Calvin Schneck knew he had to separate himself from the pack if he wanted to medal in the mile at the district championships, and when he finally freed himself from jumble of competitors, the junior laid it all on the line as he sprinted toward the finish line.

The effort necessary to finish third took its toll, his body barely able to make it to the medal stand.

It's that kind of commitment, the willingness to sacrifice your body in order to achieve your goal, is what fuels a runner like Schneck. When you work all year toward a singular goal, anything short of maximum effort would be unthinkable.

Head coach James Sebesta has seen that commitment on a daily basis. He knows the work that Schneck has put into trying to make it to states.

"He's one of those kids, I hate to put it this way, but he'd kill himself to get to states," said Sebesta. "That's how much it means to him."

Schneck didn't want any regrets either.

"I figured the mile was the best chance I had to make it to states," said Schneck. "I gave it everything I had."

Schneck said he went out with Joseph Espinal, looking to stay within striking distance of the eventual winner. As the race progressed, he tried to hold onto to second, and at the same time hold off the other runners who were on his heels.

"I tried to hold on as long as I could," said Schneck.

He also had to begin his kick earlier than he planned, knowing that waiting would jeopardize his chance for a medal.

"I knew if I didn't do it then, I wasn't going to medal, so I just poured it on in the end."

Schneck finished in 4:27.36, good for third place. He was also battling a windy day, and just barely missed setting a personal record despite the conditions.

Sebesta said that the wind meant the distance runners needed to finish among the top two to get the automatic bid since qualifying times were hampered by the conditions.

Schneck, who also competes in the 800 meters, as well as the 4x800, was hoping to get to Shippensburg for the third consecutive year. Each previous time he made it as a member as a member of the 4x800 team, once as an alternate and then last year as a full-fledged member.

But to make it on his own would hold special significance. It was something he wanted to prove to himself.

While that didn't work out, he could still qualify as a member of the 4x800 team. Unfortunately, the 4x800 team also didn't qualify as a team member re-aggravated an injury while jockeying for position, sending him to the ground. That was heartbreaking for Schneck and the team because they knew they had a chance to qualify for states given their prior history.

After the initial disappointment, Schneck put everything into perspective.

"I was still happy, I ended my season with what I wanted to do," said Schneck. "I did what I wanted to get done."

He also realizes his track career isn't over, something that'll motivate him next season.

"That's the good thing out of all of this," said Schneck. "It's something to learn from and then go out on a better note my senior year."

Saquon Barkley was looking to defend his league title in the 100 meters heading into Wednesday's finals. It's the signature race of the championships and he was looking forward to district gold.

This time he was edged out by Julian Liaci, finishing second at 10.90.

"Out of all of my events this is the one I wanted to win, but honestly, I'm happy with how I did," said Barkley. "I mean, hats off to Julian, he ran a great race. I'll see him in states and we'll see what happens there."

Those two have had a back-and-forth battle this year, with Barkley holding slight edge in their meetings.

Barkley competed at Shippensburg earlier this year and he's looking forward to heading back to participate in two events.

"I got to experience the track at the [Jack Roddick] Invitational this year," said Barkley. "I'm excited to go back."

He was competing in four events again, and he was constantly on the move Wednesday afternoon. He had just missed making the finals in the shot put by half-an-inch, and was now preparing to run in the 4x100 relay.

He relay team earned fourth-place, with Mustafa Mitchell, Charles Mikhail and Ronnie Okungu and Barkley finishing in 43.87.

Sebesta said that Barkley was spinning like a top, competing in four events within a 45-minute window.

His final event was the long jump, and the senior was ready to make his mark, outdistancing the field with a 22-02.50 leap.

"This is the first time he could relax, and look what he did," said Sebesta.

"That was a great feeling," said Barkley.

Ivana Jones had incredible day at the D-11 Championships. The junior qualified for two events, earning a trip to states in both the long jump and high jump. Her mark of 17-08.05 in the long jump set a school record.

She also had the best mark in the high jump at 5-3 among the D-11 competitors but lost on a tiebreaker to Northwestern's Natcheli Gomes.

Sebesta said that no one works harder than Jones.

"She's just amazing," said Sebesta. "She was happy with what she was able to do. She set the school record, and now she's heading to states."

Once again, Amanda Crooks came in second in the 100 meters. She actually broke the old district record in the finals, finishing in 12.18. The previous mark was 12.24 set in 1988 by Tamaqua's Tricia Plasko. It was also a personal best for the freshman. Unfortunately, she happened to be in the same field with Liberty's Jaclyn Aminu who shattered the record, finishing in 11.77.

Still, it was quite an accomplishment for Crooks who was looking to unseat Aminu as the reigning sprint champ in the area.

"Since I came in second last time, my mindset was to go out there and try to get first," said Crooks. "You have to know how to get a really good start, and I was trying to do that again, but I didn't have a good start, and it kind of went downhill, but I said, 'You know what, put it all out there.'"

With the heavy wind gusts during Wednesday's finals, Crooks thought Tuesday's preliminary time (12.29) might be her best effort sine the weather was more conducive for running, but was surprised to find the opposite.

"I did so much better today," she said.

Crooks qualifies for states in the 100 meters and will join Barkley and Jones for the trip to Shippensburg this weekend.

Crooks also competed in the 200 as well as the 4x100 relay. While she did set a personal record in the 200 on Tuesday (25.84), she fell out of medal contention on Wednesday's finals.

Gabe Lamm, who finished ninth in the 3,200, received a $500 scholarship from the Emery Track and Field Association.

Sebesta said it was an outstanding day for the kids. Even if they didn't qualify, a lot of them had their personal bests, including the boys and girls 4x100 teams.

"I'm ecstatic with the effort," he said.