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Olewine, Cope, Zoscin win gold

SCHUYLKILL HAVEN - Jillian Olewine has proven she can produce when the pressure is on.

The Northern Lehigh junior did it last week at the Colonial League championships, winning the long jump and triple jump.That momentum carried over into the first day of the District 11 meet, when Olewine won the Class 2A long jump, setting a school record in the process.What could she do for an encore? Add another gold medal to her collection.Olewine captured her second district title in as many days Wednesday, winning the Class 2A triple jump with a leap of 36-03.00."I feel amazing coming out with two gold medals," said Olewine. "Triple jump, I was expecting to get a silver. But I just came out and did my thing and jumped well."Olewine's mark edged Pine Grove's Maddie Frew (36-2)."Coming out with three gold medals before this, it pushed me, and it made me want to jump further, so I could get a fourth gold medal for my year," said Olewine. "I'm just so happy with how I did."Now, Olewine will turn her attention to next week's PIAA Championships, where she'll try to continue her run of success."I'm just hoping to come out and jump an 18-0 (in the long jump), and high 35-0 or high 36-0 (in the triple jump) for my two jumps," Olewine said of her goals. "I want to hopefully place at states, so we'll see what I can do."Olewine's performance was one of many highlights for Times News area athletes.In addition to Olewine, a total of eight individuals and two relay teams from the area advanced to next week's state meet.Despite an arm injury that prevented her from competing in other throwing events, Jim Thorpe's Brooke Cope showed why she's one of the best throwers in the state, winning the Class 2A shot put with a mark of 37-10."It feels amazing to know that even though I'm not doing jav, that I can come here, and I can still win a gold medal, even though it might not have been my best event," said Cope. "It took a lot of work to get up to my best throw, but it was all worth it."With only one event to focus on, Cope made her efforts count."I definitely had more drive, because I knew that I couldn't compete for jav, and I couldn't compete for discus," she said. "That was two less opportunities I had to get a medal. So I set my mind to throwing for shot put."It definitely makes it so much better. It definitely makes up for not throwing jav, because getting such a big PR (in shot put) and going over the state qualifying mark for a different event, it's like a new type of excitement."Something she hopes will continue in Shippensburg."I couldn't be more excited to be going back to states, because I originally didn't think I was going to be," said Cope. "But I'm so ready to work and keep going up from these marks today."Weatherly sophomore Emily Zoscin stormed to a win in the 2A 100 with a time of 12.74.It was a victory for more than just Zoscin, who dedicated the triumph to the late Jonathan Kiddish, the former Weatherly cross country and track and field head coach who passed away suddenly last August."It means so much to me. Coach Kiddish passed away in the summer," Zoscin said. "After he passed away, I knew I needed to push like 10 times harder. I knew I had to win this for him. That was my goal all year. So I'm just ecstatic that I did this for him. This is all for him."Winning the event at the Schuylkill League championships a week prior helped calm some of Zoscin's nerves."I was nervous, I'm not gonna lie," she said. "They're all amazing runners, and they're quick. So I knew I had to run very hard."But the Schuylkill League meet was definitely a confidence booster. I did come here not knowing some of the runners. But winning the Schuylkill League did help a lot."Marian's Camaryn Wheeler enjoyed a stellar day. The senior finished second (26.21) in the Class 2A 200 to qualify for states.But Wheeler also helped to Fillies' relay squads make the "Trip to Ship."Wheeler, along with Natalia Konitzer, Jenna O'Donnell and Grace Mussoline (51.22) won the 400 relay. Wheeler, Konitzer, Nicole Capparell and Tina Capparell (4:09.75) closed out the day by winning the 1600 relay."I think it was pretty exciting. I think we all cried afterwards," Wheeler said after the 400 relay. "We were screaming and hugging each other."The quartet made sure they were dialed in for the 400 relay."I think we all expected to do really well," said Konitzer. "We all knew what we had to do, and we worked really hard with handoffs, and everything."So I think we came into this knowing we would do well. We just didn't know how well we would do."In the 1600 relay, the group ran to a personal best time to topple runner-up Palisades (4:12.10)."You know that they're definitely going to be there pushing you," said Tina Capparell. "Just having them behind us pushes us even more. It's really good to have competition."Capparell also qualified for states in the 1600. The junior placed second in the event with a time of 5:09.25.With a second-place finish in the shot put, Marian's Brenna Karnish (35-11.75) secured a spot at the state meet. Karnish also qualified for states in the discus on Tuesday."I'm proud of both," said Karnish. "I'm very happy. I've peaked a lot this season, and I PR'd in both events in the district meet, so I'm very happy."Tamaqua's Monika Shimko (2:17.56) placed second in Class 2A 800 to qualify for states."I'm happy with it," said Shimko. "It was a good time for me, so I was just happy with it."In Class 3A competition, Pleasant Valley junior Jalurah Moore finished third in the 100 finals with a time of 12.48, just under the state-qualifying standard of 12.50."I've been waiting to do this since freshman year," Moore said of qualifying for states. "Sophomore year, I could run a 12.5, but I didn't run it at districts. But this year, I'm so much faster, I can do it at districts. I came such a long way, and I'm really proud."

Jim Thorpe's Brooke Cope releases a throw in the Class 2A shot put. Cope captured a gold medal in the event. BOB FORD/TIMES NEWS
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