The team finished first place overall and won their first district championship in school history over a 2-day event over the weekend
Souderton’s girls track and field team made history at the PIAA District 1 Championship, held Friday and Saturday in Coatesville, securing their first-ever district title. The team finished with a total of 41 points, narrowly edging out Chester, which finished second with 37 points. Central Bucks East and Lower Merion tied for third place with 35 points each.
The highlight of the meet came from senior Destini Smith, who set new district meet records in all three jumping events: long jump, high jump, and triple jump. Her high jump mark of 5-9.5 also broke the school record, bringing her total to six school records in both indoor and outdoor jumping events. Smith’s dominant performance played a key role in Souderton's first-place finish and will propel her into the state championships next week.
Janae Pettway, another standout performer for Souderton, finished second overall in both the 100-meter dash preliminaries and finals, posting times of 12.08 and 12.24 seconds, respectively. Pettway also contributed to the success of the 4x100 relay team, alongside Isiyah McFadden, Laysha Lee, and Brooke Wagner. The relay team ran a time of 48.24 seconds in the preliminaries, the second-fastest time in school history, winning their heat and advancing to the finals. In the final, the team ran 48.40 seconds, finishing seventh overall.
Savannah Powlus also earned her spot at the state meet, medaling and finishing eighth overall in the 300-meter hurdles with a personal best time of 46.05 seconds. Powlus also set a new personal record in the 100-meter hurdles, running a time of 15.93 seconds.
Aubrie Weismantel made her mark with a pair of personal best performances in the 400-meter and 300-meter hurdles, clocking times of 58.16 and 46.74 seconds, respectively, both meeting the state qualification standards. Weismantel finished in the top 10 in both events, demonstrating her versatility and skill.
In the field events, Carol Ann made an impressive leap from her seeding position in the discus throw. She finished 14th overall with a throw of 108 feet, 5 inches, jumping 10 spots from her seeded position and contributing valuable points to the team.
The athletes who qualified for the state championships next week include Smith, Pettway, McFadden, Lee, Wagner, Powlus, Weismantel, and Leah Dufraine (4x100 relay alternate).
The victory at the District 1 Championship marks a historic achievement for Souderton’s girls track and field program, and the team will look to carry this momentum into the state competition next week.
