Sports photographer Patty Morgan has turned her enthusiasm and knowledge for track and field into a life-long passion. She continues to showcase both indoor and outdoor events at the high school and collegiate level bringing visual appreciation to these stellar student athletes through her lens. Morgan wanted to do more to highlight this sport and its athletes. Through her column, On Track with Patty Morgan, she hopes to give audiences a more personal experience to the hard work, training, and dedication of these athletes.
By: Patty Morgan
The 2021 indoor track and field season has been anything but typical and it placed many challenges and restrictions on athletes, coaches and all those involved.
The season almost did not happen because of Covid-19. Governor Tom Wolf’s restrictions on indoor capacity limits, the need to wear masks and the need to keep all those involved safe through social distancing presented a unique set of challenges for indoor T&F giving the need for a larger venue to have competitions and the number of participants at any track meet. There were very few places available to compete indoors to begin with in our area during a normal indoor season and the Covid restrictions made that even more difficult because college venues were unavailable. With the usual destination of Lehigh University’s Rauch Field House unavailable, the difficult task of finding someplace to compete landed the Delaware Valley Girls’ Track Coaches’ Association (DVGTCA) and the Track and Field Coaches Association of Greater Philadelphia (TFCAGP) meets at the shuttered Glen Mills School for Boys.
On alternating Friday nights, both associations held very tightly controlled meets following all the current recommendations regarding social distancing and capacity requirements. Added to those Friday night meets were the Armory Trials in New York this past Oct. and Nov., several polar bear meets held outside on very cold and windy tracks and then there were a few athletes that traveled to Virginia for showcase meets and Adidas Indoor Nationals. PA indoor state championships were cancelled this year at Penn State but some of the athletes that did compete during this indoor season were able to come away with some impressive marks.
Some of the notables that came out of this unprecedented season are as follows:
Philadelphia Catholic League
Bonner-Prendergast junior Taylor Johnson is currently listed at PA No.11 in the 55m after her 7.62 PR finish at DVG No.4 and top 10 in PA in the 200m with a time of 26.38. Senior Kyle Love is currently PA No.6 in Triple Jump 40-6.25 and PA No.3 in the 55h with 7.99.
Conwell-Egan senior Freddie Haynesworth IV set several PR’s this season in the 55m, 300m, 400m, 600m and ended with a PA No.2 with a time of 22.58 in the 200m at Adidas Indoor Nationals.
La Salle College High School senior Brian Scotto is at PA No.5 in 60h and the 3000m has PA No.6 junior Zachary Brill 8:54.70, PA No.9 sophomore Ryan McGinley 9:00.25, PA No.10 sophomore Drew Brill 9:00.92 and PA No.11 senior Max Manganiello 9:05.07.
Roman Catholic senior Tyler Boone sits at PA No.6 in the 400m with 51.59.
St. Joseph Prep junior Brendan Leneghan 42-0 triple jump has him at PA No.5.
Pictured: B&P senior Kyle Love and junior Taylor Johnson, La Salle College High School junior Ryan McGinley, Roman Catholic senior Tyler Boone. (Photos by: Patty Morgan).
PCL League Standouts
Inter-Academic League
Malvern Prep junior D’Angelo Stocker ran a PR 55m 6.61 at PTFCA Indoor Track Carnival landing him at PA No.3 and then at Adidas Indoor Nationals he placed 6th with a PR 6.87 in the 60m and currently sits at PA No.1. Senior Ryan Rosenberger is at PA No.5 in Long Jump with 21-5 and senior Julian Williams is at PA No.9 with a Triple Jump of 39-6.75.
Springside Chestnut Hill Academy and recent Penn State Univ. commit senior Sabria Epps ran in the Armory Trials back in Oct. and Nov. 2020 earning her the current status of PA No.7 in the 55m, PA No.8 in the 200m and PA No.10 in the 400m. Junior Henry Banks Brandstadter sits at PA No.8 in Triple Jump 40-0.75, PA No.4 Long Jump 21-10 and PA No.1 High Jump with 6-5.
Germantown Academy senior Sarah Fineman is ranked PA No.8 in the SP with her 35-3 throw at Malvern Prep Indoor Meet.
Haverford School senior Curtis Weh sits at PA No.2 in Long Jump 22-10.25 and PA No.2 in Triple Jump 46-5.25.
Pictured: Malvern Prep junior D'Angelo Stocker and Springside Chestnut Hill Academy senior Sabria Epps. (photos by: Pattty Morgan).
Inter-Ac Standouts
Standout Athlete Interview with Archbishop Wood's Gary Martin
One of the most exciting athletes I have been following this year started his rise back in cross country season when he earned 1st place finish at the PA 2A Cross Country State Championship in Hershey, PA. Archbishop Wood junior Gary Martin just ended his indoor season with a PA No.1 US No.4 Mile with a time of 4:11.72 and PA No.1 US No.2 in the 2 Mile with a time of 9:02.93 at Adidas Indoor Nationals. Martin was named Athlete of the Year by the Pennsylvania Track and Field Coaches Association.
I had the opportunity to talk to Martin about his stellar winter season despite the challenges of Covid 19.
“With all the uncertainty surrounding races and if there would be a season, I think it was really important for me to just think about the long view. There were definitely less races and opportunities this year because of Covid but I would say it gave me a chance to really focus more on training,” said Martin. Martin also relied on support from his coach and teammates.
“Even though we weren’t racing every week, I just had a chance to focus on getting in multiple good training blocks. It can be hard to stay engaged and focused when you’re going a long period of time without racing, but I just kept reminding myself that the work I was putting in would pay off whenever I got my chance. It also helped that my coach, coach Paul, and my teammates helped me to stay engaged and focused in training. The lack of races also made the opportunities I was given even more important to my season than usual, and thankfully I was able make the most of them,” said Martin.
Archbishop Wood junior Gary Martin Named Athlete of the Year by PA Track and Field Coaches Association (photo by: Patty Morgan)
Martin’s goal is to continue to remain focused for the spring season.
“My goals for the outdoor season are really just to keep getting better and pushing myself to become a better runner and athlete. Running is obviously the key aspect of the sport, but I think I have improvements to be made through strength training, recovery, and my ability to compete and respond in races. If I can work on these areas, I’m confident the times will continue to fall and I’ll continue to improve as an athlete,” said Martin.
Martin could not be happier about competing outdoors.
“I’m looking forward to running in my first outdoor state meet and hopefully picking up a state title on the track as well as seeing if I can go after the state record of 4:06.76 in the mile. Besides that, I really just think the season will be about continuing to prove myself on a national level and building on what I built this winter,” said Martin.
Covid-19 restrictions posed many challenges and changes for athletes across the area. Bonner-Prendergast T&F head coach Kevin Kee explained that many of these student athletes had to make a difficult choice.
“We have seen many different changes due to restrictions, specifically as a Catholic School. One of the biggest changes was that student-athletes really had to choose their method of learning. If a student athlete chose virtual learning, they would not be able to compete in any activities or sports within the school. This made some decisions difficult to obtain the numbers we usually have with our sport for the indoor track season,” said Kee.
“We had many seniors choose virtual learning and not finishing their track careers. We also had some students who were virtual and decide to come in person for the month of January so they could compete and see things through. We had a student athlete that worked with us all summer and fall for cross country that went virtual for the month of December in thoughts they would miss meets. There was also a time period in December that the Archdiocese and state of Pennsylvania shut us down again for a month after the ups and downs of the fall. This played a huge aspect in athletes returning and keeping positive mindsets moving forward. When we were finally able to practice again on January 9th, we celebrated on the turf in preparation for a new year and putting 2020 behind us,” said Kee.
Bonner-Prendergast junior Taylor Johnson in 55m (video courtesy of B&P Athletics).
Bonner-Prendergast senior Kyle Love in 55h (video courtesy of B&P athletics).
“The way we trained changed a few times due to shutdowns, but our team and individual goals continued to push us through. While things were a bit different due to our new safety protocols, we found a way to remain safe at practice, in meets, and in the school building, which kept us active and moving forward with our seasons.”
I asked coach Kee if Covid and all its restrictions changed the goals that he had for his athletes during the indoor season and also heading to outdoor T&F.
“Covid changed a lot of things; from the ways we trained, to the ways we showed up to practice and meets, but what it did not do was change our goals heading into the outdoor season,” he said. “We continue to want to grow and compete against some of the best in the state of Pennsylvania and beyond. The only thing Covid has prevented was our Penn Relay goals due to the cancelation of the meet. Our goals are always to compete and fight to win while growing student-athletes to being the best human beings they can be,” said Kee.
We already know this outdoor season will be quite different because of the cancellation of the traditional Penn Relays Carnival for the second year in a row, but there is hope. There are already many outdoor meets scheduled and if the limited indoor season is any indication, outdoors will be extremely exciting! I look forward to seeing you all outside on a track somewhere soon.
(Contact Patty Morgan at pattymorganphotography@gmail.com or on Twitter @PM_Photo).
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