By Mike Gibson
For the Wire
The Bensalem High School track won the state indoor title, finishing two points in the final team standings ahead of second-place Garnet Valley.
The difference between the Bensalem boys track and field team’s capture of the state indoor title five months ago and their recent state outdoor title win was like night and day.
Literally.
“It was dark when we got back and there was nobody there,” head coach Mary Ellen Malloy said of the Feb. 28 trip back from Penn State and the arrival at Bensalem High School.
Fast-forward to the last Saturday in May and turn on the lights — the party has just begun.
The first lights the Owls saw were from five Bensalem police cruisers that greeted them at the Route 1 Pennsylvania Turnpike stop.
“The thing the kids liked the best was the police escort,” Malloy said. “After we won the states, we went to the Wendy’s in Shippensburg because the kids were kind of hungry.
“I called my athletic director (Val Ridge) and she said, ‘Let me know when you are passing through Valley Forge.’”
Ridge then made a call to the Bensalem police, who put the wheels in motion for the welcome.
“We had two vans full of kids,” Malloy said. “A couple of police cruisers pulled in front of us and a couple in the back and it was clear sailing all the way back to Bensalem High.
“It was like the Red Sea parted. We went down Street Road and made the left at Hulmeville Road and we didn’t have to stop for a red light. Brad Rivera was leaning out the window and yelling, ‘We won the state championship. We’re going to Disney World!’”
Instead of darkness and nobody greeting the Owls when they got back at the school, the Bensalem thinclads heard a thunderous applause from a group of about 75 supporters who were waiting to greet them.
Night and day, indeed.
“It was just an awesome experience,” Rivera said. “There were seven cars, two vans, five police cars and we made the trip from the turnpike to the school.
“It’s great as an athlete to know you put in so much hard work and then know that there are people back at home who appreciate what you do for them and the community.”
In the indoor season, Bensalem finished two points in the final team standings ahead of second-place Garnet Valley.
This outdoor title was also taken by a slim margin as the Owls beat second-place Gateway (Pittsburgh area) with 48 team points to Gateway’s 46. Garnet Valley finished third with 45 points.
Then, as now, the title came down to the last race when the Owls beat Pennridge in the final of the 4×400-meter relay race.
Bensalem’s time was 3 minutes, 19.73 seconds. Pennridge was 3.19.80.
“That was sweet because Pennridge beat us in the same race in the indoor season,” Rivera said. “Even though we beat them in the regular season, it felt good to redeem ourselves based on that indoor loss in the 4×4.
“It wasn’t by much, but whatever it takes.”
The Owls were the Kardiac Kids both of the indoor and outdoor state championships.
“That was what it came down to, it was like a body length, not quite a lean at the tape,” Malloy said. “It was Qhyle Elijah, who ran the anchor leg.”
Elijah also took second in the open 400 (47.99).
Rivera finished second in the open 800 (1:55.73) and the Owls also won the 4×800-meter relay as a team (7:47.82).
“We were keeping track all along of the number of points we needed to win the competition,” Malloy said. “We knew who we had to keep an eye on and, when Pennsbury had a couple of letdowns and Cheltenham had a couple of letdowns, we were looking around and trying to figure out who picked up that slack, so we started watching teams like LaSalle, Gateway and Coatesville.
“Going into the 4×4, I just told the guys that they had to win. We just had to maximize the number of points we could get. … They responded to the challenge like they always did all season.”
Malloy said having the revenge factor was a big incentive.
“I attribute that to the fact that Pennridge beat us indoors for the 4x4s at the states and that was the incentive we needed,” she said. “When Qhyle got the baton, I knew he wasn’t going to give up the lead.”
Bensalem now joins Strath Haven and Pennsbury among the handful of teams who have completed the difficult double of winning both the indoor and outdoor states in the same calendar year.
“When this senior class came in as freshmen, I knew these guys had a lot of talent,” Malloy said. “I told them if they stick with it, something special could happen.”
