SLIPPERY ROCK — After the WPIAL high school track and field championships were postponed until Thursday, May 14, the cold and rainy weather at the William C. Lennox Track at Slippery Rock University didn’t stop Beaver Valley athletes from reaching for gold at the 2026 WPIAL track and field championships.
Coming into the day, a handful of runners had aspirations to reach the top of the podium, while others emerged from the woodwork and claimed gold.
Here are the standout efforts from this year’s WPIAL meet and the athletes who will be moving on to the PIAA state track and field championships at Shippensburg University on May 23-24.
Golds O’Plenty for Quaker Valley’s Montagnese
Heading into the WPIAL track and field championships, Jonah Montagnese had solidified himself as the top distance runner in the WPIAL and one of the best in the state.
At the WPIAL meet, Montagnese further proved that, sweeping the WPIAL distance events with golds in the 800, 1,600 and 3,200-meter runs and winning gold for the third consecutive season with Quaker Valley’s 4×800-meter relay team.
Montagnese’s day started with the relay and while his former relay partners Jackson Pethel and Clark Lalomia have graduated, it was next man up for the Quakers, with senior Ryan Kempton running the second leg and freshman Henry Howard taking the third.
Even though the four runners have not spent much time together, the results were the same.
“It’s always awesome to come out here, race and capture gold,” Montagnese said. “This was really our first time putting together our ‘A squad’ and going after it, so we were all really happy with what we were able to accomplish.”
Through the first few legs of the race, Winchester Thurston got off to a fast start and was off to an early lead.
But even though Winchester Thurston built up some distance, Quaker Valley’s strategy never wavered, knowing that if it just stuck to its plan, it would be able to take the lead in the final legs.
“We saw that they [Wichester Thurston] got off a little fast, so we just knew that we had to hold ourselves at a steady pace and catch up when they are tired,” Howard said.
This article originally appeared on Beaver County Times: Beaver Valley athletes capture gold at WPIAL track and field championships