Panthers Take Third Consecutive WPIAL Track & Field Championship

“Trip, Trip, Triple!”

For local sports fans, it is the call of legendary Pirates broadcaster Greg Brown, but on Monday, it could be used as a rally cry for the Riverside Panthers boys track team as they collected their third consecutive WPIAL Class-AA Championship – a three-peat.

The team beat Shenango, 98-52, South Park, 107-43, and Waynesburg, 90-60 at Peters Township High School on Monday, earning uncontested points in their twelve event wins.

Distance runner Colby Beczyk won the three individual events and was also apart of the winning 4×800 relay team. He came in first for the individual 800, 1,600 and 3,200 meter runs. Also coming in to rack up the points with individual victories were Calvin Wetzel in the 200 meters and 300 hurdles, Nathan Sciarro in the high jump and long jump, Jackson Coyne in the 400 meters, and Brett Hart in the triple jump.

Track, however, also relies on group efforts. Riverside’s three relay teams finished first. The 400 relay team consisted of Hart, Coyne, Sciarro, and Wetzel. The 4×400 team of Alex Nour, Liam Grinnen, Graham Kralic, and Coyne, as well as the 4×800 team (Ty Flaherty, Chase Grinnell, Garrett Safren and Belczyk), also took first place.

“It was a great victory overall,” said Coyne. “The team’s success has been amazing and I attribute it to our training and our will to win.”

This title marks the sixth WPIAL title for the Riverside track team. The Panthers also claimed victory in 2007, 2008, and 2011. In the previous two years, Panthers collected titles against Derry, 85-65, Shenango, 90-60, and Freeport 92-58. The team itself has been in the WPIAL championships the last 14 years.

“[By] putting out 30 kids on a track and telling them to run as fast as they can, jump as high as they can, and throw as far as they can,” said Riverside head coach Kotuby. “We found success.”