Seniors on the Tamaqua boys and girls track and field teams will have one more home meet this season.

The Blue Raiders are set to host the Schuylkill League Championships this Wednesday. It will be the third time (2011, 2014) that the event has been held at Tamaqua."It's big. It's just like the playoffs in football or baseball," said Tamaqua track and field head coach Tom Kanger. "The seniors have known for a couple of years that we were on this cycle (to host the meet again)."It's more pressure, but it's also more exciting for them. To be able to have that first big meet of the postseason at home, it's a big deal."Tamaqua is one of three schools in the league with an eight-lane track. The others - Mahanoy Area and Blue Mountain - rotate hosting the annual meet with Tamaqua."It is an honor," said Tamaqua athletic director Mike Hromyak. "It is such a great event."Been there, done thatThis isn't the first major event held at Tamaqua Area Stadium this spring. Last month, the school also hosted its 7th annual Blue Raider Invitational, which featured 15 teams."A number of schools (that come to the invitational) are coming back for the league meet," said Kanger. "So they get a chance to get used to our facilities."That event also helps the staff at Tamaqua work out any potential issues it might face at the league meet."It's like a trial run," Hromyak said of the invitational. "We want to run a top-notch event. Any hiccups or issues we have, we want to make sure we try to fix for the all-league meet."Part of that process entails meeting with a variety of coaches and officials to ensure the event is well-run, and that any glitches encountered at the invite can be rectified prior to the league meet."We had a meeting last week to make sure everything goes off without a hitch," Hromyak commented. "And that was very important. We were able to answer any questions coaches and officials had at that time."Our objective is to run a great event. We want to make sure the kids have the opportunity to perform their best. But it takes a total team effort to make it happen."Helping handThe meeting was run by Schuylkill League chair Blue Mountain and Eagles' athletic directors Ruth Weidman and Doug Morgan, who are in the position for the first time this year. Blue Mountain will also host the District 11 Track and Field Championships next week."We're doing what other chairmen do for each sport," said Weidman. "(Mahanoy Area athletic director) Dave Holmes gave us a lot of information and a lot of advice on what they did (as hosts) last year. It's a group effort."You have to have all of that help - that knowledge and assistance. Everyone has to work together."That cooperation extends to making sure all necessary resources are available for the meet."Equipment is expensive," said Kanger. "But we have a relationship with the other schools where anybody can borrow from each other, to make sure everything is top notch."Flip cards can be very expensive, but Blue Mountain lends them to us. Mahanoy Area has a lap counter that they lent to us. And we lend things to other schools whenever possible."As he has done so often throughout the season - and like he did at the Blue Raider Invite - Jim Thorpe head coach Frank Miller will lend his assistance with the timing and scoring at the meet."I think we all work well together as a team," said Kanger. "If anybody has a question, we can just get together and talk about it. If he has any issues, he lets us know right away."Him doing that is such a tremendous help."Raider prideThe seeding information for the meet will be included in this year's program, which will remain $5. In addition to the program, T-shirts printed by Valley Athletic in Lansford will also be available at a cost of $10 each."Kim Shimko did the whole thing," Kanger said of the program. "Marge Turrano (at Valley Athletic) does our shirts. She does a very nice shirt, which she also does for our invitational. It always seems like no matter how many we order, we always sell out."We want the kids to be able to have a shirt. And doing it this way, it allows us to keep the costs down."The sales of the T-shirts and the programs go back to the booster club, while the proceeds from ticket sales go back to the league.Tamaqua junior high athletes work various events, helping officials. The booster club helps in a variety of capacities, such as working the food stands, as do school administrators, such as high school Principal Tom McCabe.Facilities Director Kyle Dunkelberger and his staff work tirelessly to make sure the track, as well as the jumping and throwing areas, are in ideal condition.It's that kind of effort that makes an event like the all-league meet a success.But that's nothing new for Tamaqua."We're proud of how we run our track meets," said Hromyak. "Our school district takes great pride in providing a great experience for everyone, and that's something we hope to continue."*******MILESTONE ... Marian's Danny Keer collected the 100th, and 101st hits of his career last Wednesday in the Colts' 10-1 win over Shenandoah Valley. Last week Keer also surpassed Trevor Lawrence as the Colts' all-time RBI leader. Through Monday, Keer has 89 RBIs. Lawrence had 81 during his Marian career.*******ON A ROLL ... The Marian baseball team has been on a tear. Including Monday's 13-3 rout of Weatherly, the Colts have won their last three games by a combined score of 44-4. Marian has won five in a row dating back to April 28. The five-game win streak comes on the heels of three straight losses, the last of which was a 4-2 setback against Tri-Valley on April 26.******CELEBRATE ... Track and field division champions will be recognized prior to Wednesday's Schuylkill League meet. A ceremony will be held at 2:45 p.m. to honor Pottsville (boys' Division 1), Mahanoy Area (boys' Division 2), Lehighton (girls' Division 1) and Pine Grove (girls Division 2).*******BASEBALL BUBBLES ... As of Tuesday morning, four TN teams have clinched District 11 playoff berths, and plenty more are on the bubble. Marian (2A, 11-6), Tamaqua (3A, 11-6), Northwestern (4A, 11-7), and Pleasant Valley (6A, 10-8) all earned a spot in the dance. Three teams are on the bubble. Panther Valley and Palmerton both have nine wins and need one more to clinch, while Lehighton is 7-10, and will need to win its final three games to get in.*******SOFTBALL SCENARIOS ... Five area teams have clinched and two more have a shot. Class 3A is crowded, with Northern Lehigh (14-4), Marian (13-5), and Palmerton (13-6) already clinching D11 berths. Tamaqua (15-3) and Northwestern (11-8) have both secured spots in 4A. Lehighton and Weatherly both have chances to qualify. The Indians (8-10) will have to win their remaining two games, while Weatherly (6-9) will have to run the table and win their remaining four games.