Steven Lozada came very close to capturing gold a year ago.

During last year’s Colonial League Track and Field Championships, Lozada placed second in the pole vault event as a sophomore.

The Falcon junior jumper was able to reach the top of the podium a year later.

During last week’s league meet at Whitehall High School, Lozada jumped 13 feet, 9 inches to secure first place in the pole vault event in convincing fashion. He was one of two Salisbury jumpers to earn league medals, which were awarded to the top four finishers in each event.

“This year, in the third of fourth week, I jumped up a foot in my personal best,” Lozada said. “That was my biggest surprise. I’ve put in the work with my coaches in the offseason.”

Lozada, who topped Aaron Lyon of Southern Lehigh in the event by over a foot, was hoping to clear 13 feet this season. Not only did he hit that mark weeks ago, he surpassed another milestone with a personal record of 14 feet.

Lozada also placed second in the triple jump event for the Falcons.

“I had a good performance in triple jump,” Lozada said. “We tried our best in the 4x100, but [the pole vault] is my main event, so it was nice to get gold this year after placing second last year.”

With the District 11 Class 2A Championships underway this week, Lozada is once again hoping to claim gold, while also setting a new personal-best mark. He also has his aim on the long-standing school record, set by Matt Faust in 1988.

“The goal is to get gold again,” Lozada said. “That’s the most important thing, and hopefully set a personal best again. I think 14-3 would put me in the top five in the state for Class 2A. As high as I can go is where I want to go.”

Joshua Hudak was the other Falcon medal winner at leagues, placing third in the triple jump and fourth in the high jump events, respectively.

Hudak’s turnaround from the last two seasons is remarkable. The Falcon senior dealt with injuries in each of the past two seasons, which caused him to miss last year’s postseason competition. He didn’t compete in the triple jump as a sophomore either.

“My goal was right around 44 feet [in the triple jump] because if I can hit that [this week at districts], that is qualifying me for states,” Hudak said. “I was happy with that.

“My coach [Tony Hamane] told me a quote along the lines of, ‘Great things happen when great people are around you.’ That next jump I went 44-6, which was a good personal best. I hope that carries me onto the next stage.”

Lozada and Hudak both are looking to carry their momentum from leagues into districts, and then eventually onto states in Hershey.

“I just want to give a shout out to Steven Lozada because I feel like we tend to go off each other,” Hudak said. “When one of us does well, the other tends to follow.”

Lozada agreed.

“I definitely don’t think the numbers that I’ve had would be there without him,” Lozada said. “We work together. We talk to each other about what our jumps look like. And we practice hard together.”

A number of other Falcons had impressive outings with top-10 finishes. Gabrielle Pena placed fifth in the pole vault. Bryan Gonzalez Jr. took 10th in the high jump and William Kocher placed in the top 10 in the high jump (sixth), long jump (seventh) and triple jump (eighth).