school, not that strong of a team. To watch it build into what it is now is actually insane to me because we went from ... scoring no points to getting to the WPIAL finals two years in a row.”
Juniors Karlee Buterbaugh (javelin) and Kara Fennell (pole vault) also finished tops in their respective events for Knoch.
“So close to second,” Knights coach Amy Formica said. “They had an amazing year. They all worked very hard all year and I’m very proud.”
Santora, a Texas Christian commit, led throughout her first long-distance run, beating out Fort Cherry’s Emily Frankovich by over four seconds. Her day wasn’t over, however — a task she’s used to by now.
“We’ve had her do that all year,” Formica said. “Secretly, she likes it.”
Santora agreed.
“I do cross-county, as well, so the distance part doesn’t really affect me too much,” Santora said. “I’ve kind of gotten used to the torture a little bit. I kind of like it now.”
Santora trailed Frankovich for the first two laps or so before working past her in the third. The Knoch standout wound up crossing the finish line 28 seconds before her.
“I was tired from the mile,” Santora admitted. “I kind of went into the two-mile ... a little rushed. When the gun went off, I was just kind of getting my bearings together a little bit. It took me (until) the third lap to finally wrap my head around (the fact) that I’m actually in the race. So then I started to get going.”
To finish the meet off, Fennell broke a school record by pole vaulting 11 feet, 2 inches. It was an objective of hers on the day, but consistency was key.
“I was just doing it like how I do at practice,” Fennell said. “Just trying to not change anything.”
Formica had high praise for the new record-holder.
“She’s dealing with a lot of things with her body not doing what she wants it to,” Formica said of Fennell. “She has our triple jump record, she has our pole vault record. ... She’s just of the most elite level.”
The Knights’ girls aren’t done yet. Not as individuals.
“We do have quite a few stars,” Formica said. “We have people who are No. 1 in their event every single week at our dual meets. I think we’ll have a big busload going to states.”
Having switched to be a distance runner this year, junior Myah Smith placed second in the 400 run, while senior Maddie Hunt did the same in the shot put.
Santora and Hunt were part of a group that Formica gushed about.
“This senior class is the reason why — for the past three years — this team has done everything that (it’s) done,” Formica said. “Coming in, even when they were freshmen, they were dominating everything. They have just carried that through.
“Boy, they’ve just made history for themselves.”
Quaker Valley 85, Knoch 65
Fort Cherry 76, Knoch 74
Knoch 81, Shenango 69
3,200 relay: Quaker Valley 10:02.34; 100 hurdles: Karto (QV) 16.03; 100 dash: Karto (QV) 12.68; 1,600 run: Ava Santora (K) 5:20.47; 400 run: Menzies (FC) 61.96; 400 relay: Quaker Valley 50.10; 300 hurdles: Pocasangra (QV) 49.05; 800 run: Staub (FC) 2:27.85; 200 dash: Menzies (FC) 26.37; 3,200 run: Ava Santora (K) 11:57.19; 1,600 relay: Fort Cherry 4:12.64
Shot put: Shenango 38-1; Discus: Shenango 116-11; Javelin: Karlee Buterbaugh (K) 120-0; High jump: Quaker Valley 5-4; Long jump: Fort Cherry 13-8.25; Triple jump: Quaker Valley 38-1.5; Pole Vault: Tie, Kara Fennell (K), Quaker Valley 11-2
