Last Tuesday, the weather was unseasonably warm, with temperatures in the 70s. The next day, when the Mount St. Joseph Academy track was the stage for an Athletic Association of Catholic Academies quad meet, the temperature dove down into the 40s and there were blustery winds, as well.

This didn't keep the host Magic from handily outscoring their three guests. Head-to-head, the Mount overcame Nazareth Academy, 102-31, Gwynedd Mercy Academy, 114-19, and Merion Mercy Academy, 113-15.

On the track, the Mounties won every footrace except the 3200 meters, which they did not enter. Nazareth's Lianna Reiser won that one in 12 minutes, eight and 83 hundredths seconds.

The Pandas also placed first in the shot put thanks to Hannah Rogers' heave of 32'1", and they prevailed in the javelin as Kyleigh Joniec sent the spear 79'3". Third, fourth, and fifth place in the shot went to three Mount throwers, junior Sydney Okeke, freshman Saanai Jones, and junior Haley Stefanik, respectively. In the jav, Stefanik came in third and sophomore Keirsten Pumilia placed fifth.

Jones. the ninth-grader, won the discus by three feet with her toss of 73'8". In order in third, fourth, and fifth place were the Mount's Bella Gillon (a junior), Stefanik, and Okeke.

Mount St. Joe's also finished first in the three jumps. Traveling a distance of 28'7.25", junior Katie McGovern captured the triple jump, with 10th-grade teammates Faith DeCarlo and Julia Donahue winding up third and fifth. DeCarlo won the high jump at 4'4", as other competitors either did not make the opening height or withdrew.

DeCarlo was third in the long jump, where the top two places went to the Magic's two senior workhorses, Margaux Rawson (the winner at 15'3.25") and Annie Lemelin. These 12th graders have had their college plans in place for awhile, with Lemelin entering the U.S. Naval Academy and Rawson heading to Cornell University.

In the 100 meter high hurdles, Rawson won in 18.01 seconds with Lemelin the runner-up. Another senior, Lexie Westawski, was third, and junior Ellie Devine finished fourth. Westawski (who will attend St. Joseph's University and try to become a walk-on in track) was the winner in the 300 intermediates (50.74), while Devine placed fourth here also.

Lemelin was victorious in the 200 meter dash (28.73), and freshman Lilly Bradfield, running in a different heat, logged the second-best time. Another ninth-grader, Ella Vogel, finished fifth.

MSJ junior Kathleen Downs triumphed in both the 100 (13.90) and the 400 (1:04.63). In the 100, Vogel placed fourth, and senior Maya Charles was fifth. In the 800, the Mount recorded a one-two finish thanks to sophomore Maggie Murphy (2:25.35) and junior Katie Blakley. Magic junior Olivia Forti won the 1600 in 5:44.25.

The Mount had begun the meet with a victory in the 4 x 800 meter relay in 10:40.77. The baton proceeded from senior Cayla Higginson to sophomore Anne Kitching to senior Emily Carr to junior Mary McGrory. McGrory is the reigning AAC cross country champion.

In the middle of the meet program a time of 54.77 seconds produced a win in the 4 x 100 meter relay for the Magic's Bradfield, Donahue, Vogel, and McGovern. At the end, Blakley, Murphy, Carr, and Higginson proved the best of four Mount quartets running the 4 x 400, winning in 4:33.51. Nazareth was the only other school to enter the event, placing third.