TIM WEIGHT/For the Express Central Mountain freshman Macia Owens competes in a hurdles event during a track and field meet earlier this season. Owens earned a fourth-place medal in the 100-meter hurdles at the PHAC Track and Field Championships on Saturday.

MILTON – As a wall of talented runners formed behind her during the closing stretch of the 400-meter dash, Jersey Shore’s Aaralynn Kimble could’ve let that pressure, or the lactic acid building in her muscles, keep her from a top three finish. But rather than shifting her focus to six runners trailing her, it remained deadlocked on the one in front of her.

Though her effort catching up to first-place finisher Geiani Whaley fell short, it allowed her to maintain her PHAC silver medal and shatter her previous PR. She finished with a time of 58.01, eclipsing her previous best by almost a second and taking home a top two finish at the PHAC Track and Field Championships as a freshman.

“By the 50 mark, I was dead. I was so tired, but I was just thinking, ‘Push, push.’,” said Kimble on the run. “She (Whaley) definitely made me PR today. I’m glad I got to run against her. She’s good competition.”

Kimble would go on to set another PR to close out her day, running a 26.39 to take fifth in the 200-meter dash and helping her team leave its mark on the meet. Senior Olivia Spotts kept up her productive season in throws, notching a PHAC title in the javelin (133-6) and taking fourth in discus (104-10), as the Bulldogs placed ninth in a stacked, 19-team field.

Apart from Kimble and Spotts, four Shore athletes garnered PHAC placements to play a role in the team placing in the top half of the league.

In throws, Nina Steppe placed fifth in shot put with a throw of 33-2 and Alison Bilbay made it two Bulldog placements in discus, taking sixth with a throw of 104-1. Josie Gerst added a sixth-place medal in the 300-meter hurdles with a 49.44 and Vivian Hale rounded out the team’s placements by taking eighth in the high jump, hitting the 4-8 mark.

“We saw a lot of points in throws, that throws group has a really good connection. They know how to get the job done,” said Jersey Shore head coach Monica Richards when discussing the team’s success. “On the track, we were excited to see a lot of PRs and some district-qualifying times today. We’re excited to see what they do next.”

With the Bulldogs overcoming a plethora of opponents that will be competing in the District 4 Class AAA Championships next week, performances like this do wonders for their confidence. The hope is that they can carry that momentum forward, as they vie to give the program multiple representatives in Shippensburg.

“It just feels really good,” said Kimble following her successful run in the 400. “Hopefully, I can come back next year and take first.”

“We’re just going to stay positive and healthy, keep conditioning them for the upcoming two days at districts,” said Richards on the mindset heading into next week. “It’s gonna be a great end of the season for us.”

On Central Mountain’s side, freshman Macia Owens continued what was a great day for the area’s underclassmen, qualifying for the 100-meter hurdle finals with a PR-shattering 16.00 before maintaining that level of success in the runback. There, against the best competition in the league, she’d post a 16.13 to take fourth, outpacing her seeding by two slots.

“I was just really happy with myself,” said Owens on the race. “My sport revolves around my faith, so that’s very important to me to make sure I’m connected with God. He gives me my strength and courage for every single race.”

She wasn’t the only Wildcat to place on the day, as Grace Keohane took seventh in the 800-meter run with a time of 2:25.79 and Jaslyn Anderson added a seventh-place placement in discus with a throw of 102-10. That trio of PHAC medalists, as well as the rest of the team, will look to turn that success into more hardware at the District 6 Class AAA Championships next week, set to begin on Tuesday.

PHAC TRACK AND FIELD CHAMPIONSHIPS

GIRLS RESULTS

TEAM SCORES: 1. Williamsport 110; 2. Hughesville 61.25; 3. Shikellamy 60.50; 4. Central Columbia 60.25; 5. Selinsgrove 56; 6. Lewisburg 51.50; 7. Milton 51.25; 8. Mount Carmel 42.50; 9. Jersey Shore 37.25; 10. Danville 32; 11. Montoursville 28; 12. Warrior Run 23; 13. Southern Columbia 20; 14. Loyalsock 18.50; 15. Bloomsburg 16; 16. Mifflinburg 15; 17. Central Mountain 9; 18. Shamokin 2; 19. Midd-West 1.

3,200: 1. Madeline Sanders, Williamsport, 11:09.82; 2. Ashtyn Lukens, Selinsgrove, 12:00.57; Lauren Benfer, Danville, 12:16.82; 4. Laura Ochs, Hughesville, 12:21.85; 5. Hazel Zajack, Loyalsock, 12:25.63; 6. Giavanna Gruta, 12:26.37; 7. Keiara Shaffer, Warrior Run, 12:30.92; 8. Haley Conner, Southern Columbia, 12:37.16. 3,200 relay: 1. Warrior Run (Raygan Lust, Katie Zaktansky, Claire Dufrene, Natalie Hall), 9:35.40; 2. Hughesville (Lexi Kurzawa, Elizabeth Wolfe, Grace Fortin, Vivian Draper), 10:00.95; 3. Central Columbia (Hazel Hiller, Giavanna Grutza, Erin Prezioso, Grace Prezioso), 10:41.11. 100 hurdles: 1. Aubrey Phillips-Cobb, Williamsport, 14.74*; 2. Mikayla Martin, Selinsgrove, 15.31; 3. Camden Wasielewski, Bloomsburg, 15.58; 4. Macia Owens, Central Mountain, 16.13; 5. Taylor Bunce, Hughesville, 16.17; 6. Mya Bronowicz, Shikellamy, 16.39; 7. Shakira Moyer, Mifflinburg, 16.61; 8. Giada Mullay, Danville, 22.95. 100: 1. Kendra Stout, Central Columbia, 12.25; 2. Caroline Blakeslee, Lewisburg, 12.35; 3. Madison Moyers, Lewisburg, 12.41; 4. Camron Roush, Milton, 12.93; 5. Makayla Cerami, Williamsport, 13.06. 1600: 1. Isabelle Sanders, Williamsport, 5:09.25; 2. Janie Cotner, Danville, 5:17.56; 3. Madeline Sanders, Williamsport, 5:24.71; 4. Evelynn Meckbach, Hughesville, 5:35.04; 5. Leah Lehman, Hughesville, 5:38.32; 6. Ashtyn Lukens, Selinsgrove, 5:43.38; 7. Haley Connor, Southern Columbia, 5:45.34; 8. Ally Updegrove, Shikellamy, 5:46.23. 400 relay: 1. Shikellamy, 48.64; 2. Lewisburg (Nora Driver, Teagan Osunde, Madison Moyers, Caroline Blakeslee), 48.90; 3. Williamsport (Dajea Batchler, Makayla Cerami, Aubrey Phillips-Cobb, Geiana Whaley), 49.35; 4. Hughesville (Katelyn Temple, Sierra DeWire, Avery Puderbach, Kylie Temple), 50.04. 400: 1. Geiani Whaley, Williamsport, 56.72*; 2. Aaralynn Kimble, Jersey Shore, 58.01; 3. Gigi Veach, Selinsgrove, 58.01; 4. Katelyn Temple, Hughesville, 59.11; 5. Jasmine Doubler, Mifflinburg, 59.27; 6. Bella Pistoia, Bloomsburg, 59.67; 7. Kaia Hoke, Selinsgrove, 1:00.73; 8. Hayden Snyder, Milton, 1:01.73. 300 hurdles: 1. Kylie Temple, Hughesville, 44.83; 2. Haley Bull, Central Columbia, 47.14; 3. Mya Bronowicz, Shikellamy, 47.53; 4. Faith Berwanger, Montoursville, 47.75; 5. Sierra DeWire, Hughesville, 49.34; 6. Josie Gerst, Jersey Shore, 49.44; 7. Hannah Magill, Bloomsburg, 49.71; 8. Giada Mullay, Danville, 50.52. 800: 1. Baylee Espinosa, Lewisburg, 2:15.80; 2. Odin Ryer, Danville, 2:21.84; 3. Lauren Schwartz, Lewisburg, 2:23.95; 4. Amelia Grassi, Danville, 2:24.78; 5. Natalie Osborne, Mifflinburg, 2:24.89; 6. Claire Driver, Lewisburg, 2:25.20; 7. Grace Keohane, Central Mountain, 2:25.79; 8. Olivia Stroup, Midd-West, 2:26.77. 200: 1. Kendra Stout, Central Columbia, 24.90; 2. Jilly Deivert, Shikellamy, 25.93; 3. Kylie Temple, Hughesville, 26.11; 4. Gigi Veach, Selinsgrove, 26.28; 5. Aaralynn Kimble, Jersey Shore, 26.39; 6. Bella Pistoia, Bloomsburg, 26.49; 7. Makayla Cerami, Williamsport, 26.62; 8. Kaia Hoke, Selinsgrove, 26.67. 1,600 relay: 1. Central Columbia (Kayla Hostetter, Quinlan Blake, Haley Bull, Kendra Stout), 3:58.89; 2. Williamsport (Makayla Cerami, Aubrey Phillips-Cobb, Isabelle Sanders, Noel Veldhuis), 3:59.47; 3. Warrior Run (Claire Dufrene, Brenna Pick, Natalie Hall, Raygan Lust), 3:59.62; 4. Hughesville (Katelyn Temple, Sarah Pidcoe, Lexi Kurzawa, Kylie Temple), 4:01.95.

High jump: 1. Isabelle Morrow, Williamsport, 5-2; 2. Tessa Fourspring, Mount Carmel, 5-0; 3. Emma Bolton, Lewisburg, 4-10; 3. Kelsey Dietrich, Shikellamy, 4-10; 5. Hannah Fourspring, Mount Carmel, 4-10; 5. Janine Ghayyada, Loyalsock, 4-10; 7. Gabby Jacob, Shamokin, 4-8; 8. Vivian Hale, Jersey Shore, 4-8. 8. Anna Easton, Hughesville, 4-8; 8. Elizabeth Schrock, Milton, 4-8; 8. Calyssa Shannon, Central Columbia, 4-8. Pole vault: 1. Kendall Simms, Montoursville, 10-6; 2. Aly Bingaman, Shikellamy, 10-6; 3. Sarah Bronowicz, Shikellamy, 10-0; 4. Alivia Ritenour, Warrior Run, 9-6; 5. Makenna Golden, Southern Columbia, 9-6; 6. Marissa Mahonski, Montoursville, 9-0; 7. Allie Eberhart, Montoursville, 9-0; 8. Emily Beaver, Milton, 8-6. Long jump: 1. Isabelle Morrow, Williamsport, 16-8 1/2; 2. Elizabeth Schrock, Milton, 16-3; 3. Kelsey Dietrich, Shikellamy, 16-2 1/2; 4. Ayanna Barbee, Williamsport, 15-10 3/4; 5. Maddyn McHugh, Mount Carmel, 15-9 1/2; 6. Lila Phillips, Montoursville, 15-8 1/2; 7. Jayanah Jones, Milton, 15-6; 8. Camron Roush, Milton, 15-5 1/4. Triple jump: 1. Elizabeth Schrock, Milton, 36-0 1/2; 2. Tessa Fourspring, Mount Carmel, 35-3 1/2; 3. Isabelle Morrow, Williamsport, 34-9 1/2; 4. Lila Phillips, Montoursville, 34-7 1/4; 5. Keturah Rice, Milton, 34-2 3/4; 6. Jane Berger, Shikellamy, 34-2 1/4; 7. Jayanah Jones, Milton, 34-2; 8. Hannah Fourspring, Mount Carmel, 34-1 1/2. Discus: 1. Isabella Ferguson, Selinsgrove, 127-1; 2. Liv Kopitsky, Mount Carmel, 122-3; 3. Linsey Donlan, Southern Columbia, 114-5; 4. Olivia Spotts, Jersey Shore, 104-10; 5. Taitum Zarzyczny, Williamsport, 104-9; 6. Alison Bilbay, Jersey Shore, 104-1; 7. Jaslyn Anderson, Central Mountain, 102-10; 8. Marlee Lenig, Milton, 101-9. Javelin: 1. Olivia Spotts, Jersey Shore, 133-6; 2. Brooke Charnosky, Southern Columbia, 118-2; 3. Lyndzey Hostetter, Central Columbia, 118-2; 4. Amelia Gainer, Milton, 117-9; 5. Teagan Osunde, Lewisburg, 117-5; 6. Sienna Short, Milton, 114-6; 7. Emily Waltman, Milton, 113-4; 8. Olivia Spontarelli, Shikellamy, 110-0. Shot put: 1. Liv Kopitsky, Mount Carmel, 39-2; 2. Isabella Ferguson, Selinsgrove, 37-10; 3. Zaryah Hawkins-Pegues, Loyalsock, 35-3; 4. Taitum Zarzyczny, Williamsport, 33-3; 5. Nina Steppe, Jersey Shore, 33-2; 6. Lyndzey Hostetter, Central Columbia, 32-10; 7. Abby Mangels, Selinsgrove, 32-9; 8. Gwynn Rowe, Lewisburg, 32-6.