To say Kendall was a tad disappointed would be accurate. The Bulldog wanted to reach the state meet and was just 0.13 seconds behind Williamsport’s Kye Diakte, who won gold.

“I was definitely happy. A week ago I was only running 15.9 so I took a huge jump from a week ago and I think just running against all these good guys in the hurdle gave me a little confidence,” Kendall said. “That was my mindset to get out fast. I’m pretty sure I was tied to first in the hurdle but unfortunately I started lunging toward the end and it made me fall behind a little bit. Overall I PR’d and I’m happy with my performance.”

That little bit of confidence in the 110 hurdles must have carried over later in the afternoon because when the 300 hurdles ran around, Kendall didn’t let anyone beat him.

Kendall won the 300 hurdles with a time of 39.24 as he bested Shamokin’s Colin Steinhart (39.94) by 0.70 seconds to secure a trip to the state meet in Shippensburg.

RALPH WILSON/For The Express Jersey Shore's Alison Bilbay competes in the discus on Saturday at the District 4 championships at Williamsport.

“It means so much. I have thought about district gold for so long,” Kendall said with his gold medal around his neck. “Obviously to race to states is my biggest dream, but winning a gold, that’s right up there with it. It means everything.”

The Bulldog made the most of his 300 hurdles to ensure a trip to Shippensburg.

In addition to beating out Steinhart, he beat out Diakite who finished with a bronze medal in 40.62.

Kendall attributes the win as well to getting off to a great start in the 300 hurdles.

“The start’s always been the best part of my race. I showed it right there I took first pretty quickly, I was first to first hurdle,” Kendall said. “I just got to fix my end to help me in states, but my training’s been so good this year and I think I’m going to run better at states.”

RALPH WILSON/For The Express Jersey Shore's Nina Steppe competes in the discus on Saturday at the District 4 championships at Williamsport.

Getting to a fast start is something Kendall noted as well when asked about the key to competing in the 110 hurdles against a competitor like Diakite.

“Just getting out fast. You have to be fast between the hurdles and you got your trail leg run quickly. That was something I didn’t really work on a whole lot,” Kendall said after the 110 hurdles. “I didn’t really do a lot of 110 hurdle practices, so that’s on me, but I’m happy with the huge jump I made this season.”

The Bulldog was also an eighth-place finisher in the 200 with a time of 23.02.

Kendall helped pace the Bulldogs on Saturday in the District 4 track and field championships. He was one of three Jersey Shore standouts to reach the podium twice between the two days of competition.

On Thursday, Olivia Spotts won district gold in the javelin and then took silver on Saturday in the discus. Jersey Shore freshman Aaralynn Kimble medaled in both the 400 and 300 hurdles events.

“Discus comes second this season after having successful season in jav, so I’ve been focusing on that,” Spotts noted. “So even to PR this season and place second, I did better this year at districts than last year even though I won (last year).”

In the discus, Spotts took silver with a throw of 104 feet, 6 inches, behind only Selinsgrove’s Isabella Furgison (111-3). The throw was four inches behind Spotts’ PR of 104-10.

“It flew well, it had a good flight path and was high enough,” Spotts said. “I was waiting for wind to go down so I could do it. It was a clean throw.”

Spotts was seeded third in the discus and mentioned how that helped her with competition knowing what she had to throw against.

“Oh a lot. Especially being seeded third today and having people in front of me give me a mark to aim for is always nice,” Spotts said. “I mean the state-qualifying mark was a little out of my range today, so I was just trying to push myself.”

Kimble ran a time of 58.56 for bronze in the 400 behind Williamsport’s Geiani Whaley (57.49) and Selinsgrove’s Gigi Veach (57.81), both of whom advanced to states. In the 300 hurdles, Kimble ran a 47.29 to take bronze again.

“It’s definitely not what I went into today wanting, but it’s still good. I’m still proud of myself,” Kimble said. “I’m always second so there’s always competition to push me and make me better.”

In the 300 hurdles, Williamsport’s Aubrey Phillips-Cobb won and tied the 1983 district record in 44.40 while Shikellamy’s Mya Bronowicz took silver in 45.98.

The Bulldog had hoped to reach states this year as a freshman.

“My expectations for the 400 I came in thinking I was going to get a state time because I was already seeded,” Kimble said. When I didn’t it was a big disappointment. I still had a chance in the 300, I didn’t get it, but it’s still OK. … I still got three more years (to try).”

In the boys 400 relay, the Bulldogs were fourth-place finishers with a time of 44.96, just 0.19 seconds behind Montoursville’s bronze-winning team.

Jersey Shore’s Elijah Jordan finished seventh in the 100 with a time of 11.43.

In the 1,600 relay, Jersey Shore’s foursome ran a time of 3:40.40 to take eighth. Jerome Yost was an eighth-place finisher in the shot put after throwing 41-4.

In girls competition, Jersey Shore’s Anna Sick, Josie Gerst, Peyton Dincher and Kimble ran a time of 4:06.95 to take home a silver medal and were behind only Williamsport’s Makayla Cerami, Phillips-Cobb, Isabelle Sanders and Geiani Whaley (4:01.53).

Jersey Shore’s Anna Sick was a fifth-place finisher in the 400 in 1:00.07 and Josie Gerst took fifth in the 300 hurdles in 49.45. Gerst was also a seventh-place finisher in 17.21 in the 100 hurdles. In the 400 relay, the Bulldogs finished in 53.67 which was good enough to take fifth place.

In the discus, Alison Bilbay of Jersey Shore finished sixth with a throw of 95-9 and Nina Steppe was an eighth-place finisher with a mark of 89-3.