Jim Thorpe head coach Frank Miller had one goal for his team at Friday night's Olympian Invitational - compete.

And the Olympians did not disappoint.Jim Thorpe won the boys' team title at the 9th Annual event, scoring 80 points to edge Southern Lehigh (70). Lehighton placed third with 60 points."The kids competed. Every kid here tonight competed," said Miller. "Obviously, the weather conditions were not ideal for anybody."But they did well. I'm proud of them. Their preparation was the biggest part, to make sure you're ready to go. What normally takes 10-to-15 minutes probably tonight took 25-to-30 minutes, to make sure you're prepared, ready to go, in this stuff, to make sure you didn't get hurt. I think we came out healthy and it's always nice to come out with a team title."Joseph Schwartz ran through rain and snow showers that marked much of the event to grab two gold medals for Jim Thorpe. Schwartz won the 110 hurdles (15.57) and 300 hurdles (42.23)."I knew there was going to be quite some competition coming in," said Schwartz. "With the cold weather, I wasn't sure how I was going to do; I was a little nervous about that."But I just tried to do my best; surprisingly I did."Schwartz helped the Olympians get off to a good start, and the team of Thomas Layden, Ben Saxon, Shawn O'Toole and Nujai Walcott did their part to secure the overall title by winning the 1600 in 3:44.68."Going into the 4x4, when you pull them together and say, 'Hey, this is the deal, this is how close you are,'" Miller said of the 1600, which is the last event on the track. "To see them go out and win it, not in a season's best time by far, but just to see kids compete. We had a bunch of kids in that situation tonight."Saxon also placed second in the 800 (2:07.62) while Layden placed third in the 110 hurdles (16.44).Jim Thorpe also had several strong performances in the field events. Jon Fikentscher took second in the discus (124-10) and third in the shot put (43-7). Derek Scott was third in the discus (122-7).The Olympians' 400 relay team of Antonio Madera, Thomas Layden, Shawn O'Toole, Nujai Walcott finished third with a time of 46.16.Tamaqua's Shanna Brinkworth won the pole vault, clearing 9-6.Brinkworth, a state qualifier in the event last season is hoping to build off that success this spring."Last year, it was hard because I was only there for the end of the year," said Brinkworth, who missed time due to injury. "So going to states it was definitely an experience. It made me want to do better this year to make it to states again and to actually medal this year."Marian's Jarrin Geisinger is also looking to continue to improve. Winning the 100 with a time of 11.58 Friday only added fuel to the fire."The better teams and harder competition helps a lot," said Geisinger. "That's how it will be at districts."Today didn't really go as planned. It was hard to run with the snow and the wind."Lehighton's Aaron Bowman managed to fight the elements and clear 12-0 to win the pole vault."With the weather conditions, I think I did OK," said Bowman. "It was snowing and there was wind."I would have liked to have done better, but it was OK for today."Bowman has enjoyed a strong start to the season, something that has helped him lock in when he competes."It drives me to focus," Bowman said of his approach. "I just try to do the best I can because I know I am up there. And the better I can do, the better I can perform."The weather didn't faze Palmerton's Chris Fredericks, who won the javelin with a personal best throw of 164-0."I just wanted to place," said Fredericks. "Nothing really special. It's cold, raining and really windy."It affects a lot. It affects the javelin in the air a lot."Despite less than ideal conditions, Fredericks was still able to take plenty away from Friday night's competition."I like being able to watch other people's run-ups, see how they throw," said Fredericks. "I learn a lot."WINNERS … Other winners from the Times News area were: Tamaqua girls 3200 relay (Kailee Carroll, Olivia Stanek, Nicole Wasserleben, Monika Shimko) 10:16.85; ); Tina Capparell, Marian (1600, 5:20.03); Jill Olewine, Northern Lehigh (long jump, 16-5); Brad Clemson, Tamaqua (800, 2:06.20).SILVER … Second place area finishers were: Brooke Cope, Jim Thorpe (shot put, 34-5.5; javelin, 122-3); Lehighton boys 3200 relay (Michael Blacketter, Nathan Lucykanish, Joseph Petit-Clair, Anthony Tavella) 8:44.95; Collin Haupt, Lehighton (javelin, 162-5); Jackie Ni, Northern Lehigh (shot put, 46-2.5); Monika Shimko, Tamaqua (800, 2:23.97); Nick Miller, Northern Lehigh (pole vault, 11-6); Tanner Haydt, Lehighton (400, 54.45; 200, 23.78); Brenna Karnish, Marian (triple jump, 33-0).BRONZE … Third place area finishers were: Madison Martinez, Palmerton (100 hurdles, 17.24; 300 hurdles, 49.99); Mike Stasko, Palmerton (long jump, 19-6.25); Kaia Slaw, Lehighton (long jump, 15-5.5; triple jump, 32-2); Jada Whiteman, Lehighton (400, 1:02.97); Isabelle Meckes, Lehighton (discus, 116-8); Matt Smarr, Tamaqua (pole vault, 11-6); Joseph Petit-Clair, Lehighton (400, 54.78); Tamaqua 1600 relay (Kailee Carroll, April Gerber, Monika Shimko, Olivia Stanek) 4:26.22; Palmerton boys 1600 relay team (3:49.86).CHAMPS … Pine Grove captured the girls' team championship with 100 points.