Somehow, some way Bethlehem Catholic senior Zemi Rodriguez sprinted 300 meters with a pulled groin muscle to assure the Golden Hawks’ third place finish and state qualification in the boys 4x4 relay (3:25.49) at the District XI Class 2A Track and Field Championships on May 13 at Whitehall High School.

“At 100 meters, I felt a pull, and immediately, I was in pain like I never had before,” Rodriguez said. “Then I started maining my stride on my right leg, especially for the curve. I was using my right leg to push myself, and I ran a time that allowed us to qualify.”

Rodriguez anchored the team of Brandon Andrews, Aiden Rivera, and Armando Thom.

“We had a lot banking on Armando Thom, and I’m very proud of him,” said Rodriguez, who explained that Thom was a replacement for the injured Cayden Vassa. “Armando came in strong, and I went out strong, and I felt really good, and honestly, before the race, I had no inclination that I was in any pain or that I didn’t stretch enough, and I felt great.”

Andrews, also a senior, led off with a strong 400 meters.

“I was the only one who did a standing start,” Andrews said. “Because I wasn’t in the block, it trips a lot of people out, wondering what I’m doing, but it’s the easiest way for me to get out. I was in a good lane, so I don’t have to worry about being ahead too far or people catching up by being too far back, so I paced it that way, and me and Aiden had a good handoff. I trust that when I give it to him, he’s gonna keep the lead.”

Now, all Andrews could do for the next few minutes was watch.

“During the race, it’s kind of nerve racking because you’re not only looking at your guy, but you’re also looking at the guy in first, seeing how he’s going, the guy in third, seeing how he’s doing, if he’s gonna be able to catch you,” said Andrews.

Catasauqua was in first place, followed by Becahi, and Notre Dame-Green Pond was in third.

Thom maintained a nice lead on Notre Dame, and it appeared that Rodriguez would hold that lead if not for the injury. In fact, the Becahi sprinter was only passed by Notre Dame at the end of the race.

“In the last 50 meters, I looked at the clock and looked at the board to confirm, and we had made it [to states] with time to spare,” said Rodriguez. “I was just disappointed in myself because of the injury that I got, and I was in a lot of pain, but we ended up pulling through and I’m very happy for my guys and we worked very hard for it. I’m in the recovery process right now. It’s still shaky whether I’ll be running at states or not. I really hope I can because I’ve worked for many years to do this, and now this is the year we finally got it.”

Joining the foursome at states will be Tyre Lewis, Cayden Vassa, Carter Vassa, and Joseph Muhoro.

“We don’t have a lot, but what we have is a lot,” said Becahi head coach Fred Rice.

Rice added that he will use some combination of sprinters, not yet determined, for the 4x4 relay and the 4x1 relay, which also qualified for states with Carter Vassa, Rivera, Rodriguez, and Thom (43.48).

“It’s exciting seeing the work finally pay off because districts is something we’ve been talking about,” Andrews said.

The Hawks missed the state qualification in the 4x8 relay with a third-place time of 8:25.99.

Rio Stoudt will also compete at states after placing second in the girls 1600 meter run (5:24.78).

Zachary Papscy won the gold medal in javelin (167-11) but will not make the trip to states due to injury.

The PIAA State Track and Field Championships are scheduled for this weekend at Shippensburg University where Coach Rice will be accompanied by assistants Krystyn Fenon, Becahi’s distance and cross country coach, and Ed Kolosky, who was the head coach at Saucon Valley.