After a heartbreaking 76-74 loss to Liberty on April 8, the Parkland girls track team rebounded with victories over Nazareth (91-59) and Whitehall (81.3-68.6) to go to 5-1 on the year. They also earned a strong second-place finish in a competitive Allentown School District Invitational meet April 18.

”I was pleased with the way the girls responded to the loss by continuing to get better against Nazareth and Whitehall,” said Parkland head coach Scott Levan.

In the ASD Invitational, the Trojans received title-winning performances from the indefatigable Madison Zaun, who won the 3,200-meter race. Teammates Shelby Staib won gold in the triple jump competition, and Kendra Yeboah reigned supreme in the shot put.

In their meet with the Blue Eagles, the Trojans dominated the girls 100-meter hurdles, as Mahi Patel, Christine Hutchinson, Morgyn Zehner and Melanie Lowe took the top four spots. The storyline almost repeated itself in the 300-meter hurdles, as Patel, Hutchinson and Lowe claimed the top three positions.

In the 4x800 relay team of Emily Beers, Olivia Vaccari, Lauren Williams and Ava Bendetti easily outdistanced their Nazareth rivals with a 11:46.4 time. Bendetti wasn’t through for the day, as she won the 800-meter and earned five points in 2;24.6

Another talented Trojan sprinter, Aubrey Semler, won the 200-meter dash in the Nazareth meet in 27.2. Brooke Labenberg then got into the act, winning the 3200-meter run in 12:25.1.

Parkland excelled in the pole vault, taking the top three spots against the Blue Eagles. Megan Kearns, Avery Druckenmiller and Madison Bruder tallied nine points for Troy. The Trojans’ trio of Kendra Yeboah, Sonya Shivok and Emily Feyrer dominated the shot put to claim another nine points.

The Whitehall meet a few days later proved somewhat more difficult, as the Zephyrs put up a good fight. Parkland once again received quality showings from Bendetti (who won the 3200), Beers (winning the 1600), and the Patel, Lowe, Zehner and Hutchinson Zehner foursome finished in that order in the 100 m hurdles.

The Trojans’ Jada Mangahas, a junior, earned five points in winning the pole vault, while Staib impressed in the long and triple jumps by winning both. Yeboah, Shivok and Feyrer, as they did a few days earlier against Nazareth, took the gold, silver and bronze positions against Whitehall. Finally, Staib proved too much for the competition in claiming the discus and javelin throws.

Levan said he’s received several superb performances so far this season and it’s hard to pinpoint the best ones.

“I would not single anyone out at this time, but I look for improvements as a whole,” he said.

The Trojans will travel to Easton on April 25 and host a solid Emmaus squad four days later. The East Penn Conference Championships are slated for May7-8 at Whitehall with District 11 competition one week later.