Amanda Crooks left Shippensburg with something that clearly established her as one of the fastest people in the Keystone State.

She finished fourth in the PIAA 3A 100 meter dash finals on Saturday, crossing the line in 12.15 to earn a medal. With her fourth-place medal as a sophomore, it marks the highest finish ever by a girls sprinter during head coach James Sebesta’s tenure.

Crooks defeated Dasia Pressley, the state’s top qualifier in the preliminaries on Friday, topping the Pennsbury product with a scorching 12.00 to win the heat. She met Pressley again in the semifinals, with both sprinters making it to the finals with identical 12.03 marks.

In the finals she saw a familiar foe as Liberty’s Jaylyn Aminu went sub-12 to win the 100 in 11.93.

Sebesta said that the key to her success over the weekend was her self assuredness, especially after she posted that time in the preliminaries to win the heat.

“She ran with confidence,” said Sebesta.

Defeating Pressley, who was ranked first in the state after posting the top time this year, was a big boost for Crooks. Sebesta said that he was hoping to she would make it to the semifinals, but the sophomore made sure she would make it to the biggest stage.

Once she made it to the finals, Sebesta said that she ran relaxed. It was just a matter of being comfortable during the race and that landed Crooks her medal.

“She really had a good weekend,” said Sebesta.

Also making it to the finals was Calvin Schneck. He posted a 1:56.40 in the preliminaries on Friday to assure himself a spot in the finals. Schneck finished 11th in Saturday’s finals, posting a 2:06.04 to end his stellar track career at Whitehall.

Sebesta said that Schneck was pleased to make it to the finals, fulfilling a goal he had set for himself. It was also hot last weekend, and Schneck had to run at the hottest point of the day with the temperatures rising into the 90s.

Schneck shared a similar an experience in the finals as Crooks. Among the finalists was Wilson’s Joe Espinal who won the D-11. The Warrior then capped it off by winning the PIAA 3A 800 in 1:51.09.

Sebesta said that because of the spike in temperature, it was the fastest he’s ever seen the track at Shippensburg. A fast track can be great, but it can also spoil an athlete’s timing, something that Ivanna Jones experienced during her jumps. She fouled on each attempt in the triple jump, and then was hampered again by fouls in the long jump. Jones was finally able to get on the board in the long jump, posting a 17-04.75 that earned her 15th place among the 3A competitors.

Jones also competed in the high jump, finishing 13th with a 5-2 leap. The high jump was the first event of her busy Saturday which began at 9:30 a.m. The long jump then followed at 12:30 p.m., the event which marked the end of her brilliant athletic career at Whitehall.

Sebesta said that Jones didn’t have a single miss until 5-4 in the high jump.

“She jumped really well,” said Sebesta.

Tyler Meyers knew that toppling Knoch High School’s Jordan Geist would be a herculean task. He had all ready thrown the discus 192-11 this year. While Geist claimed first in the discus with a 183-00 mark, Meyers was able to finish 21st with a 143-10 toss.

Sebesta said that Meyers soaked everything up during his first trip to Shippensburg.

“He likes to watch good throwers and study their moves, see how they prepare,” said Sebesta. “That’s a good thing.”

Sebesta watched as Meyers steadily progressed throughout the season.

“I thought he had a really good year,” said Sebesta.

As the offseason approaches, Sebesta said that it will be important for Meyers to take another step forward. That means working on his form and repeating that time after time.

“It all comes down to consistency with him,” Sebesta said.