ABINGTON – Darcela Llanos smiled almost shyly as the list of accomplishments of her Abington track team was read at Friday’s special assembly honoring the girls’ PIAA Class AAA state championship squad.
“It feels so great,” the Ghosts’ senior captain said. “It was really exciting to be recognized by our school, and it’s nice to have their support.”
“We don’t usually get recognized,” added sophomore Leah Nugent. “Because track isn’t a big thing.”
Llanos, Nugent, Jennifer Ryan, Jordan ‘Judy’ Matthews, Nicole Grasty and Angelina Sanchez have made track a big thing at Abington. They are hometown heroes who brought the first team state title to their school since 1985 when the girls’ track and field team also captured the state crown.
“You definitely have to set goals,” said Llanos, who will be taking her talents to Widener University next year. “Everything we have done throughout the year has helped us work hard and achieve our goals.”
Abington’s 4x400 relay team of Nugent, Grasty, Ryan and Matthews - which boasts a top 20 time in the nation (3:48) - captured gold at the state meet with a time of 3:49.54. The 4x100 relay team comprised of Llanos, Matthews, Grasty and Ryan finished fifth with a time of 48.75. Matthews also finished seventh in the long jump (17-11.75). Sanchez was an alternate in both relays.
Coming as no great surprise was the fact that Nugent played a starring role for the Ghosts, capturing gold in the 300 hurdles and tying the state record (41.65) set by former Methacton superstar Ryann Krais, who is now having a standout career at UCLA. The Ghosts’ sophomore star, who boasts the third best time in the nation in the 300 hurdles, also ran the anchor leg in the 400 relay.
Making Nugent’s magnificent performance in the 300 hurdles even more impressive is the fact that it came on the heels of a fall after clipping the second to last hurdle as she was on her way to winning gold in the 100 hurdles.
“She kind of stumbled and fell underneath the last hurdle, so they disqualified her,” coach Brian Deck said. “She was leading the race and would have taken first or second.”
Deck wasn’t the least bit surprised to see Nugent respond to her setback with a record-tying performance.
“As soon as that happened, we basically looked at each other and said, ‘The state record is coming down,’” he said. “She tied it. That’s the way she is. She’s tough.”
According to Llanos, Nugent is an inspiration to her teammates.
“Leah is a good role model for everyone because no matter what she goes through or if she has a bad day, she puts it behind her and focuses on the task at hand,” the Ghosts’ senior captain said.
Talk to Nugent, and it’s clear that her resolve only strengthens when she suffers a setback.
“It was a really big upset because in indoor states I false started in the 60 hurdles,” Nugent said of her mishap in the 100 hurdles. “So after the race, I felt really bad, but I was like, ‘I’m just going to have to stick it out for the team because I still have my team events, and those are my favorites.’
“When I get mad, I run better. I tied the 300 hurdle record, and it was like ‘Okay, I still have the 4x400,’ and we did good in that, and we won the state title.”
Not a bad ending for Nugent. Or the Ghosts, whose state title came on the heels of capturing a Continental Conference crown and a second place finish at districts.
Deck opted to rest some of his runners at districts to prepare for the big prize.
“From Penn Relays, which is a really long weekend, it’s three weekends in a row with SOLs, districts and states,” Deck said. “We knew being only sophomores and freshmen, we had to back off a little.
“We could have run them and given North Penn a run for their money, but we decided – don’t worry about it. We have to worry about states.”
All the hard work and practice – the Ghosts even practiced on Christmas Eve – paid off with a state crown.
“It’s a big weight lifted off your shoulders – ‘It’s finally here. We worked so hard,’” Nugent said.
Nugent capped a standout sophomore season with her selection as Athlete of the Year by the Pennsylvania Track and Field Coaches Association. She was a first team selection in the 300 hurdles, and was part of Abington’s 4x400 relay team of Ryan, Matthews and Grasty that also received first team honors.
“We have a very young team,” Deck said. “We have a very good group of throwers and jumpers that helped us win the league title.
“We really are expecting a lot for the next two, three, four years.”
The Ghosts will be competing in nationals June 18-20.
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