SUNBURY — Entering the season, Danville coach Barry Seidel had to wonder who would step up to replace his now-departed PIAA champions, outstanding multi-sport athletes Andrew Cope, Branden Wright and Sydney Smith.

After Tuesday’s 101-49 dismantling of Shikellamy at Shikellamy Stadium, the coach may not have to wonder anymore.

Freshman Mikeal Owens-Wright and senior Richard Smith each won two individual events, and ran legs of the victorious Ironmen 1,600-meter relay, as the Ironmen (1-0 overall and SVC-I) outpaced the Braves on the track to the tune of a 59-28 margin.

“We have people coming back that were part of a very successful group the past two years (posting a combined 13-1 record),” Seidel said. “It’s a good group of sophomores and juniors.”

One such junior, distance runner Mike Davis, took first in the 1,600 with a time of 4:51.1 and also ran a leg of the winning 3,200 relay team, complementing the short-distance efforts of Owens-Wright and Smith.

Davis, along with teammates Nevin Diehl, Chris Brandt, and Tylor Barnhart, started the day off by taking the 3,200 relay in 9:02.9, then watched as Smith exploded out of the gate, never trailed, and rolled to a win in the 110 meter high hurdles, with a time of 15.29.

“Smith is somebody we’ll definitely be counting on,” Seidel said. “He’s a senior, a captain, and really ran well for us today.”

Owens-Wright edged teammate Seth Conrad to claim the 100 with a speedy early-season time of 11.6, and the Danville rout was on, 40-10, after six events.

“After the 110, 100 meter dash, and 1600 meter run, things snowballed,” Shikellamy coach Jim Bell said. “Give them credit, they beat us, they ran faster than we did.”

Shikellamy (0-1 overall and SVC-I) finally stopped the bleeding by blowing past Danville in the 400 relay, as anchor Casey Shaffer crossed the line in 47.40 for the Braves’ first first-place finish on the day.

Sandwiched between Smith’s 300 intermediate hurdle win (43.23) and Owens-Wright’s triumph in the 200 meters (22.87), Shikellamy senior Dan Francis and sophomore Miles Wolfe took first and second in the 800, in 2:14.5 and 2:16.3, respectively.

But the Braves, a perennial power in the long-distance events, were swept in the 3,200, with Barnhart winning in 10:53, and the Ironmen completed their dominant day on the track by winning the afternoon’s final event, the 1,600 relay, in 3:47.

In the field, Danville grabbed first and second in the javelin, shot put, and discus, with the throwing trio of Kevin Black, Terry DeWalt and Holden Wallace leading an Ironmen advantage of 42-21 away from the track.

The Braves did sweep the triple jump, as Beau Sebasovich won with a jump of 38-3, but the Ironmen countered by sweeping the long jump, championed by John Mrockosky’s winning leap of 19-6.5.

Nicco Dalpiaz cleared 13-6 with ease to win the pole vault for Shikellamy, but missed on three attempts at 14 feet.