After finishing as runner up in the league and district championship meets, the Parkland girls 4x100 relay team knew it could go even faster at the state championship meet.

The foursome of Lucy Tobia, Cierra Valley, Dhaniya Miner and Kaley Seide had already broken the school record in the event twice this season, but had yet to win a title.

Until it did just that when it mattered most, saving it’s best for last to take first place Saturday at the PIAA Championships.

“We were second over and over again,” said Seide, a junior. “In EPCs we were second. In districts we were also second. To come here and win it’s really insane.”

Parkland athletes or relay teams earned medals in three events at the state meet, held Friday at Saturday at Shippensburg University.

The Trojan girls 4x400 relay team, which included Seide, Tobia Valley and Ana Gbur, earned a third-place medal at states, while senior Jaden Bulgin finished sixth in the state high jump.

The PHS girls 4x100 relay was seeded third at states with District 11 champ Stroudsburg in the top spot.

Parkland (48.35) and the Mounties (48.15) put up the top two times in preliminary heats, with the Trojans still second.

“Since we were so close the other times,” said Valley, a senior. “Having gold within our sight was very cool, very exciting.”

Tobia got the team off to a fast start before Valley and Miner, a junior, got the baton to Seide with a lead.

She held off runners from Lower Merion (47.64) and Downingtown West (47.67) to cross the finish line in first place.

“When we have pressure we do better,” said Seide. “I think the pressure motivates us.

“Coming in here we were shooting for top three. Yesterday after seeing what we could do, I said OK guys we’re definitely going to go for the gold.”

To win the 4x100 requires not only speed, but also three flawless handoffs. Parkland made them Saturday. The team practices full speed baton exchanges at every practice.

“We practice like we’re already at the meet,” said Valley.

While the 4x100 relay began the final track session of the two-day meet, the 4x400 is the last race of the event. Most runners competing in the race have already run several hundred meters of state championship races by late Saturday afternoon.

The 4x400 final is as much a test of will as a test of speed.

The Trojans were seeded 14th in the event, but their 3:56.78 preliminary time Friday put them in the top 8 to advance to Saturday’s finals.

In the championship final Parkland dropped four seconds from that time to finish in 3:52.77 and take third place.

Bulgin finished sixth in high jump at 6 feet, 7 inches in his first trip to the outdoor state championship meet. He entered the event at 6 feet and cleared that height, 6-2 and 6-4 on his first attempts.

After two misses at 6-6, Bulgin cleared the bar on his third and final attempt, then made 6-7 on his first try to secure a place in the top eight and a state medal.

He’s got some short-term plans for the new piece of hardware.

“I get to walk on the stage with [the gold medal] when I graduate,” said Bulgin.

The Trojans had several other athletes compete at states last weekend.

Tobia finished 10th in the 400-meter run in 57.11, while Seide was 15th in the 200 in 25.82.

Leo Dauberman, the only Trojan thrower to qualify for states, threw 176-2 for 11th place in javelin.

Exzavier Seide competed in triple jump, leaping 42-1 1/2 for 23rd place.

Colin McGuigan ran in the 1600-meter run and finished 30th.

Parkland’s boys 4x800 relay team finished 24th at states. The team of Logan McEvoy, Marcelo Castilla, Anthony Cappellini and Henry Stein ran the race in 9:18.09.