Log In


Reset Password

Bulldogs' Miller, Olewine win events

EAST STROUDSBURG - Northern Lehigh's Nick Miller and Jill Olewine usually aren't too far apart during a meet.

When she's not on the track, Olewine is leaping into the jumping pits, while Miller is nearby reaching great heights in the pole vault.The duo came together once again during the second day of the Colonial League and Eastern Pennsylvania Conference Track and Field Championships at East Stroudsburg South High School.Olewine won her second Colonial League gold medal in as many days - this time in the triple jump - and Miller soared to the title in the pole vault.While Olewine and Miller were the only gold medalists of the Times News athletes competing Wednesday, a number of area athletes walked away with some hardware in the final tune-up before next week's District 11 meet.COLONIAL LEAGUEAfter placing first in the long jump Tuesday, Olewine punctuated her second day of competition by winning the triple jump with a leap of 35 feet, 2 inches. The junior was seeded first in the event with a mark of 34-9 3/4."It feels pretty great to come out and win two gold medals in my two best events," said Olewine, who was also the top seed in the long jump. "My teammates were there cheering me on the whole time, so I was pretty happy with that."Olewine won by a wide margin in the triple jump, distancing herself from runner-up Amelia O'Brian (33-11.50) of Bangor."I PR'd both times, so I'm excited about that more than the gold medal," said Olewine. "But the gold medal just adds on top of it."Miller was the second seed in the pole vault at 12-3. But the senior cleared 12-0 Wednesday to top Northwestern's Tyler Derr (11-6) and win the title."It definitely means a lot," said Miller. "Coming in, I wasn't too sure; I was ranked second and I wasn't sure how well I would do today. I've been having some back problems in my lower back."I came in with just the mindset that I was going to go out and try my best. The competition was going to be there, but it's all about going for the personal record for me. I wanted to get 12-6. I was close, but a little too short. But I got 12-0, so not too bad. It definitely feels good. It's something people can't take away from you; you've earned it."Derr was thrilled with his second-place finish."It feels amazing," said Derr, who was seeded sixth in the event with a mark of 11-3. "I didn't expect to get this at all. Height-wise, I was expecting to get that. But place-wise, I didn't think so, really."I've just been doing a lot of extra practicing. Really trying to pinpoint what my weaknesses are and fix those little things, bit-by-bit."The two titles from Olewine and Miller capped a solid meet for Northern Lehigh. Including Andrea Snyder's win in the discus on Wednesday, the Bulldogs left with four gold medals in the two-day competition."I'm very happy with how our team did," said Olewine. "We had three different gold medalists. We had a bunch of medalists. My team worked hard this season, and I'm just happy with how they've performed."One of those medalists was Franki Dibilio, who was second in the shot put (31-6).Dibilio was motivated, albeit a bit apprehensive, after placing sixth in the discus on Wednesday."I was nervous, but I knew what I had to do," she said. "I knew how I had to throw."Jackie Ni continued the Bulldogs' success in the throwing events with a runner-up finish in the shot put (45-6). Southern Lehigh's Andrew Rochon (52-10) won the event."I'm pretty happy about it," said Ni. "I know the guy in front of me (Rochon) is really good. He's been training real hard. I'm happy with where I placed."In addition to Derr, Northwestern's Trevor Cunningham also grabbed a silver medal. Cunningham was second in the 110 hurdle finals with a time of 15.34. Wilson's Job Goodman won with a time of 14.75.Cunningham was also second in the 300 hurdles on Tuesday, a race also won by Goodman."I thought the last two days went really well," said Cunningham, who also ran a strong anchor leg of the 1600 relay to help the team of Andrew Goodolf, Robert Leiser and Andrew Cornell to a fourth-place finish in 3:32.57."I wish I could have done a little bit better in the hurdles. But I'm proud of the whole team, the four of us, and how we did in the 4x400 relay. We really did well there, and I was proud of us for pulling that together."Palmerton's Mike Stasko completed a busy two days with a third-place finish in the 200 (23.20).In addition to the 200, Stasko, along with Aaron Stasko, Cody Waterhouse and Mike Eckhart, finished fourth in the 400 relay. Stasko placed seventh in the 100 finals earlier in the day, and was fifth in the 300 hurdles on Tuesday.The senior has no intentions of slowing down at next week's district meet."I'm doing four events there," said Stasko, "so in one of those events, my goal is to make it to states. I think that would be a good way to go out, to end my high school career in sports. I think that would be pretty cool."Palmerton's Jake Martinez finished fourth in the 1600 (4:34.47). Martinez was seeded sixth with a time of 4:37.80."I'm thrilled," the sophomore said. "I've been dealing with some sickness this season. But my teammates and coaches have really helped me out and helped me through it."It's just a great way to start the end of the season. Those guys that I'm racing against are great athletes, and I'm really good friends with them. It was an awesome race."EASTERN PENNSYLVANIACONFERENCEComing off wins in the 3200 and 4x800 relay on Tuesday, Seth Slavin went for another gold medal in the 1600 on Wednesday.Slavin turned in a gritty performance, but was edged by Parkland's Sam Morgan. Morgan crossed the line in 4:24.84, while Slavin was just behind in 4:25.08, a personal best despite his efforts the previous day."I knew that if we could run 50 or 60 miles a week, that we could come out here and race two days in a row," said Slavin. "And I definitely did. I ran a PR."It wasn't an all-out race yesterday. But it was still very nice to run hard yesterday, get a PR in the 800 during the 4x800, and come back and get another PR today."Pleasant Valleys Jalurah Moore was second in 100 finals (12.52) and third in the 200 finals (26.01). Pocono Mountain East's Khyasia Caldwell won both the 100 (12.30) and 200 (25.32).Though she'd rather have a gold medal, Moore knows that racing with Caldwell only makes her faster."Having her helps me get way better times," said Moore. "It's great. She holds so many state records. Being able to race with her helps me know that I got here."Mike Mitchell gave the Bears a runner-up finish in the long jump (21-11 1/2).Mitchell went to states in the event a year ago, and he's looking for big things heading into next week's district meet."I'm trying to win long jump at districts," said Mitchell. "I think I have a good chance to do it."Pleasant Valley's Jose Rosario was third in the boys' 110 hurdle finals (15.36). Rosario ran a 15.73 in prelims."I was really proud of myself being in finals because I was seeded fifth," said Rosario. "So the fact that I got third was an accomplishment within itself."CHAMPS … Southern Lehigh won the Colonial League boys (108) and girls (185) team titles. Stroudsburg won the EPC girls title with 152 points, while Easton claimed the boys crown with 89.5 points.STRONG SHOWING … The Pleasant Valley boys finished third in the team standings with 82.5 points. The Northern Lehigh girls were fourth with 55 points.

Pleasant Valley's Michael Mitchell captured second place in the long jump of the EPC track and field meet Wednesday. BOB FORD/TIMES NEWS
Northwestern's Sage Christopher lets go of the shot put during Wednesday's Colonial League meet. Christopher placed fourth. BOB FORD/TIMES NEWS