Brady Mider, Twin Valley relays, shine in historic Penn Relays spotlight (updated)
By Julie Pelchar Cohen — MikeDragoSports.com senior correspondent
The prestige of the Penn Relays was palpable the moment Twin Valley’s distance runners arrived at Franklin Field Friday.
Anthony Engle and the Raiders entered the Philadelphia stadium while the nation’s fastest college runners were speeding around the track.
“Right away it was high intensity,” Engle said. “It was a moment where you knew you really wanted to deliver.”
Engle and teammates Frankie DiSilvestro, Jackson Kinsey and David Seel produced a special performance at the historic meet, which is the oldest and largest in the country.
The Raiders finished eighth in the prestigious High School Boys Distance Medley Championship of America.
Berks Catholic’s Brady Mider was Berks County’s star Thursday. The junior finished fourth in the High School Boys Shot Put Championship with a personal-best 58-11½. Mider was the county’s only Penn Relays qualifier in an individual event.
The big heave helped Mider remain the top-ranked shot putter in Pennsylvania. He also earned a medal for finishing in the top five. Jamaica’s Kobe Lawrence unleashed a 68-8 for the gold medal.
After a sluggish start in the prelims, Mider relaxed in the final and closed within almost a foot of the coveted 60-foot mark on his second-to-last throw.
“He’s a pretty laid-back kid,” said Mider’s father, Mike. “He doesn’t get too excited. He knew he had a pretty decent throw, and he showed as much excitement as Brady does when he has a good one.”
Franklin Field is proving to be a special venue for Mider. He hit a personal best there during last summer’s New Balance National Outdoor.
Twin Valley, the 13th seed, finished in 10:22.39.
DiSilvestro ran a 3:13.19 in the opening 1200-meter leg. Kinsey followed with a 51.12 in the 400.
“Frankie is only a sophomore,” Engle said. “So it was super exciting to see him go out there and hold his own against some of the best teams in the nation. Jackson is also a sophomore. The two of them ran it like complete veterans.”
Seel propelled the Raiders from 12th to ninth by running a 1:58.84 in the 800-meter third leg. Engle, one of Pennsylvania’s best distance runners, completed the final 1600 in 4:19.26.
“That was the bar,” Engle said of finishing in the top eight. “We weren’t 100 percent positive we could pull it off. It’s a super-great feeling.”
It was the first time in school history that Twin Valley qualified for the championship race. The top 16 teams were accepted based on qualifying times submitted by schools throughout the East Coast.
Twin Valley was the second-fastest Pennsylvania team. Christ School from North Carolina clocked a 15-second victory with its 9:58.15.
Although the Raiders didn’t set a personal best, Engle and his formidable distance crew were happy with their performance. The drenched track seemed to slow most times Friday.
“It was really satisfying to get the race we had today,” Engle said.
Two Berks girls relay teams ran Berks best times. Catherine Arentz, Mia Brown, Violet Houck and Erika Culp of Wilson ran a 4:02.51 in the 4×400, bettering Twin Valley’s time. Sarah Miller, Laura Posh, Ashley Lavrich and Olivia Miller of Twin Valley lowered their time in the 4×800 to 9:48.95.
