Seeling, Carl Break Records As Hornets Finish 2nd At NTL Championships

By: Ed Weaver  /  May 9, 2026  /  Photo: Wellsboro Track, Chris Manning

Seniors David Seeling and Jonathan Carl posted record-breaking performances as they led the Wellsboro Boys Track & Field team to a 2nd place finish at Friday's NTL Championships in Athens.

North Penn-Mansfield edged the Hornets by six points (138-132) to win the boys' team title. The Hornets held a 12-point lead over the rival Tigers with the javelin yet to be scored. North Penn-Mansfield finished 1st and 2nd in that event, scoring 18 points, to jump Wellsboro for the win.

Athens (111.5) placed 3rd, Wyalusing (96) was 4th and Towanda (74) rounded out the top 5.

"A senior athlete said it best yesterday, once I knew we were going to lose by just a few points for the NTL Championship and was feeling kind of down, Aaron Kirk said, 'Coach bring it in for a hug. We have a lot to be proud of this year. We almost had them.' Straight into the point and just highlighted how our boys team is more than just points, we are a true team in a sport that focus a lot on individual events," head coach Brigette Largey said. "Nobody mentioned the Wellsboro boys track team throughout the first half of the year as being a team to keep their eyes on. But we knew! We knew had some phenomenal athletes and hard-working team members. The only meet we lost this entire year was our senior night when we offered seniors to do any event they wanted to try out before graduation - long distance athletes sprinted, hurdlers pole vaulted, etc.

"When you're looking at 138 points for the winning team, losing the NTL by six can be frustrating, but it also shows that we were there to compete and we were in it until the very last event. Some highlights include David Seeling winning both the 110 and 300 hurdles (breaking his own school record) while running across the field with no breaks and obtaining second in the high jump then third in the triple jump. Jonathan Carl came back from a difficult situation in the 100 to then win the 200, 400 (breaking his own record), and triple jump. Henry Whitney and Max Macias both challenge the long distance runners with Henry placing second in the 800, fourth in the mile and sixth in the 2 mile.  Jude Cuneo clinched a first place in the 800, showing the crowd that’s his race.  Braden Benjamin was also running back-and-forth between events while earning second in the 110 hurdles, seventh in the 300h, and 5th in long jump.  Random Schultz got 7th in shot. Aaron Kirk placed eighth in both the 200 and 400 while Liam Stevens leaped to third in Long jump.  We also had a bunch of other athletes who didn’t place yesterday from freshmen to seniors who have given us their all following examples by senior athletes like Ethan Geneski, Henry Nowak, Jacob Thurstin, and Jacoby Strang."

Carl broke his previous 400m record (50.79) with a 50.53 to win Friday's 400m.

Seeling updated his 300m hurdles mark (41.47) that he just set by running a 41.39 and taking 1st place by over two seconds.

Senior Jacoby Strang (12.42) finished 11th in the 100m, Carl (23.12) added a 1st place finish in the 200m with fellow senior Aaron Kirk (24.71) taking 8th, Kirk added another 8th place finish in the 400m (53.93), and seniors Jude Cuneo (2:01.84) and Henry Whitney (2:02.99) went 1-2 in the 800m. Whitney (4:29.07) and senior Max Macias (4:47.82) were 4th and 8th, respectively, in the 1600m and Whitney (10:16.59) and Macias (10:27.99) were 6th and 7th in the 3200m.

Seeling (16.19) and sophomore Brayden Benjamin (16.64) swept the 110m hurdles, Seeling (6-ft) took 2nd in the high jump, freshman Liam Stevens (19-ft, 9) and Benjamin (19-ft, 0.75) were 3rd and 5th in the long jump, Carl (41-ft, 6.75) won the triple jump with Seeling (40-ft, 4.75) taking 3rd and Benjamin (38-ft, 11.5) finishing 9th.

Junior Zander Rachiele (9-ft) was 10th in the pole vault, freshman Conlen Whitsell (106-ft, 10) was 10th in the discus, junior Jacob Smith (103-ft, 7) finished 19th in the javelin, and sophomore Ransom Schultz (38-ft, 11.75) was 7th in the shot put.

Wellsboro finished 4th in all three relays. The ran the 4x100m in 46.26, the 4x400m in 3:42.92 and the 4x800m in 9:32.16.

"Lots of little things throughout the day could have changed results, but none of that takes away from how proud Coach (Amber) Whitney and I are of all of the boys on our team not only yesterday, but this whole season. They gave it their all yesterday and even though some things didn't turn out the way they wanted, they persevered and never quit. We couldn't be more proud of the team this year, their ability, their perseverance, and their overall support of one another and the girls' team. This has been the most enjoyable team to coach - watching them lift each other up throughout the season has been inspiring. We could not be prouder. Hats off to North Penn-Mansfield for their win and a great afternoon of competition."

The team will be back in action next week in the District IV Championships at Milton on Thursday and Saturday.