Judging by their early results, the baton has successfully been passed between last year's Whitehall boys track and field team that stayed in contention for a league title until the final week of the season, and this year's team that's off to a strong start.

With a mixture of newcomers and veterans, the Zephyr boys have raced out to a 3-1 record, toppling the Easton Red Rovers, 90-60, in one of those wins. The lone blemish came in a tri-meet loss to Stroudsburg High School on April 1.

It should be no surprise that newcomer Saquon Barkley has already made an impact. The Penn State-bound senior has been a force in the sprints, jumps and throws, claiming seven first-place finishes in their first four meets.

Among those firsts were two wins in the 100 meters (both in 11.2), and in the shot put with throws of 46-2.50 and 45-05. He was also first in the long jump (21-5.50) in the tri-meet with Dieruff and East Stroudsburg South, first in the high jump in the Easton-Stroudsburg meet, and was part of the winning 4x100 team against the Huskies and Cavaliers.

Head coach James Sebesta said that the boys would have also won the 4x100 against the Red Rovers, but they dropped the baton.

Still, Barkley's ability to capture points in his first year has been impressive.

"He's just a good athlete," said Sebesta. "In addition, he works hard. He wants to be good."

What may be somewhat surprising is his success in the shot put. The event requires more than brute strength to be successful, but Sebesta said that Barkley is a quick study, picking up the finer points of the discipline to claim those first two wins.

"He's really a fast learner," Sebesta said.

In the meet against Dieruff and ESS, the boys took firsts in 10 events. They were especially strong in the relays, sweeping each race, with their 4x800 team once again asserting themselves as a strong candidate to repeat as district champs. That group included Andrew Frisch, Andrew Hawk, Elliot Miller and Calvin Schneck who crossed the line in 8:55.

Another recipe for success was their ability to capture points in each event which enabled them to defeat the Huskies 122-26, and the Cavaliers, 88-16-61.83.

The boys also received outstanding performances from Schneck and Gabe Lamm, with Schneck winning both the 800 and 1,600 meters, as well as his role in the 4x800, while Lamm finished first in the 3,200 and was second in the 1,600.

The duo is expected to make the boys viable in every long distance race this season, helping them toward the goal of making another bid for a league championship.

The boys also got a number of strong performances across the board. In the 100, Mustafa Mitchell placed second, crossing the line in 11.3. He then teamed up with Barkley, Ronnie Okungu and Mikhail Mejia-Charles to win the 4x100 in 44.80.

In the 200, Nick Kovalchick was third, while Jahrod Amoroso placed second in the 400, breaking the tape in 57.20.

Frisch finished third in the 800, while Julio Giraldo and Zach Pantoni finished second and third, respectively in the high hurdles, with Giraldo also coming in second in the intermediate hurdles with a 43.20 mark.

Elliot Miller was second in the pole vault (10-0), followed by Ben Helman (9-6), while Jacob Snyder and Jackson Buskirk tied for second in the high jump with 5-1 marks.

Following Barkley in the long jump were Mitchell and Brian Heckman, finishing second and third, respectively, while Heckman also finished third in the triple jump with a 20-4.50 leap.

Nick Hassler was tops in the javelin with a 164-6 toss, while Tyler Meyers was second in the discus with a 111-9 throw, and Jacob Buskirk was third in the shot with a 38-6.50 mark.

The girls also fared well in the tri-meet against ESS and Dieruff, sweeping their opponents by a comfortable margin, defeating the Huskies 109-36, and the Cavaliers, 121-29.

They got of the gate quickly, sweeping both the 100 and 200 meters. Leading the charge was Amanda Crooks who won both races, finishing the 100 in 13.0, and the 200 in 27.20. Decontee Krayee finished second in both races, while Kourtney Cunningham was third.

That set the tone for the rest of the meet as the girls captured points in every event, sweeping two more events as Ivanna Jones won both the long (16-6.50) and triple jumps (34-9.25), while Taylor Hamster finished second in the long jump and third in the triple jump, and teammate Jillian Kreglow was second in the triple and third in the long jump.

They also won two of the three relays with Kourtney Cunningham, Kassidy Cunningham, Jones and Krayee capturing first in the 4x100 in 54.60, and Emily Brand, Kourtney Cunningham, LeAnna Cruz and Alexandra Dorner doing the honors in the 4x800 in 11:58.30.

Among that group, Dorner finished first in the 800 meters (2:34.80), while Brand was second in the 1,200 and third in the 800, while Kassidy Cunningham finished second in the 800. Additionally, Heather Busch finished second in the 3,200.

Whitehall dominated the throws as well. They took first in each event with Vanessa Hadeed winning both the shot put and discus, the former with a mark of 28-11, and the latter with a 77-5 toss. Madison Walker won the javelin (91-7), while Natalie Saraceni finished second.

Sebeseta said that everyone stepped up and did what they had to do in order to prevail against Dieruff and ESS.

"It was our first meet and a lot of our kids competed for the first time, and really came through, so I was pretty happy with that," said Sebesta.