On Friday February 21st, eight members of the winter track team departed from Malvern to compete in the Pennsylvania state indoor track meet. The meet was held on Saturday, February 22 at Penn State.  The athletes who went to states were: senior Eric Purnell, juniors Andrew Powers, Dan Ferraiolo, Brendan Stec, Casey Breuer, Troy Gallen, sophomore Elijah King, and freshman Colin Wills.  The team was also accompanied by the two coaches, Mike Koenig and Deborah Sutton.

There was a certain time qualification that had to be met for each individual or relay team to participate in the state meet.  The two relay teams that qualified were the 4 by 200 meter relay and the 4 by 800 meter relay.  The 4 by 200 was run by Troy Gallen, Casey Breuer, Elijah King, and Eric Purnell.  The relay team dropped a stunning personal best and placed 7th overall in that event.  The 4 by 800 was run by Andrew Powers, Brendan Stec, Colin Wills, and Dan Ferraiolo.  The team ran close to their personal best time, and each teammate contributed by running almost even times compared to the other members of the team for their leg of the relay.

Certain athletes stood out by participating in multiple events during the day.  First of all, senior and captain Eric Purnell competed in the open 200 meter, the long jump, and the 4 by 200 meter relay.  Eric did a splendid job by placing 3rd overall in the open 200.  Next, junior Dan Ferraiolo also ran the open 800 meter along with the 4 by 800 meter relay.  Dan ran an unexpected and excellent personal best time of one minute and 58 seconds (1.58).  Lastly, junior Troy Gallen ran the open 60 meter dash along with the 4 by 200 meter relay.  Troy broke his own school record 3 times at the state meet in the 60 meter dash.  With flying times like that, he placed 4th overall in the dash.

As part of the team to go up to Penn State, I can attest that the 2013 state meet was a great experience that really brought our team together.  All the returning members are hoping and looking forward to going next year, and having a wonderful time like we did this year.