Whitehall made a number of appearances at the medal podium during the Eastern Pennsylvania Conference/Colonial League Track and Field Championships last week, and this week some members got their tickets punched to the state championships at Shippensburg.

With the district tourney set to resume on Wednesday, Tuesday’s finals brought good news to senior Gavin Wood whose clearing of 13-3 in the pole vault nailed down second place, and with it a trip to the PIAA Championships.

Wednesday could bring more good news as Amanda Crooks, Tylers Meyers and Jackson Buskirk have yet to compete in their respective events. Head Coach James Sebesta said that Crooks will enter Wednesday’s finals as the top seed in the 100.

Crooks has been battling a nagging quadriceps injury and was held out of the league championships. She’s looking to get back to Shippensburg at a track where she’s had great success as evidenced by her win at the Jack Roddick Invitational in April.

The EPC championships were held over the course of two days at East Stroudsburg South last week, while the District XI Championships are underway this week at Blue Mountain High School.

The boys team winner for the EPC was Easton with 89.5 points, while Whitehall finished 9th with 32. Stroudsburg led the way on the girls side with 152 points, while Whitehall finished 10th with 24.

Jackson Buskirk finished first in the javelin with a 166-00 toss. It’s his second EPC medal in the javelin after finishing third last year at the Zephyr Sports Complex. He was a full 10 feet better at this year’s league championships, a testament to his growth in the sport in just two years.

Tyler Myers also finished first, winning the discus with a 150-02.02 mark. He also medaled in last year’s EPC tourney, finishing third. The senior also improved his throw, eclipsing 2016’s mark by nearly five feet. Head coach James Sebesta said that Myers was able to set that winning mark on his last two throws.

Two newcomers to the podium this year were Zahir Linton and Savannah Rivera. Linton was fourth in the 400 meters at 51.93, while Rivera was second in the pole vault with a 9-00 mark.

Freshman Jacob Souders also impressed, finishing 6th in the javelin with a 152-08 mark.

“For a freshman, that’s awesome,” said Sebesta.

Other notable performances include Madelyn Mertz finishing 5th in the 300 hurdles, Jada Britland finishing 6th in the javelin, and Martin Labib finishing 6th in the 200. Additionally, the girls 4x100 team finished 5th as Angel Bacon, Kylee Cunningham, Kassidy Cunningham and Kate Bonshak combined for a 51.53 mark.

Sebesta said that Mertz had another outstanding performance at districts, setting a personal best in the 300 hurdles with a 48.83 mark.

Labib also qualified for the District XI finals in the 200 meters, giving the Zephs another potential athlete packing for Shippensburg.

The postseason has brought out a number of outstanding efforts across the board.

“This is when you want to be at your best,” Sebesta said.