>> The Dock track and field team had a variety of excuses that could have hindered competing at the Neshaminy Invitational on Saturday.
>> It was cold and rainy…again. An athlete forgot their spikes and arrived late after stopping to buy new ones. There were late changes to the schedule on meet day, and the meet itself was a late addition to the Dock schedule and the third meet in three days for some Pioneers.
>> None of it mattered as Dock performed well again with 14 personal records and a big medal haul rewarded for top-five finishes.
>> Gretchen German won the girls 1,600 meters in a personal-record 5:46.27 and came back to win the girls 800 meters in 2:34.95. She hit the District 1 AA qualifying standards and is now ranked seventh in the district 1,600. She came back later to place seventh in the girls javelin at 70-feet-2.
>> Olivia Valverde placed third in the girls 400 meters out of the second heat with a personal-record 1:06.50. She also took fourth in the girls 200 out of the second heat with a 29.43 personal best. She hit another PR in the girls 100, finishing in 14.32 seconds for eighth place. She also did one field event, placing fifth in the girls triple jump with a 28-feet-4.5 mark.
>> The top finisher for the boys was Aaron Sensenig. Despite a last-minute change, he was able to hustle to the start line and run a 16-second personal record of 11:07.47 for fourth place in the boys 3,200 meters. Sensenig made a big move in the district rankings up to fifth place with the time. Earlier in the meet, he also took 16 seconds off his previous 1,600 best with a 5:05.98 clocking.
>> Jayden Waters flew down the track in his new spikes for a new personal-record 44.37 seconds in the boys 300-meter hurdles for ninth place. His time is an automatic district qualifier. Waters is ranked third now in the district in the 300 hurdles. The sophomore then ran 17.39 seconds for fifth in the boys 110-meter hurdles. And he ran a personal best of 11.91 seconds for the boys 100-meter dash. He placed seventh in the boys long jump with a season-best long jump of 18-3.25. He sits 11th in the district in the long jump.
>> Luke Smeland placed sixth in the boys javelin with a throw of 120-feet-4. Seungkyu Cho took eighth place with a throw of 112-8. Smeland also hit a personal best of 27-feet-8 in shot put.
>> Sophia Mercure ran a personal-record 57.18 seconds for seventh place in the girls 300-meter hurdles. The senior is now ranked seventh in the district. Maddie Afanador was eighth in 57.89 seconds. Afanador took fifth place in the girls 100-meter hurdles in 20.03 seconds. Mercure posted another PR of 20.90 seconds for seventh place, and a time that has her ranked eighth in the district. Mercure was eighth in the girls long jump with a 13-6.75 effort. Farmer jumped 11-1.5. Mercure also had a huge 12-foot PR in the girls javelin with a best of 65-feet-6 for eighth place.
>> Xander Morsby ran a personal-best 55.02 seconds in the boys 400 for 11th place. The freshman is ranked 10th in the district now. He was also 11th in the boys 200 meters in 24.59 seconds.
>> Logan Naidoo threw 45-feet-9 and Jenayah Vanegas threw 32-feet in the girls discus. Vanegas threw 18-10 in the girls shot put. Eliana Farmer ran 15.27 seconds for the girls 100 meters. Farmer finished the girls 200 in 32.51 seconds. Toni Phillips went 16.53 seconds in the 100.
>> The Neshaminy meet capped three straight days of competitions. Dock was at the Helman/Hosier Invitational on Thursday, then sent a small group to compete in two events at the Henderson Invitational on Friday. Liv Moyer moved to eighth place in the District 1 AA rankings when she dropped almost nine seconds to finish in 5:50.89 in the novice girls 1,600 meters. The 4x800 relay of Ceara Barnes, Tessa Moyer, German and Valverde ran 10:53.31 for 11th place.
>> Dock will host the Bicentennial Athletic League Championships on Wednesday and Thursday. Wednesday, the Pioneers will celebrate Senior Night following the first day of competition.