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LEHIGH VALLEY WEATHER

Falcon athletes soar at ASD Invitational

When Salisbury senior Holly Szita set a school record in the high jump in a tri-meet at Bangor in early April, little did she know she'd make history again just a few weeks later.

Szita placed first in the high jump at Friday's William Allen Invitational at J. Birney Crum Stadium, setting a personal best and school record of 5 feet, 5 inches. She was one of seven different athletes that placed in the top 10 in field events.

"My goal this year was to get 5-4, and I went beyond it," Szita said. "I'm really happy with it."

Szita's best jump a season ago was 5-2. She has already added three inches to that mark. Coming into Friday's meet, she didn't let the level of competition stretching across both AA and AAA classifications phase her.

"I just kind of came in with an open mind and wanted to do my best," Szita said. "I wasn't psyched out. I came in thinking, 'OK you can compete with these girls, so just do what you can.'

"No one else cleared 5-4, and then I moved it up to 5-5. I cleared that, and then we moved it up to 5-6. I was on an adrenaline drain after making the other two marks."

Along with Szita, Lindsay Bauer led the Falcons in jumping events with first-place finishes in the long jump (19-2) and triple jump (37-9). Kaitlin Toman was the other Falcon to win gold on Friday, winning the pole vault with a height of 11-0.

Bauer's mark of 19-2 in the long jump broke her previous personal best by over a foot. In the triple jump, the junior hit 37-9 in her final attempt to pass North Penn's Allison Williams, Northern Lehigh's Jessica Olewine and Stroudsburg's Aspen Gaita, who all finished with a mark of 37-5.

"To PR by a foot today [in the long jump] was crazy," Bauer said. "I like performing in front of big crowds. I like big meets. You can consider it good pressure. I like competing in that kind of atmosphere.

"It was my last chance, so I gave it everything I had [in the triple jump]. I felt faster. I felt like I got higher and further, and I feel like my landing really made the jump, too."

Bryce Fairclough, who finished 10th in the triple jump, was the other Falcon to place in the top 10 in jumping events.

Salisbury has had its fair share of successful jumpers make a name for themselves over the years. Last year, Austin Uhl finished second in the long jump at districts. A year earlier, Dan Reichenbach earned gold at districts in the triple jump and long jump. Both are now competing at the collegiate level.

With the postseason set to begin next week, the current group of Falcon jumpers (which includes a number of district medalists from 2014) is looking to continue its successful season.

"Our group is pretty small, but for being a pretty small group I would say that we have tons of talent," Bauer said. "We're all really close, too."

The Colonial League Track and Field Championships will be held next Tuesday and Wednesday at Whitehall High School.

The following individuals also finished in the top 10 of throwing events: Isabelle Bubenko (third in shot put), Meagan Eripret (seventh in discus) and Maddy Undercuffler (sixth in shot put, ninth in discus and 10th in javelin). Bubenko previously broke the school record in the shot put in mid-April with a throw of 34 feet.

Bauer also finished fourth in the 300 meter hurdles, and Kelly Gonoude placed ninth in the 1600 meter run.

PRESS PHOTO BY NANCY SCHOLZ Salisbury's Bryce Fairclough glides through the air at Friday's Allentown School District Invitational Meet.