WPIAL track and field: 2025 Beaver Valley season preview

As the high school track and field season begins to ramp up over the next week, athletes from across the Beaver Valley will continue to prepare for the season, looking to make their mark.

From WPIAL and state qualifiers to emerging stars, several storylines are present coming into this season. Here is a look at each area team heading into the 2025 campaign.

Class 3A

Moon Area

2024 record: Boys (9-2, 5-1) Girls (4-4, 2-4)

The girls team returns three WPIAL qualifiers from last year. Maria Depner (discus), Lydia Delsite, (long jump/triple jump) and Jaedin Griggs (triple jump) all return, while three members of the team’s 4x800 relay team, consisting of junior Elise Ashcroft, senior Alyson Stepp and sophomore Sonya Taylor, return after a seventh-place finish in the championships.

For the boys, the team brought back Paul Bronaugh, Jake Duncan, Samuel Herrera, Tyler Giunipero, Jared Moyer, Elijah Thomas and Ben Delsite, who all qualified for the WPIAL championships.

West Allegheny

2024 record: Boys (3-3, 3-3) Girls (4-2, 4-2)

The West Allegheny girls team brings back several key members of last year’s team from Haley Trosky, WPIAL silver medalist in the 1,600 and 3,200 meters, Grace Fritzman along with Ella Smith, who qualified for the 300-meter hurdles finals last year.

The boys lost a large majority of their senior class from last season but do return a WPIAL qualifier in the 100-meter dash, Roman Police.

Ambridge

2024 record: Boys (0-6, 0-5) Girls (0-6, 0-5)

Ambridge will look to grow from a last-place finish in the section for both the boys and girls teams last season.

Beaver Area

2024 record: Boys (3-2, 3-2) Girls (6-3, 4-1)

The Beaver Area boys have a mix of underclassmen and experienced athletes returning to this year’s team.

Tyler Biss and juniors Isaac Burtt and Brayden Cosky, who qualified for the 4x800 relay at the WPIAL Class 3A Championships, return. Biss also raced in the finals of the 800 and 1,600-meter run as well.

Blackhawk

2024 record: Boys Girls (5-3, 5-0)

The Blackhawk girls come into the year riding a section championship, while the boys squad finished second in its section.

The girls return WPIAL qualifiers Kaylee Coakley, who placed in the discus and shot put along with Grace Davis in the triple jump.

The boys return just one district qualifier in Tyler Tritt, who competed in the triple jump at the WPIAL championships.

Central Valley

2024 record: Boys (2-3, 2-3) Girls (1-4, 1-4)

Noel Brady is back for his junior season after finishing sixth in the 200-meter dash at the WPIAL championships along with Dar’Ae Harris in the 110 and 300 hurdles, while Tyler Ondrusek placed sixth in the shot put.

Gianna Gasperine, who qualified for the WPIALs for the high jump, will be an asset on the girls team this season.

Hopewell

2024 record: Boys (12-5, 7-0) Girls (8-5, 7-0)

Both squads faired well as teams and individually and returned a majority of their roster that qualified for the WPIAL championships.

Emma Palmieri is back for her senior season along with the girls 4x100 meter relay team featuring Palmieri, Maya Richbug, Avery Boyd and Navaeh Persi-Jones.

Zach Kovell is one of the boys team’s top returning runners, along with Josh Brunton and Nick Adams, who were part of the 4x100-meter relay team that placed sixth at the WPIAL last season.

Beaver Falls

2024 record: Boys (2-5, 2-5) Girls (1-6, 1-6)

While Beaver Falls looks to improve on its team records in 2025, the program returns DJ Williams, who placed second at the WPIAL in the 400-meter and Za’Saun McElvy in the 300-meter hurdles. The girls return Deirdra Cox, who placed seventh in the 100-meter dash.

Ellwood City

2024 record: Boys (11-3, 6-1) Girls (2-5, 2-5)

Despite graduating seniors who placed at the WPIAL championships, the Ellwood City boys team still returns Kaden Doccio, Drew Steffler and Bradley Custer, who each played a big role in the team’s success. Delaney Sturgeon returns for the girls. She placed fifth in the high jump and 12th in the pole vault.

Riverside

2024 record: Boys (4-3, 4-3) Girls (4-3, 4-3)

Riverside girls lost some of its top athletes in Lexi Fluharty, Brooke Wissinger and Emma Thellman but does return Olivia Pettner, Oliva Reed and DeLana Fox.

Carson Emerick, the boys bronze medalist for the discus throw, is back for his senior year along with Devin Montileone, Gavin Lutz and Will Sullivan.

Aliquippa

2024 record: Boys Girls (1-7, 1-6)

Aliquippa brings back two WPIAL individual qualifiers on the boys side and one relay team as Qa’Lil Goode and JaAir McCracken look to put together impressive years. After placing 12th in the 100-meter dash, Simaya Ausby looks to have another successful campaign on the girls side.

BCCS

Senior Rachael Baird is the lone WPIAL qualifier from a season ago back for BCCS as she placed 11th in the 300-meter hurdles.

Freedom Area

2024 record: Boys (7-5, 6-1) Girls (7-4, 6-1)

Freedom Area girls lost one of its top runners Shaye Bailey to graduation, who placed near the top of her events at the WPIAL championships. However, Aurea Hickenbooth and Mackenzie Mohrbacher will be key pieces this year.

New Brighton

2024 record: Boys (6-3, 5-2) Girls (5-4, 4-3)

After the boys 4x100 relay team placed eighth place at the WPIAL, New Brighton will look to build upon the success it found last year as Michael Veon returns on the boys side while Nevaeh Gilmore is a big part of the girls team.

OLSH

2024 record: Boys (2-5, 2-5) Girls (5-2, 5-2)

The Chargers will look to continue to grow this season as the girls narrowly missed the postseason finishing third in its section.

Rochester

2024 record: Boys (5-4, 4-3) Girls (3-6, 2-5)

Rochester might have lost five seniors, but it has a strong roster this year as Benjamin Kaufmann, Shannon Zawislak, Kaitlin Ritcko, Kaiden Merz and Kamryn Newman all will be key components.

South Side

2024 record: Boys Girls (3-5, 3-4)

The WPIAL’s javelin gold medalist Mateja Pavlovich looks to repeat this year while the team also returns three out of the four runners from the 4x800 relay team who qualified for the district championships.

On the girls side, South Side has Casade Stobart and Alayna Kelly back who qualified for the WPIAL finals.

Western Beaver

2024 record: Boys (0-7, 0-7) Girls (0-8, 0-7)

Western Beaver looks to improve upon a winless mark for both the boys and girls sides with a young group. Khai Hudson, Wyatt Sparbanie, Blaine Crislip, Damian Lutron and Nico Berarducci all look to make an impact on the boys team.

Scarlet D’Amico, Patty Wesolowski, Talya Pashuta and Hamari Pope will be key athletes on the girls side.

Cornell

Cornell will compete with teams in Section III in Class 2A against Aquinas Academy, Eden Christian Academy, Nazareth Prep, Quaker Valley, Sewickley Academy, Shady Side Academy and Sto-Rox.

The Quaker Valley boys' track and field team celebrates its WPIAL Class 2A championship.

Quaker Valley

2024 record: Boys (15-0, 7-0) Girls (15-0, 7-0)

Quaker Valley has a real chance at repeating as WPIAL team champions on both the boys and girls sides, returning almost its full roster of WPIAL and state qualifiers.

The girls had several upper and underclassmen qualify for the WPIAL championships including triple jump gold medalist Jay Olawaiye, high jump gold and bronze medalists Mia Gartley, and Mimi Thiero, pole vault bronze medalist Evie Rosselli and the bronze medalist team in the 4x100 meter relay team, which returns all of its runners.

The boys also return a slew of medalists including Clark LaLomia who won bronze in the 800-meter and silver in the 1,600-meter run, 110-meter hurdles gold medalist and 300-meter hurdles silver medalist Davin Gartley along with the full teams from the gold medal winning 4x800 and 4x400 squads.

Sewickley Academy

2024 record: Boys (3-5, 2-5) Girls (3-5, 2-5)

Sewickley Academy brings back one member from each the boys and girls team that qualified for the WPIAL championships last season with Cooper D’Antonio back for his senior season after qualifying for the 800-meter run and Herlynn Niepa who qualified for the high jump and 200-meter dash.

This article originally appeared on Beaver County Times: WPIAL Track and Field: Beaver Valley 2025 season preview

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