As a defending district champ who has high jumped 6 feet, 10 inches, Gavin Nelson knew there was pressure to perform in his final District 11 Championship meet, which was held last Tuesday and Thursday at Whitehall High School.

But the pressure of outside expectations isn’t what motivates the Northwestern senior.

It’s his own high goals and expectations that drive him.

None of it bothered him last week as he cruised to his second straight title with a leap of 6-9, which he cleared on his first attempt for the win.

“I think as I start winning more it’s more pressure on myself,” he said. “I want to keep the expectation of continuing to win and continuing to get first. I know there’s great competition. I always come in with the idea that every wants to knock you off. I always stress trying to maintain calm and trying to be happy with my approach and only control what I can control.”

Nelson, who finished fourth in the state in Class 2A last year, is tied for the second seed in Class 3A at this year’s state championship meet, scheduled for Friday and Saturday at Shippensburg University.

The top seed, Trip Campbell of North Penn, has a mark of 6-11.

“I would love to PR, maybe jump 6-11, 7-0 at states,” said Nelson. “Everyone wants to win states, but I feel like if I could just PR and do the best I can I’ll be happy.”

Nelson cleared 6-10 this season at a dual meet at Northern Lehigh and would likely earn another state medal with a jump like that this weekend, maybe even a gold medal.

At districts, Nelson started at 6-1 and cleared that height on his first attempt. He did the same at 6-3 and 6-5. His first miss came at 6-7, but he got it on his second attempt then made 6-9 on his first try to secure the win.

It was the exact type of consistent performance that Nelson and Tiger head coach Chuck Groller strive for.

“It’s just a matter of keeping the same form and staying confident in your run up and your approach,” Nelson said. “That’s the biggest thing we strive for, coach Groller and I, is being consistent. Getting the height on my first attempt is a big thing for us.”

Nelson was one of two Tiger medal winners at districts.

Freshman Rosalia Nestor finished third in the 800-meter run to earn a medal in her first District 11 Track and Field Championships. She also placed fifth in 1600, just missing out on a medal, which go to the top four finishers in each event.

Northwestern Lehigh competed at the Class 3A level this year after several years as a 2A team. As one of the smallest schools in the 3A classification, the Tigers are up against several teams with enrollments more than five times the size of theirs.

District 11 Track and Field Championship Results

Class 3A

(Results include the top three finishers in each event along with all Northwestern finishers)

LEGEND

Blue Mountain (BM), Dieruff (D), Easton (East), East Stroudsburg South (ESS), Emmaus (Emm), Freedom (Free),

Jim Thorpe (JT), Lehighton (Leh),Liberty (Lib), Nazareth (Naz), Northampton (North), North Schuylkill (NS), Northwestern Lehigh (NW), Palmerton (Palm), Parkland (Park), Pleasant Valley (PV), Pocono Mountain West (PMW), Pottsville (Potts), Saucon Valley (SV), Southern Lehigh (SL), Tamaqua (Tam), Wilson (Wil)

GIRLS

100 - 1. Alena Murray (S) 12.00, 2. Amanda Mercurius (Naz) 12.29, 3. Taylor Cofer-Walcott (ESS) 12.35, 21. Carsyn Van Norman (NW) 13.32;

200 - 1. Amanda Mercurius (Naz) 24.55, 2. Julia Grant (S) 24.96, 3. Taylor Cofer-Walcott (ESS) 25.17, 20. Carsyn Van Norman (NW) 27.73;

400 - 1. Aniya Holder (D) 55.63, 2. Julia Grant (S) 56.59, 3. Natalie Ray (Free) 56.96, 9. Sophia Schaffer (NW) 1:00.43, 17. Megan Fornwalt (NW) 1:02.05;

800 - 1. Elizabeth McClarin (Lib) 2:16.07, 2. Katie Drabouski (Lib) 2:16.35, 3. Rosalia Nestor (NW) 2:20.58;

1600 - 1. Madelyn McCartney (Emm) 4:53.13, 2. Virginia Kraus (SV) 4:57.02, 3. Avery Errico (Wil) 5:09.96, 5. Rosalia Nestor (NW) 5:12.59;

3200 - 1. Virginia Kraus (SV) 10:24.53, 2. Madelyn McCartney (Emm) 10:36.58, 3. Avery Errico (Wil) 11:02.16, 7. Rosalia Nestor (NW) 11:52.97;

100H - 1. Faith Schiffer (SL) 14.72, 2. Alexa Giuffre (Potts) 15.21, 3. Kayla-Rayne Quinones (Emm) 15.27, 22. Taylor Langley (NW) 18.70;

300H - 1. Maggie Scalzo (East) 44.54, 2. Aniya Holder (D) 44.74, 3. Alexa Giuffre (Potts) 44.75, 18. Megan Fornwalt (NW) 50.72;

400 relay - 1. Stroudsburg 47.30, 2. Parkland 47.67, 3. Palmerton 48.20, 10. Northwestern (Ella Dangello, Carsyn Van Norman, Taylor Langley, Sophia Schaffer) 50.91;

1600 relay - 1. Parkland 3:57.52, 2. Notre Dame-Green Pond 3:59.33, 3. Easton 3:59.85, 8. Northwestern (Megan Fornwalt, Emily Kistler, Madison Milks, Sophia Schaffer) 4:07.34;

3200 Relay - 1. Liberty 9:32.06, 2 Nazareth 9:34.09, 3. Easton 9:37.76, 6. Northwestern Lehigh (Megan Fornwalt, Sophia Cornell, Emily Kistler, Rosalia Nestor) 10:03.88;

High jump - 1. Claudia Walls (Emm) 5-5, 2. Aviannah Jean-Pierre (East) 5-3, 3. Emma Campusano (PMW) 5-1, 12. Norah Silfies (NW) 4-11;

Pole vault - 1. Samantha Plasha (Tam) 10-0, 2. Samantha Schultz (Park) 9-6, 3. Gabriella Borgos (Park) 9-6;

Long jump - 1. Alexa Giuffre (Potts) 19-9.5, 2. Nataly Walters (Palm) 18-9, 3. Jariana Rivas (East) 18-3.5;

Triple jump - 1. Nataly Walters (Palm) 40-4, 2. Mia Bowden (PMW) 37-4.5, 3. Anne Beenders (North) 37-3;

Shot put - 1. Lucy Colyer (North) 34-10.75, 2. Nayeli Moliere (PMW) 34-8.5, 3. Lorah Thomas (Leh) 34-1.25;

Discus - 1. Brooke Nwigwe (ESS) 119-2, 2. McKayla Strunk (S) 118-11, 3. Evelyn Hersh (ND) 118-2, 8. Adisan Kistler (NW) 98-10;

Javelin - 1. Makayla Keck (BM) 162-8, 2. Emma Repsher (Leh) 137-7, 3. Skyelar Umstead (Naz) 125-3, 9. Alexandra Diehl (NW) 103-10, 10. Kylie Christman (NW) 103-6, 11. Hannah Gober (NW) 101-11.

BOYS

100 - 1. Chase Guers (BM) 10.81, 2. Luke Miller (NS) 10.86, 3. Gigi Durandisse (Wil) 10.99, 26. Ben Moyes (NW) 11.87;

200 - 1. Luke Miller (NS) 21.77, 2. Jareal Moore (PlVy) 21.95, 3. Chase Guers (BM) 21.98;

400 - 1. Laquaye Hamilton (D) 49.98, 2. Kayden Spence (JT) 50.43, 3. Reese Prebosnyak (White) 50.48, 9. Benjamin Bachman (NW) 51.73;

800 - 1. Jared Petre (Emm) 1:56.88, 2. David Myer (Lib) 1:57.40, 3. Peter Jones (SL) 1:58.08;

1600 - 1. Dylan Boyle (Free) 4:27.25, 2. Colin McGuigan (Park) 4:27.68, 3. Jacob Casey (Naz) 4:28.28;

3200 - 1. Jacob Casey (Naz) 9:42.45, 2. Dylan Boyle (Free) 9:45.95, 3. Luke McEvoy (Park) 9:48.62;

110H - 1. Abiel Quartey (S) 15.20, 2. Stephan Richards (Free) 15.27, 3. Donovann Durham (Potts) 15.40, 17. Shane Leh (NW) 17.35;

300H - 1. Ethan Huertas (Free) 39.66, 2. Stephan Richards (Free) 40.11, 3. Rafael Liranzo (BM) 40.531;

400 relay - 1. Blue Mountain 41.48, 2. Emmaus 41.96, 3. Pleasant Valley 42.67, 13. Northwestern (Seth Kern, Shane Leh, Kemurray Morgan, Ben Moyes) 44.80;

1600 relay - 1. Parkland 3:21.95, 2. Southern Lehigh 3:22.55, 3. Emmaus 3:23.67, 12. Northwestern (Jayden Billig, Luke Fugazzotto, Greyson Wellings, Benjamin Bachman) 3:35.11;

3200 Relay - 1. Emmaus 8:01.86, 2. Parkland 8:04.35, 3. Southern Lehigh 8:16.40, 10. Northwestern Lehigh (Brady Furman, Isaac Grubb, Noah Griffith, Greyson Wellings) 8:45.28;

High jump - 1. Gavin Nelson (NW) 6-9, 2. Jaden Bulgin (Park) 6-7, 3. Andrew Szeplaki (North) 6-3; Pole vault - 1. Andrew Szeplaki (North) 14-9, 2. Tyler Grabinski (Emm) 14-9, 3. Casey Huie (Lib) 14-3;

Pole Vault - 1. Andrew Szeplaki (North) 14-9, 2. Tyler Grabinski (Emm) 14-9, 3. Casey Huie (Lib) 14-3;

Long jump - 1. Anthony Otero (Lib) 23-6.5, 2. Austin Boyce (Naz) 22-7.75, 3. Oziaz Washington (ESN) 22-2.5;

Triple jump - 1. Shane Plante-King (ESS) 45-6, 2 Konstantinos Panagopoulos (Emm) 44-10, 3. Damar Gilzeane (Emm) 44-6.5, 11. Bradley Burnard (NW) 41-5.5;

Shot put - 1. Carter Giberson (SL) 51-9.25, 2. Aidan Zilker (NS) 51-0.5, 3. Eli Torres (SV) 49-0.75;

Discus - 1. Jonathan Adjin-Tettey (ESS) 148-8, 2. Carter Giberson (SL) 146-5, 3. Ryan Galen (Potts) 134-2;

Javelin - 1. Thomas Lloyd (White) 210-1, 2. Leo Dauberman (Park) 186-3, 3. Kaden Zerfoss (ESS) 183-6, 12. Brendan Miller (NW) 150-10.