Outdoor Track & Field - Boys - Varsity

A history of excellence:

21 Olympians who have earned nine medals (seven of them gold), including legends Ted Meredith (1912), Bill Carr ’29, and Charlie Moore ’47.
16 members enshrined in the Olympic, United States, and Pennsylvania Track and Field Halls of Fame.
Penn Relays: 11 Championships of America, seven records, three teams inducted in the Wall of Fame.
Over the last several years, Mercersburg athletes have gone on to compete on the collegiate level at the NCAA Division I, II, and III levels, including at Air Force, Army, Navy, Nebraska, Penn, Davidson, Emory, Rhodes, and Shippensburg.
Much of the coaching staff overlaps from one season to the next; assistants include former Division I athletes and veteran coaches in almost every track & field event.
The schedule features high-level competitions at premier high school and college venues, as well as the Penn Relays.
Track & field athletes train and compete on the Jimmy Curran Track, an all-weather, Regupol rubberized six-lane track named for legendary coach Jimmy Curran. Three jumping areas, a pole vault pit, and and infield areas for discus, shot, and javelin complete the facility. The Hale Field House (adjacent to the Curran Track) provides year-round practice space and hosts meets during the indoor season.

Nikki Walker

Science Department Head and Head Outdoor Track & Field Coach

Bio

Nikki Walker has been a member of the Mercersburg faculty since 2006 and has lived on campus since 2003, when her husband, Dan, joined the faculty as a history teacher and the school’s then-head football coach. She became head of the physical education department in 2013 and head of the science department in 2019. While at the Academy, Nikki has taught biology, anatomy, human development, physical education, and the Business of Sport and Open Topic (Springboard capstone courses); served as head coach of the girls’ outdoor track & field and softball teams; and worked on the school’s Accreditation for Growth committee. Nikki has also been an instructor and clinical coordinator for athletic training in the kinesiology department at Penn State University. She earned a bachelor’s degree from Frostburg State University and a master’s degree from California University of Pennsylvania, and is a certified athletic trainer and a certified strength and conditioning specialist. The Walkers have two children, Colby ’19 and Holden ’23.

Rob Lee

indoor Track & Field Assistant Coach

Bio

Kathryn Brake

Head Girls’ JV Volleyball Coach

Bio

Christian Bancroft

English Faculty and Dormitory Dean

Bio

Christian Bancroft joined Mercersburg’s English department in 2019. Christian coaches track & field and serves as the dorm dean of Keil Hall. With more than 10 years of teaching experience, they previously taught English at Temple University; at STEMCivics, a charter school in Ewing, NJ; and at the University of Houston, among other institutions. Christian also has 10 years of editorial experience working for prominent literary journals such as Callaloo, Gulf Coast, and Bat City Review. Christian received a bachelor’s degree from Texas A&M University, a master’s degree from the University of Texas at Austin, and a Ph.D. from the University of Houston. The co-editor of Adelaide Crapsey: On the Life and Work of an American Master (2018) and the author of Queering Modernist Translation (2020), Christian’s poetry and prose have been featured in a number of literary publications.

Rachel Mallory

Associate Director of College Counseling

Bio

Rachel Mallory arrived at Mercersburg Academy from Vanderbilt University, where she was a graduate assistant for the Peabody Office of Graduate Admissions and Vanderbilt Programs for Talented Youth. She was also a member of the residential leadership team for the Vanderbilt Summer Academy, a residential summer-learning program for students age 13-17. Rachel previously worked as an admission officer at Allegheny College in Meadville, PA. She serves as an officer with the Pennsylvania Association for College Admissions Counseling, and coordinates workshops for secondary-school counselors. Rachel captained the cross country and track & field teams at Mount Holyoke College (her undergraduate alma mater) before earning a master’s of education degree in human development counseling with an emphasis in school counseling from Vanderbilt. Rachel is an assistant cross country and track & field coach at Mercersburg; her sister, Megan, works in the school’s Office of Marketing and Communications. Rachel lives in Fowle Hall with her husband, Steve Milletics.

Sydney Caretti

Arts Faculty and Director of Galleries

Bio

Sydney Caretti holds a bachelor’s degree in studio art from the University of New Hampshire and a master of fine arts from Marywood University, where she was awarded the Ella T. Ruane Medal for Excellence in Art. Sydney arrived at Mercersburg with 10 years experience as a fine arts gallery partner and consultant from New England with teaching experience from the New Hampton School in New Hampton, NH, and Wyoming Seminary College Preparatory School in Kingston, PA. She has taught AP studio art, studio art, painting, drawing, design, and ceramics/sculpture. Sydney has been head or assistant head coach in equestrian and track & field as well as an adviser, dormitory parent, head of dorms, and class dean. She divides her professional time between serving as the director of galleries and teaching. Sydney lives just off campus with her husband, fellow faculty member Erin Caretti, and their two daughters, Quinlan ’24 and Allister.

Skip Sydnor

Director of Campus Safety

Bio

Skip Sydnor is the school’s director of campus safety and joined Mercersburg in 2005. Skip attended West Chester State College (now West Chester University) as a health and physical education major and a member of the track & field team. He previously worked for 26 years for the Pennsylvania State Police (10 years in the patrol unit and 16 years in the criminal investigation unit). He is an assistant track & field coach; his daughter, Kiersten ’12, and nephew, Brice ’15, both graduated from Mercersburg.

David Holzwarth

Science Faculty

Bio

David Holzwarth graduated from Mercersburg Academy in 1978 and began teaching at the school in 1990. At Mercersburg, he applies his background in mechanical engineering to the physics classroom. In addition to helping develop the lab-based course curriculum of Mercersburg’s physics courses, he has also worked to incorporate astronomy into the classroom. He designed the school’s Class of ’38 Observatory roll-off roof structure, equipped with three telescopes. In 2015 Dave designed, equipped, and developed Mercersburg’s Maker Space program to bring design engineering and fabrication principles to the senior capstone Springboard program. The Maker Space serves as a hub of making what the students imagine and supports faculty and staff in their teaching and personal hobbies. Dave holds a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from the University of California at Berkeley and a master's degree in math and studio art from Wesleyan University. At Mercersburg, he has coached football and track & field, and in 1994, he established a varsity ski team. Dave is a USSA Alpine coach and certified referee. He continues to train and compete in track as a USTFA Masters athlete. Dave and his wife, fellow faculty member Allison Stephens, have two children, Wynn Holzwarth ’11 and Zack Holzwarth ’13.

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