Liberty junior Olivia Sahaydak was determined to win a district gold medal in the 800 meter run after winning a conference silver medal, so she made some changes to her strategy and clinched the gold at the District XI Class 3A Track and Field Championships last Wednesday at Blue Mountain High School.

“At the end, I needed to have a kick. Last week [at conferences] I had to hang on for dear life,” Sahaydak said.

This time, Sahaydak changed her tactic and stuck with the group for the first lap and a half.

“I’m really excited that I was able to figure that out,” she said.

Sahaydak’s time was 2:15.62, two seconds better than her time the week before.

Sahaydak was also part of Liberty’s 4x4 relay team which took the silver medal at districts.

“When I got the handoff from Alicia [Valladares] the girl from Stroudsburg was in the way and I had to cut in front of her, but it turned out fine,” said Sahaydak.

Greta Stuckey was the lead off runner for the Hurricanes but had a longer wait than usual for the race to begin.

“Yes, I was nervous. A girl from Stroudsburg had a nosebleed, so we were waiting,” Stuckey said. “I was trying to keep loose, and our coach said to leave it all out on the track.”

Valladares ran second.

“This was a way to redeem ourselves from the 4x8. We were all very set and very determined,” said Valladares.

Payton Shaffer was the anchor for the Hurricanes.

“I have a history in the 100 and the 200 of almost beating [Stroudsburg], so I didn’t want it to happen again,” Shaffer said. “My legs unlocked, and I just went really fast.”

Liberty’s girls’ 4x8 relay team of Rachel Byrne, Sahaydak, Stuckey, Valladares, Raisa Kochmaruk, and Belle Weikert took third place at districts in 9:39.87.

Freedom’s boys’ 4x1 relay team of Nick King, Kyree Marshburn, Dashaun Peterson, Cyrus Thompson, and Lewis Hargett placed third, and Liberty’s boys’ 4x1 relay team of Gunner Anglovich, Daniel Damon, DeAndre Damon, Darian Street, Jaden Vazquez, and Devon West placed fourth.