Among a talented list of District 4 teams and their respective underclassmen, the Jersey Shore girls managed to stand out, taking third at the Pennsylvania Heartland Athletic Conference (PHAC) North Freshmen/Sophomore meet hosted by Williamsport on Saturday.

Led by sophomores Alison Bilbay, Josie Gerst and Nina Steppe, the trio combined for 46 of the team’s 76.5 points on the day and never competed in an event without it ending in a podium visit. It may not have been the best weather, but the second-year trio managed to make the most of it.

Gerst saw the best performance of her short career, posting PRs in all three of her individual events. Her best event of the day was the 100-meter hurdles, where the Bulldog placed third with a 17.44.

She’d follow that up with a similarly strong performance in the 300, where she ran a 50.81 to place fourth. Then, she’d round things out with a third trip to the podium in the 200, taking seventh and coming .03 seconds short of a sub-28. Overall, she was happy with the performance, crediting her coaches and mindset for her performance.

“Definitely my coaches because they’re always amazing,” said Gerst when asked about the keys to her success. “And just getting in the zone before a race, mentally preparing the day before and hours before and really focusing on giving it my all.”

“She gets very focused before the meet. She blocks everything out and gets in the zone, so that really helps her get ready and prepare,” emphasized Jersey Shore girls head coach Monica Richards when discussing Gerst. “She was excited, as were we, to see those times.”

The Bulldogs saw the most across-the-board success in throws, posting at least one podium finisher in all three events, with two in shot put and discus.

Bilbay sported the team’s lone title and placed top-three in both her events on the day, claiming gold in discus with a mark of 94-7 before following it up with a third-place outing in shot put, where she hit a mark of 29-4.

“I think I did well. The weather wasn’t that great,” said Bilbay when asked about her performance. “I didn’t do my best, but I was still proud of myself for getting first. I would like to get first at districts in disc (as well).”

And like Gerst, Steppe saw the podium on three separate occasions, claiming silver in shot put with a mark of 32-2, fourth in discus with a 94-7 and fifth in javelin with a 73-5. It was the second time she hit a clip of 73 or better in the latter event, following up the PR (76-4) she set on Wednesday against Shikellamy.

“It definitely wasn’t my best performance, but with the weather conditions, I think I did fine,” said Steppe on her performance. “It wasn’t horrible. (It’s just about) staying consistent. I have a lot of coaches and there are a lot of good people behind me.”

Coupled with a strong showing from freshman Sienna Bowlan, who placed sixth in discus (67-4) and seventh in shot put (26-5), Jersey Shore’s throwing room combined for half (38) of the team’s points on Saturday.

It’s a room that has seen a decent amount of success this season despite its lack of experience. It’s one that Richards has expressed confidence in throughout the season, crediting their poise and understanding, along with their coaching staff, for their growth and success this season.

“They have some really strong throws and know what they’re doing,” said Richards on her throwers. “They don’t overthink their throws for events like this. They know what they’re doing and get the job done.”

With just over two years left for Bilbay and Steppe, and three for Bowlan, the group figures to prosper for years to come, with plenty of time left to improve.

“I want to get my full circle down for disc and I also want to start rotational shots,” said Bilbay on points of emphasis moving forward.

“The goal all season has been states,” said Steppe. “That’s the goal at the end of the day but if I don’t hit it, I don’t hit it and I have two more years.”

It was a strong performance for Shore’s underclassmen to build on heading into PHACs, which are set to take place next Saturday.

“We’re doing great. Breaking PRs and cutting some time off events they’re really passionate about,” said Richards. “It’s been a great season, and we’re really excited to see what happens at the league meet and districts.”