Ray Sarvis
FPS Correspondent
The Malvern track team got its chance to measure its progress against other well-regarded schools in the area as the Hornets took part in the Fairless Falcon Invitational 2025, held at Fairless High School on April 5.
Going up against teams such as Minerva, Canal Fulton Northwest and host Fairless, the Hornets—particularly the girls—acquitted themselves well. The Lady Hornets finished third in the field of eight teams with 69 points. Minerva won the girls’ team title with 151 points, while Canton South was second with 110.50.
On the boys’ side, the Hornets placed sixth out of nine teams, as Northwest won with 133.50 points, ahead of runner-up Minerva’s 124. Finishing third was Fairless with 85.
The Lady Hornets had one first-place finish, and that was in the 4×200-meter relay, as the lineup of Avery Sprague, Kami Rayborn, Audrey Sikorsky and Mya Doughty placed first in a time of 1:49.65—nearly four and a half seconds ahead of second-place Tuslaw.
That may have been the only relay team to win, but the 4×400 squad also performed well, finishing second in 4:28.21 with a lineup of Emma Maher, Rayborn, Sprague and Sikorsky. Malvern’s other two second-place finishes occurred in the field events, as Sikorsky placed second in the high jump with a height of 4-6, while Rayne Theiss finished second in the long jump with a leap of 14-1.75.
The Lady Hornets flexed their sprinting muscles in the 100-meter dash, as Doughty and Sprague finished in third and fourth place, respectively—Doughty clocking in at 13.32 and Sprague at 13.5. Sprague also finished sixth in the 200-meter dash (29.06), while Sikorsky was fourth in the 800-meter run (2:37.83).
On the boys’ side, it boiled down to relays, hurdles and the discus. Parker Bowe provided the Hornets with their lone championship on the day, as he won the discus throw with a mark of 163-2—more than 39 feet farther than his nearest competitor.
In the hurdles, Owen Ball came up with a pair of silvers, placing second in both the 110-meter hurdles (16.28) and the 300-meter hurdles (42.05).
All four of the boys’ relays placed fifth or better, but it was in the 4×400-meter relay that the Hornets shone, as the lineup of Evan Debo, Eric Swain, Cooper Dorr and Owen Ball placed second with a time of 3:40.35.
Add it up, and it was a good day by any measure, said Malvern track coach Jeremy Maher.
“The weather held off for the high school boys and girls track teams to make some noise,” he said. “We may be small, but we are mighty. So many good things happened today. We have athletes starting where they left off at the end of the season, which is hard to do. We had tons of kids that placed today.”