There's been a major development in Springside Chestnut Hill Academy's track and field program, as longtime track and cross country coach Paul Hines officially retired and the leadership of the varsity boys' and girls' track programs has passed to Salvatore Scarafone.

Hines, who was also a middle school history teacher at the old Chestnut Hill Academy and then SCH, has been at the school since 1981. He has mentored six high school All-Americans, guiding his team to Inter-Ac League championships in 1994, 1999 and 2001, and second and third-place finishes at the Pennsylvania Indoor Championships.

An honorary member of the school's Class of 2003, Hines was inducted into the City All-Star Chapter of the Pennsylvania Sports Hall of Fame in 2017. Recently, at the 2024 Penn Relays Banquet, he received the prestigious Association Award from the Track and Field Coaches Association of Greater Philadelphia for his decades of dedication to the sport.

After graduating from Cardinal Dougherty High School in 1972, Hines went on to run for Temple University (later earning a master’s degree in history at Villanova University). In AAU competition in 1976 he won the Middle Atlantic Championship in the indoor mile.

In the fall of that year he began coaching back at Cardinal Dougherty, shifting over to CHA five years later. Remaining a competitive runner himself, Hines has run 51 marathons, 21 of them in Boston. The facility at Springside Chestnut Hill was named the Hines Track in 2019.

Last month, Hines was recognized at SCH for his 43 years of service in a ceremony presided over by SCH Athletic Director David Wilson and former A.D. James Talbot, who originally hired Hines in 1981.

The Blue Devils' new coach, Scarafone, is a certified U.S. Track & Field Association coach. 

The Blue Devils' new coach, Scarafone, is a certified U.S. Track & Field Association coach. He holds a Master of Business Administration from California's Pepperdine Graziadio Business School and is the director of business development at a construction firm in his native Delaware County. Scarafone has coached in USTAF, CYO, and AAU settings, and he is the president and head coach of the Godspeed Track and Field organization. Among his protégés are four All-Americans.

Adjusting to his new role at SCH, Scarafone pointed out "The first year always means a lot of change for everyone. Paul Hines cast a long shadow, but he is the nicest man. I can call him anytime and he's been a great help in the transition."

One of SCH's top performers this year is junior hurdler Tony Hicks, who currently has the Pennsylvania number two time at 110 meters (14.19 seconds) and is number five in the 300 (38.38). He is generating interest among college recruiters, as is his classmate Stefon Dodoo, who runs the 400 and 800 meters.

Dodoo is a team captain this spring, along with junior hurdler Willie Lamb and senior sprinter Jayden Sumpter. Sumpter was a standout running back on the SCH football team, and he'll be playing that sport at Georgetown University.

At the 2024 Penn Relays, Dodoo, Hicks and Lamb were joined by fellow junior Xavier Jones in the 4 x 400 meter relay, and the quartet turned in a school-record time of 3:23.42. Scarafone related that Coach Hines reached out to congratulate the foursome.

The SCH girls' 4 x 100 relay at Penn consisted of juniors Maya Gruginski, Kennedy Hayward, Jolie Kaoma, and sophomore Marlee Howard. They ran well there but recorded their best time of 49.99 seconds at the Great Valley Invitational.

Assistant coach Christy Tinneny noted that individually, Kaoma has run a time of 26.52 seconds in the 200 meters and 1:04.15 in the 400. Hayward has routinely been winning the 100 meter hurdles in the Blue Devils' regular-season meets. Her personal record of 12.88 seconds was set in an Inter-Ac home meet on April 10 that included Agnes Irwin, Baldwin School, and Notre Dame.

Senior Zahkiyyah Frazier, who will play basketball at the University of Bridgeport, is a long jumper for the track team and is closing in on the 15-foot mark.

In addition to the experienced athletes, Springside Chestnut Hill has some very promising young talent. Freshman Claire Lynch has run 12:39 in the 3**,200 meters and 5:57 in the 1,600, while there are three eighth-**graders doing well up on the varsity squad. Winning the long jump in a multi-team league meet at Germantown Academy, Nadia Bevan traveled 16'6.5", and in the 100 meter dash she was timed in 13.24 seconds in the home meet on April 10.

In that same meet at SCH, Mimi Gallagher ran the 200 in 27.75 seconds and the 400 in 1:02.12. Coach Tinneny's daughter Bella, a third eighth-grader, has logged a 2:33 in the 800 meters, a 5:40 in the 1600, and a 12:39 in the 3200.