WHITEHALL - For track and field athletes from the Colonial League and the Eastern Pennsylvania Conference, the "Trip to Ship" has officially begun.

The annual two-day joint league meet at Whitehall High School's Sports Complex officially ushered in the start of the postseason. And for those with aspirations of making it to the PIAA Championships at Shippensburg University, the first day of competition provided many promising results.Colonial LeagueMolly Tarvin punctuated a solid day for both the Northwestern boys and girls, racing to victory in the 3200 with a time of 11:37.61."I kinda tried to keep it up in front the whole time," said Tarvin. "I tried to keep my splits - each lap I had a goal, and I stayed in front and once the last 800 meters came, those last two laps, I knew I had to go. I really wanted to win this."Tarvin wasn't the only Lady Tiger on the podium, as the sophomore was joined by Madeline Consuelos (11:41.36) in second and Hanah Herzon (11:43.03) in third.The trio, along with Alyssa Zack, also took second in the 3200 relay. The bond that's developed from much time spent together is something Herzon and Consuelos believe has helped them achieve such great success."I think it makes us stronger. I think it helps our morale," said Herzon. "It brings us closer together."Added Consuelos, "We're not really a team, though - we're a family. We spend a lot of time together. We're definitely in sync for the relay. But we're all still very competitive amongst each other."A relentless will to win has driven Palmerton's Brinn Doherty to come back stronger this season than she's ever been. After missing significant time a year ago, Doherty has picked up where she left off her junior year and appears to be peaking at the right time.The senior finished the first day of competition with a silver medal in the long jump (17-0) and also advanced to the finals in the 100 (12.91) and 200 (27.24).While Doherty has high hopes for both races, she was more than thrilled with her result in the long jump."I really wanted to come in and do well with the long jump, because all year I just haven't been doing my best," Doherty said. "Sophomore year I hit it (17-0) at districts and I was so excited. Then last year I was hurt, and this year I didn't even hit 16-0, so I just really wanted to hit it."I felt good. I was just really positive today and got a great jump."Northwestern's Hannah Gough came into the discus with a good outlook and finished with a bronze medal and a personal best throw of 96-3."The past couple of weeks have been a little rough for me, but I just had to think positive, that's the main thing," said Gough. "I just tried to go with momentum."My release was just off and I felt like I peaked early in the season. But I just had to bring myself back up."The Tigers also got strong performances from Trevor Cunningham and Chet Karpyn. Cunningham took second in the 300 hurdles with a time of 41.32, while Karpyn placed third in the shot put with a mark of 47-1.50.Knowing he'll be at the same place for next week's District 11 meet has Cunningham optimistic he can repeat - and improve - on his performance."It gets me used to the track," Cunnigham said of returning to the same venue. "I also have a little bit more motivation now to beat Job (Goodman, of Wilson, who took first in 40.58."Karpyn will also be eager to return next week after a personal best on Tuesday."It means a lot to me," he said. "That's the best throw I've ever had. I beat my personal record by over a foot. I just used all the adrenaline of getting into the finals."Northern Lehigh's Gavin Kemery also turned in a personal best in the 3200, taking second with a time of 9:50.51."I'm just really happy to be able to come out here and do it," Kemery said. "I'm very lucky to have the opportunities I have."Eastern Pennsylvania ConferencePleasant Valley's Seth Slavin also took second in the 3200, finishing with a time of 9:45.13. Easton's Kevin Lapsansky won in 9:43.25."I knew it was going to be a very tactical race coming into it," said Slavin. "You just can't go out and do a PR on a day like today. Obviously, it was nice weather, but you just can't go out and do that; it wouldn't be a smart thing to do. So I knew it was going to be tactical."Slavin ran with Lapsansky for much of the final lap, but the Easton runner had a better kick at the end.Pleasant Valley's Mike Mitchell took second in the triple jump with a mark of 45-3."Seeing the other kids here makes me realize I need to work on my second phase more; I don't really have one," Mitchell said. "That's all I'm planning on doing is working on that."I'm going to watch YouTube videos to watch tutorials to work on technique and form, and just listen to my coach. I can't wait for districts."Pleasant Valley's Maddy Brandt will also be eagerly anticipating the district meet after taking second in the long jump with a mark of 17-1, a personal best."I had a really good warm-up and I was feeling good," said Brandt, who was seeded with a jump of 16-2. "I didn't really expect to place. I didn't have one good jump that I thought was going to get me far. I didn't think it was going to happen, to be honest."But this week, I did a lot of drills to help with my drive and it worked. Hopefully I can get a few more inches and maybe get to states. I'm so happy."BACK AGAIN… On track action will resume at 3 p.m. with the Colonial League and EPC girls 100-meter hurdle finals. Field events are also set to start at the same time with Colonial League boys long jump prelims and finals.TEAM STANDINGS… Northwestern leads the Colonial League girls standings with 54 points, while Southern Lehigh leads the boys standings with 44 points. Northwestern is fourth with 23 points. Stroudsburg is atop the EPC girls standings with 48.5 points. Pleasant Valley is 13th. The Mounties are also on top of the boys standings with 41 points. The Bears are fourth with 25 points.