PIAA Track and Field Championships: Olivia Cieslak, Chester relay stars make their golden marks at states
With the PIAA track and field championships winding down Saturday, it was obvious that Olivia Cieslak of Haverford and the Chester girls’ 4 X 400-meter relay team wanted the same thing.
They weren’t leaving Shippensburg University without gold.
Cieslak struck first as she took the lead from the electronic starting signal and held it to the wire to defend her Class 3A title in the 800 meters with a victory in a workmanlike 2:07.60. The previous day Cieslak blew up in the 1,600, which she had won the previous year. This time the junior would not play catch-up, much less finish seven seconds behind the winner, which on Friday was the highly regarded Logan St. John Kletter of Mount Lebanon.
“I’m definitely one of those runners who is more comfortable in the front,” Cieslak said. “Running on someone, that’s obviously not my race so it did end up a little differently than I wanted to Friday. I’m still happy with it. But I feel like I’m one of those runners who definitely does best when I run from the front, and that was kind of the whole strategy for today.”
Not long after the Cieslak statement, the Clippers’ relay team told coach Jamal “Shake” Allen that they were going to put it all together after a couple of days of medaling individually but never getting to the top of the podium.
The Clippers cruised to victory in the 4 X 400 over Cieslak and the Fords in a school record 3:47.09. Damira Allen, the younger cousin of the coach, got the early lead with a leadoff leg of 58.16. Earlier in the day Allen was third in the 100 hurdles in 14.28.
JaNaisa Dearry, who ran 54.93 to finish third in the 400 meters, busted the race open with a killer 55.53 on the second leg.
Daleeah Alexander ran third and clocked 57.91 and senior Alasia Mosley, who was sixth in the 100 meters in 12:18, anchored in 55.51 to put a smile on the face of Coach Shake.
By the time Cieslak got the baton from Ava Cavanaugh, who ran 56.92 to medal seventh in the 400 meters, the Fords needed a miracle to get back in it. Cieslak ran an anchor split of 56.48, Cavanaugh a 55.66. To no avail, obviously, because the Clippers would not be denied.
Before the race, Dearry told Allen the relay drought was almost over. The Clippers hadn’t won gold in the 4 X 400 since 2008.
“I just told him with the time we put into it the last two weeks, we got this for him,” Dearry said. We were going to do business for him in the 4 X 4. When I got the stick, we were in first and all that was running in my head was get out and try to get as big of a gap as I could so my third leg could keep the lead for my fourth leg.”
Though Niya Jeffers won gold in the 3A high jump last year for the Clippers, the last individual track gold medalist was Rayina Johnson, who won the 100 and 200 meters in 2009.
Allen said the race was about Mosley, the elder stateswoman on the relay.
“Our anchor leg was our only senior, so they were running for her,” Allen said. “She ran a lights-out best 55:51. Is this my most electric team? Since I’ve been doing it, this is the greatest team I’ve had. This is the best team I’ve had. Those four girls just helped us finish third in the team scoring. We finished third with four girls.”
In the 3A team scoring, Spring Grove was first with 46 points, Cheltenham was next with 33 points and the Clippers had 30.
Haverford was fourth with 29 points, and that was acceptable to Cieslak, who was bombarded with text messages and phone calls from supportive friends hoping she would bounce back from the upset loss in the 1,600.
“We were a few seconds behind but Chester’s a great team,” Cieslak said. “They’re a very talented team. But I trust my teammates very well, so that 4 X 400 was great and we’re really happy with it.”
The texts Cieslak received were from friends, not track celebrities, and the support helped her get it together for another day of competition. Cieslak hadn’t lost a 1,600 against PIAA competition since she was a freshman. Friday was a reality check.
“It’s not all about winning sometimes,” Cieslak said. “It’s also like a learning experience for me. Everyone was really happy for me so that helped a lot, too. I just made sure to keep positive for my teammates and the races I had left because the meet wasn’t over. I have to move on at some point. Obviously today worked out better and I’m happy with it but it’s obviously something I’ll learn from, not to keep myself down about anything.”
Whether it’s Cieslak or the Clippers, what their performances proved Saturday is that you can’t keep them down.
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