Mady McCartney always goes into races with a plan.

But she’s also prepared to alter it if necessary.

Saturday in the state championship 3200-meter run, the plan changed during the final two laps. And the result was a silver medal for the Emmaus junior.

“I just wanted to get top 8,” said McCartney Saturday at Shippensburg University’s Seth Grove Stadium, the site of the annual state championship meet. “I was not expecting second. I just wanted to improve from my finish last year, but I was not expecting second.”

Not only did McCartney improve on last year’s eighth-place finish, but she also ran the fastest 3200 of her career with a 10:29.51.

Early in the race McCartney stayed close to eventual winner Virginia Kraus, who finished in a state record 10:22.08.

When Kraus started to pull away, Amy Bondy (Carlisle) pulled ahead of McCartney into second place. While the plan was to draft Bondy until the final kick, things changed when Hatboro-Horsham’s Lillian DiCola made a move in an effort to get past McCartney.

“I just wanted to get a good start,” said McCartney. “Once I saw [Bondy] start coming up I was like ‘all right, I’m just going to tuck in behind her and go off of her.’ Whenever I decided it was time to start my kick for the last lap I’d try to go around her. Then another girl came up and I was like ‘I’m just going to see what I have left.’”

McCartney not only held off DiCola, but she edged Bondy (10:29.58) in the final few steps of the race and crossed the line .07 seconds head of her for second place.

“I was hoping I would have enough,” said McCartney. “I tell myself the last 100 meters you leave everything out there. I always have something at the end of a race.”

McCartney was one of two Hornets to earn medals at states.

Pole vaulter Tyler Grabinski took third place by clearing 14 feet at states Friday.

“I was hoping to win it,” said the Hornet senior. “The weather was tough. It was windy and it was raining earlier. It felt good getting on the podium.”

Grabinski and other athletes found the swirling winds last weekend hard to predict or prepare for.

While the state meet is always an incredible experience, the highlight of Grabinski’s season might have come a few weeks earlier when he cleared 16 feet at the East Penn Conference Championships. The height is a Lehigh Valley-area record.

“It was just a crazy feeling,” he said of clearing 16 feet. “I’ve been shooting for that all year. When I hit it I just went over the bar and I watched the bar as I was falling down. I hit [the bar] barely and it was wiggling. That feeling when it stopped was crazy. It was unbelievable.”

Grabinski will go on to compete at the University of Rhode Island next year.

A few other Emmaus athletes and relay teams competed at Shippensburg last weekend.

McCartney, who qualified for states in two events, finished in 11th place in the 1600-meter run last Friday in a time of 5:03.53.

Hornet jumper Claudia Walls also made it to states in two events.

The three-time EPC high jump champion finished 18th in her second time competing in the state championship in that event by clearing 5-2. She also qualified for the triple jump championships and finished 22nd at states at 36-7.

A few Hornet seniors capped stellar running careers Saturday at the state meet.

Kayla-Rayne Quinones finished 20th in the 100-meter hurdles in 15.82 seconds. Jared Petre finished 25th in the 800 in 1:58.64, while Payton Campbell ran the 3200 in 11:12.86 for 28th place.

Three Emmaus relay teams competed at states.

The Hornet boys 4x100 relay entered states as the 14th seed and finished 12th overall in a time of 42.59 seconds. Members of that relay were Kai Jefferson-Rushing, Nicholi Marsh, Dorrian McCargo and Michael Milot.

The foursome of Petre, Miles Cook, Richard Will and Conor Fisher finished 20th in the 4x800 relay at states, running the event in 8:14.58.

The Emmaus girls 4x100 relay team finished 24th at states with a time of 50.16. That team included Morgan Tandy, Gabriella DeVita, Sophia Pratt and Quinones.

The Hornet boys 4x400 relay team of Petre, Will, Cook and Rien George finished 29th at states in 3:28.26.