Lehighton's Collin Haupt and Donovan Buchinsky know their way around the diamond. That was evidenced last season when the duo played key roles in helping the Indians reach the District 11 Class 3A baseball title game as juniors.

This spring, Haupt and Buchinsky are once again leaders for the Tribe's baseball squad.And Lehighton's track and field team.Haupt and Buchinsky have balanced participating in baseball and track and field, while excelling in both."It's been busy, but I try to manage both as best I can," said Haupt. "Baseball's first, no matter what. But I like doing both."And it shows.Not only is Haupt batting .343 with seven RBIs and four doubles through the Indians' first 11 games (35 at-bats), he also owns a Times News area best mark of 172-10 in the javelin - in his first year participating in the event.Buchinsky has been just as impressive, hitting .333 with three RBIs, three doubles and eight runs scored in the team's first 11 games (30 at-bats).While Haupt has thrived with the javelin, Buchinsky has made his mark in the jumping events, placing fourth in the long jump at Jim Thorpe's Olympian Invitational earlier this month with a leap of 19-5.5."It's been fantastic," said Lehighton track coach Jim Blakeslee. "It's actually a dream. All of a sudden they showed up, and I said, 'Now, who are you?'"What makes the performances of Haupt and Buchinsky even more remarkable is the limited amount of time they get to work on their respective events, as baseball takes precedence over track and field."It's a little tough," said Buchinsky, who, like Haupt, is participating in track and field at the varsity level for the first time. "Obviously, if we have games and a meet the same day, baseball's going to be over that (track). Baseball practices over track practices. So pretty much baseball comes first. If we have a meet over practice, we'll go to that meet."For Buchinsky, it's created an opportunity to do something he's always wanted to do."I always wanted to do track," said Buchinsky. "So this year, I talked to Mr. (Kyle) Spotts, our athletic director, and see if we can do it, and he said yes."A year ago, Haupt watched Hunter Greene trade his baseball glove for the javelin with great success. Greene won a Schuylkill League title in the event, and went on to compete in the PIAA Track and Field Championships at Shippensburg University, giving Haupt reason to believe he could achieve similar success."As soon as he went over there ... I thought, 'OK, I'm gonna do both. I'm not gonna quit baseball. I'm gonna see how I can matchup against him,' and I've done pretty well" Haupt said. "We talk a little bit. He's given me some advice on what to do, because he's been in there before."But Haupt and Buchinsky aren't the only area athletes doing more than one sport this spring. Panther Valley's Anthony Micholik, Bradley Buzzard, Josh Robin and Chuck Byers all have split time between the varsity baseball and track and field teams.For Panthers' baseball coach Rich Evanko, having athletes participate in multiple sports during the same season is nothing new."It's something that has happened since I was in high school," said Evanko. "For as long as I've known, we've allowed them to do both."Micholik was the starting pitcher in Panther Valley's season opener against Marian. Last Wednesday, the senior finished first in the 100 in the Panthers' dual meet against Pine Grove.Cooperation between coaches has been a vital part of making the situation work."We have a small school, and numbers for sports is needed," said Panther Valley track coach Bob Thomas. "And that's why it balances out. And I think I have a good rapport with the baseball coach (Evanko). We're in the same building, and we talk about it, and we try to balance out, when is your game, if he needs players. So we try to balance the whole thing out."Thomas and Evanko both teach at the Panther Valley Intermediate School, which allows them to communicate on a daily basis."We're a small school, and every player helps," said Evanko. "We've always allowed kids to do both. With an open line of communication, and advance notice, we can work around the different schedules."If I know they are going hard at track practice, I'm not going to push them as much that day at baseball."Lehighton baseball coach Brian Polaha knows that no matter what else Haupt and Buchinsky are involved in, they've always given him their best effort."They're good kids, and I know they've given me everything they have when they're here," said Polaha. "So I appreciate them as kids and student-athletes."Though it's been an adjustment, Polaha has kept the best interest of his players in mind and been supportive in allowing them to do multiple sports, an approach he advises other coaches in similar situations to take."Just be open-minded, especially depending on what schools your at, because we do - (Kyle) Spotts talks about it all the time - that we do share athletes because we're small and it's limited," he said. "Just keep an open mind."*******PERFECT... Northwestern's Cassidy Lentz threw a four-inning perfect game against Moravian on Thursday, April 20. The Tigers won, 16-0.*******PERFECT PART II... Lehighton's Allison Armbruster hurled a four-inning perfect game against Panther Valley on Saturday, April 22. Armbruster recorded six strikeouts and the Indians won 15-0.*******ANOTHER ONE... Lehighton's Cera Gaston set a school record in the 3200 Friday night at the Allentown School District Invitational. Gaston's time of 11:52.24 broke the previous mark of 12:06.00 set by B.J. LaCasse in 1981.*******NEED FOR SPEED... The Pleasant Valley baseball team stole 10 bases in an Eastern Pennsylvania Conference rout of Dieruff on Wednesday, April 20, 11-1.*******HOME COOKING... Tamaqua's Monika Shimko and Matt Smarr established Blue Raider Invitational records this past Friday. Shimko won the girls' 800 with a time of 2:20.90. The senior broke the mark of 2:21.62, set by Blue Mountain's Katie Thompson in 2016. Smarr established a record in the pole vault, clearing 13-3 to win the event. Minersville's Chris Bergan set the previous mark of 13-0 in 2011.*******QUEST FOR PERFECTION... The Lehighton girls' track and field team will look to finish off an undefeated Schuylkill League Division 1 season Wednesday at Pottsville. The Indians are 5-0 and the only undefeated team in the division. The Tide are 3-1.*******LOOKING AHEAD... The Marian boys' and girls' track and field teams enter the week 4-0 and tied atop the Schuylkill League Division 2 standings. The Colts are tied with Mahanoy Area (4-0), while the Fillies are deadlocked with Pine Grove (4-0). Marian hosts Pine Grove this week, and finishes its regular season Wednesday, May 3 at Mahanoy Area.