EAST STROUDSBURG - Austin Shupp has cleared every obstacle in his path with ease this season.

The Palmerton senior has left opponents in his wake, rewriting the school record books while establishing himself as one of the state's best hurdlers in the process.It was only fitting, then, that on the first day of the District 11 Track and Field Championships Shupp smashed one of the last challenges in front of him instead of jumping over it.Not only did Shupp win the 300 hurdles, he also set a new District 11 AA record with a time of 38.19, well ahead of the previous mark of 38.71."Coming into the season, I was more looking forward to districts than states, because I knew that's where the real competition would be," Shupp said afterwards. "So to be able to run a good time is really comforting."Despite his hopes for a little extra competition, the top-seeded Shupp was never seriously challenged, beating Schuylkill Haven's Jason Wilson by almost three seconds.Still, the time wasn't even Shupp's personal best this season, which would be a 38.01 set at last week's Colonial League Championships.The run of unprecedented success over the last few weeks has Shupp eager to get to next week's PIAA Championships to see where he stacks up with the best in the state."Today, I really wanted to go under 38 (seconds), but obviously that didn't happen," he said. "But there's still another meet and I'm over a second faster than last year, so I feel like I'll have an advantage going into states."Several other TIMES NEWS athletes also punched their tickets to Shippensburg with standout performances both on the track and in the field.The Marian Catholic team of Dom Mussoline, Mike Grega, Matt Karnish and Nico Agosti started the afternoon with a bang, winning the AA 3200 meter relay in 8:18.72, nearly 20 seconds better than their seed time of 8:37.82."I liked coming in as the fourth seed," Mussoline said of his team's position entering the race. "I knew we were close to the teams that were ahead of us, and we were banged up (when we ran those times)."We came in with a chip on our shoulder because we knew we could beat them, we just had to prove it."The Colts also benefited from the healthy return of Agosti, who had missed nearly a month with an injury."I'm not going to lie, I was a little bit nervous," said Agosti, who anchored the team. "But I worked so hard on my rehab and I just couldn't let my teammates down. They got me a big lead and I wasn't going to give up on them."Tamaqua's Tyler Hope, also recently returning from an injury, showed little rust in the class AAA javelin.A defending District 11 champion, Hope pulled out his best throw of the season, winning the event with a toss of 187-10."Coming into this, I didn't know how well I was going to do," said Hope. "I tried to comeback and just jump right into it. But I found that you can't do that. It's something that you really have to get your body in shape for."It came back to me after a little bit. But it took a lot of practice."Hard work also paid off for Northwestern's Alex Partington, who won the AA discus with a throw of 152-1. Palmerton's Charles Debski finished third.Even as the top seed, Partington admitted he was anxious entering the event."I'm always trying to go for a new personal best," said Partington. "I'm just trying to give it my all. I have all eyes on me and I'm just trying to make everyone happy."Lehighton's Kyle Whiteman was thrilled with his performance after winning the AAA shot put with a throw of 48-7.5, claiming his first-ever district title."I love track and field and I love throwing," said Whiteman. "So to be able to get this and move on to states as a district champion really means a lot."Northwestern's Cole Miller and Palmerton's Darris Rodrigues have been the top pole vaulters in the Colonial League and throughout the district this season, and it showed by the two earning the No. 1 and No. 2 seeds, respectively.But it was Rodrigues, not Miller claiming gold, as the Palmerton standout won the AA title with a mark of 13-6, while Miller finished second with a vault of 13-0. Both qualified for the PIAA Championships."I knew what he was capable of, but I can't worry about anyone else since I can't control that," Rodrigues said of Miller. "I knew it was going to be close but I just tried to do my best and I'm happy I was able to get gold."Miller admitted that the friendly competition throughout the year has helped push him to new heights."We've always kind of pushed each other in a good way," said Miller. "I really like that because it helps me get pumped up. It really helps me, and I'm sure it benefits him, too."And it was that high level of competition that helped push Palmerton's Jarred Sacks to gold in the AA triple jump, an event he won as the top seed with a mark of 43-10.75."I just wanted to do what I came here to accomplish," said Sacks. "Overall, I thought I did a pretty good job, considering the circumstances. I really can't complain, especially to be able win against so many great jumpers."Jim Thorpe's Rayan Green was also ecstatic with his performance in the AAA high jump. Green took second in the event with a personal best jump of 6-3, good enough to send him to states."I'm really happy," Green said. "Making it to states for my first time as a sophomore is just incredible."I know there will be better jumpers out there. But I'm going to try my best and give it all I've got."Palmerton's Spencer Hay narrowly missed out on qualifying for states in the AA high jump, finishing third.Northern Lehigh's Gavin Kemery took third in the AA 3200-meter run, while Pleasant Valley's Seth Slavin took fourth in the AAA race.