Multiple medals rained down on the Catasauqua Rough Riders at the District XI Class 2A Track and Field Championships on May 12 and 13 at Whitehall High School,

On Day 1, Manny Bolmer clinched a gold medal in the long jump (22-10.75).

“I rested up since leagues and put in a lot of work, and it was just my mindset, to be honest,” Bolmer said. “I believe there’s more competition in the district, which pushed me to jump better and fix my form throughout, and I didn’t give up, and I’m glad I got the gold. I focused on getting my feet out, and then I got farther. It feels great, considering I got fourth last year, so fourth to first feels really great.”

Also on Day 1, Josiah Lafond captured gold in the 300 meter hurdles (40.22), and on Day 2 won the 110 meter hurdles (15.28).

“For the 300, I’m better towards the end of my race because all the kids catch up to me on the curve, and then I just take off the last 100,” Lafond said. “It was a feeling of relief because it’s all I ever dreamed about since I was a freshman, watching the hurdles and other kids’ times and seeing things like that.”

The Rough Riders won the most medals on Day 2, starting with Julia Harth’s gold in the 100 meter hurdles (17.04).

Hailey Jenkins won two golds, one in the 100 meter dash (12.04) and one in the 200 meter dash (25.34).

Hamaad Jenkins won two silver medals in exceptionally close races, one in the 100 meter dash (10.89) and one in the 200 meter dash (21.60).

Cadeo Estronza was the 400 meter dash silver medalist (50.46).

“I knew it was gonna be a major dog fight, literally coming down to the 10 meters,” Estronza said. “I was seeded third, and I was like, I can fight for a medal. On the back stretch about 200 meters in, I saw I was losing by a good second. We got to the last 50 meters, and I felt that I was close enough to get myself a little bit more and beat [Nativity]. When you work on something so hard and you have an individual medal, it feels amazing. It was all worth it without a doubt.”

In relay events, the Rough Riders were golden in the girls 4x1 with Harth, Jenkins, Kayla Davis, and Javaeha Lafond (50.26).

“I was just excited for the opportunity to run and to have a consistent handoff,” said Harth, who led off.

Jenkins was the anchor and seemed to come out of nowhere on the inside to take the lead.

“We had the top seed by over one second, so we really wanted first and knew it was something we were capable of,” Jenkins said. “That push toward the end was more for the team than for myself. I saw the gap closing, and I was like, we got this.”

In the boys 4x4, Estronza, Frankie Pujols, Lafond, and Jenkins won the gold medal and set a new district meet record and school record (3:20.02).

“I know that [Cadeo’s] always gonna give me a lead, so I tried to maintain the lead all the way through to the third leg,” said Pujols. “Towards the last 110, I heard [footsteps] a little bit, but I don’t think he was that close.”

Jenkins was the anchor and took off to extend the lead.

“We wanted to get 3:25 or lower, so the last 50, we saw it was 3:14, and I heard my teammates cheering on the sideline, so I looked at the time, and we actually ran a great time,” Jenkins said. “When I crossed the finish line and saw 3:20, I was in complete shock. We never expected that at this point in the season. It was a great feeling. Each year, we’ve been progressing...We can make a state run or even win states this year.”

Estronza, Pujols, Omar Pacheco, and Jenkins were silver medalists in the 4x1 (42.74) and also qualified for the state meet, scheduled for this weekend at Shippensburg University.