WHITEHALL — Emma McClafferty found her way back to the top a year ago at the District 11 Track and Field Championships.

The Marian senior made sure she stayed there on Wednesday.

McClafferty captured her third district title in the Class 2A discus with a throw of 120-3.

The mark was good enough to help McClafferty secure back-to-back district crowns, and hold off Notre Dame Green Pond’s Katelyn Mercurio, who was second with throw of 117-5, and North Schuylkill’s Emma Green (113-0), who was third.

“It wasn’t the best throw but it was better than last week,” McClafferty said of her winning mark of 118-feet at last week’s league meet. “It was a good, competitive day. Katelyn and Emma, they also threw really, really well, and it will be nice to see them at states.”

McClafferty is well-versed in what it’s like to compete at Shippensburg, having placed sixth in the discus a year ago at states.

“My freshman year when I went (to states) I was super nervous, and then last year I was calm, and I ended up with a medal,” said McClafferty, who was a district champion in the event as a freshman and third as a sophomore.

“So I’m just gonna try to stay calm going into it. Obviously, there’s a little bit of nerves. But I’ll try to keep it down.”

She stayed cool – and consistent - to outlast her competition Wednesday.

McClaffety threw 106-11, 114-7 and 115-3 in prelims. In the finals, she threw 117-10, 110-0 and 120-3.

“That was actually my last throw,” she said of her best mark. “So other than one throw where I went down a little bit, I just got progressively a little bit better with each throw.

“My first throw, it wasn’t state qualifying, but at least it was decent, so then I just built up. And then once I threw the 114-(7) on my second throw, I was calm, I knew I was going to states.”

McClafferty wasn’t the only one to secure a “Trip to Shipp” on the first day of competition at Whitehall’s Zephyr Sports Complex.

Jim Thorpe’s Lydia Wallace raced to a win in the Class 2A 300 hurdles, and Tamaqua prevailed in an epic battle to win the 3200 relay.

Northern Lehigh’s Reagan Pender also advanced with a runner-up finish in the 2A 3200, running a time that met the state qualifying standard. In Class 3A, Northwestern secured its spot at states with a second-place result in the 3200 relay, and Lehighton’s Kaia Slaw extended her own school record and qualified for the second consecutive year in the triple jump.

Wallace won the 300 hurdles with a time of 48.28, ahead of Palmerton’s Madison Martinez (49.70).

Knowing only the top finisher advances to Shippensburg automatically in Class 2A, Wallace was relieved to punch her ticket to states on Day 1.

“I’m very happy and excited to know that I’m secured in states with my other two events (still to come),” Wallace said of today’s 800 and 400, where she is the first and second seed, respectively. “You never know what can happen, so I’m glad I got the win.

“It definitely helps me relax. It helps me gain confidence. I’m just excited.”

Grace Stegemerten, Sarah Maue, Brianna Dumond, Frances Kabana ran a 9:49.46 to win the 3200 relay, just ahead of North Schuylkill (9:49.59).

Both teams qualified for states.

Frances Kabana battled Spartan standout Cori McCormick down the stretch – nearly losing her balance in the final 100 meters – before regaining the lead and securing the win.

“Whenever I got the stick, It was just, go, get out there and try to go as fast as you can, and maintain a pace the whole time,” said Kabana. “The whole time I’d hear, ‘Cori (McCormick) is right there, don’t let her get you.’ For the last 150 meters we were together, and at the 100 she passed me. And for the last 75 (meters), it was a sprint-off, and I passed her.

“I just knew I had to stay with her, go with her, get her.”

The Raiders were the top seed in the event with a time of 9:45.82, just ahead of North Schuylkill.

With McCormick – a state medalist in cross country, and the Schuylkill League champ in 3200 and a runner-up in 1600 – running the anchor leg, Tamaqua it needed as much of a gap to leave with gold.

“We knew we needed to be at least eight seconds ahead of them, because we knew that Cori is a phenomenal runner,” said Maue. “We were definitely really close to that gap, and Franny definitely pulled out the win for us.”

Kabana’s strong finish to overtake McCormick came after she avoided what could have been a disastrous collision.

“I stumbled and then I steadied myself and went around her. It gave me more confidence to try to go get her. It made me more determined.”

McCormick returned later and won the 3200 with a time of 11:12.46, just ahead of Pender, who ran a personal best 11:13.60.

“It definitely helped. She’s a fantastic runner,” said Pender. “I watched her run, and I was like, ‘Oh my gosh.’ And then I’m running with her, and I’m like, ‘Oh my gosh!’ She really helped.

“I just wanted to make it to states. To PR is amazing, but states was my focus. I’m just so thankful and overwhelmed with what I’ve been able to do this season. And it’s paying off, so it’s great.”

Slaw qualified for states for the second year in a row in the triple jump, extending her own school record with a leap of 37-4.75. She was seeded third at 36-08.00.

“I’m ecstatic,” Slaw said. “I qualified on the first jump with only a 36-10. I knew I could do better, so I just pushed myself, and made it.

“I learned so much last year. I got so much experience from just going to Shippensburg and jumping there, and I built on that knowledge this year, and it helped me jump further.”

And it couldn’t have come at a better time.

“I haven’t PR’d all season, but I was hoping today I would PR, and I did by an inch and three quarters,” she said. “It feels really good, because I didn’t start off the season too hot; I was jumping 34s, 33s. And at this point, I’m just really happy to get back to where I was last year.”

Northwestern’s Madeline Consuelos, Allie Costa, Sarah Supplee and Alyssa Zack ran a 9:42.60 to place second in the 3200 relay, just behind Liberty (9:42.09).

“Honestly, I don’t think I’d want to go to states any other way,” said Consuelos. “We’ve been talking about this all season, especially this past week. Every time we saw each other, we just screamed, ‘States!’ at each other. We’ve gone to cross country states, but none of us had ever made it to track. So for us, this is a huge milestone in our running career. I’m just happy I get to share it with my three best friends.”

MOVING ON … Weatherly’s Emily Zoscin (12.84), Tamaqua’s Caitlin Smith (13.26), Northern Lehigh’s Kristen Guelcher (12.86), Panther Valley’s Adriana Tavares (13.47) and Palmerton’s Sayler Burke (13.53) advanced to the 2A 100 finals. Zoscin is seeking her third straight title in the event. Zoscin (27.15), Guelcher (27.41), Smith (27.73), Tamaqua’s Kayla Sherry (27.91), Tavares (28.10) and Jim Thorpe’s Tessa Bevilacqua (28.57) all qualified for the 200 finals. Jim Thorpe’s Kylee Dulski (17.53), Palmerton’s Madison Martinez (17.87), Northern Lehigh’s Kristen Guelcher (18.15), Marian’s Kaitlin Lowery (18.23) and Panther Valley’s Autumn Steibler (18.33) advance to 2A 100H finals. Pleasant Valley’s Armani Dunkley qualified for the Class 3A 200 finals with a time of 26.68. Lehighton’s Brittany Bartasavage (16.48) advanced to the 3A 100H finals.

MEDALS … Tamaqua’s Emily Titus placed second in the javelin with a throw of 107-4. Palmerton’s Sayler Burke (15-7) and Weatherly’s Rhianne Markovchick (15-7) were third and fourth, respectively, in the 2A long jump. Jim Thorpe’s Caprice Lynch (4-10) was fourth in the 2A high jump, while Palmerton’s Abigail Everett (105-9) was fourth in the discus.

LEGEND

Allentown Central Catholic (ACC), William Allen (All), Bangor (Bang), Bethlehem Catholic (BC), Blue Mountain (BM), Catasauqua (Cat), Dieruff (Die), East Stroudsburg North (ESN), East Stroudsburg South (ESS), Easton (East), Emmaus (Emm), Freedom (Free), Jim Thorpe (JT), Liberty (Lib), Mahanoy Area (MA), Marian Catholic (MC), Minersville (Min), Nativity BVM (Nat), Nazareth (Naz), North Schuylkill (NS), Northampton (Nor), Northwestern (NW), Northern Lehigh (NL), Notre Dame Green Pond (NDGP), Palisades (Pali), Palmerton (Palm), Panther Valley PaV), Parkland (Park), Pen Argyl (PA), Pine Grove (PG), Pleasant Valley (PlV), Pocono Mountain East (PME), Pocono Mountain West (PMW), Pottsville (Pot), Salisbury (Sal), Saucon Valley (SaV), Schuylkill Haven (SH), Shenandoah Valley (ShV), Southern Lehigh (SL), Stroudsburg (Str), Tamaqua (Tam), Weatherly (Wea), Whitehall (Whi), Wilson (Wil).

DISTRICT 11

GIRLS

at Whitehall High School

FINALS

CLASS 2A

(Top 3; plus locals)

3200

- 1. Cori McCormick (NS) 11:12.46 q, 2. Reagan Pender (NL) 11:13.60 q, 3. Grace Medei (NDGP) 12:07.65, 11. Katie Guelcher (NL) 13:15.68, 12. Megan Rosahac (JT) 13:18.55, 13. Ali Lorah (NL) 14:27.52.

3200 relay

- 1. Tamaqua (Brianna Dumond, Sarah Maue, Grace Stegemerten, Frances Kabana) 9:49.46 q, 2. North Schuylkill 9:49.59 q, 3. Minersville 10:15.15, 5. Marian Catholic (Grace Curnow, Abby Digris, Isabella Genao, Carolyn Mehallo) 11:20.49, 7. Panther Valley (Chloe Diekman, Alexandra Janner, Hailey Shreffler, Rachelle Filer) 11:52.45.

300H

- 1. Lydia Wallace (JT) 48.28 q, 2. Madison Martinez (Palm) 49.70, 3. Liz Harner (NS) 50.11, 6. Ashley Jones (T) 51.27, 9. Molly Murphy (T) 53.22, 12. Makayla Weaver (PaV) 53.94, 16. Autumn Stiebler (PaV) 54.27, 17. Jamison Wheeler (MC) 54.68, 18. Kylee Dulski (JT) 54.76, 19. Kaitlin Lowery (MC) 54.82.

Discus

- 1. Emma McClafferty (MC) 120-3 q, 2. Katelyn Mercurio (NDGP) 117-5 q, 3. Emma Green (NS) 113-0 q, 4. Abigail Everett (Palm) 105-9, 5. Hailey Evans (NL) 92-11, 7. Brynn Gigli (Tam) 89-11, 11. Meghan McArdle (Tam) 81-11, 12. Holly Skrimcovsky (JT) 81-1, 13. Francine Ohlson (NL) 77-8.

Javelin

- 1. Victoria Donovan (ShV) 112-8 q, 2. Emily Titus (Tam) 107-4, 3. Alli Butler (PG) 107-1, 5. Kristen Scott (JT) 102-8, 10. Jacqueline Kokinda (PaV) 86-1, 11. Rachel Casella (MC) 84-10, 14. Abby Reis (Palm) 82-9, 16. Francine Ohlson (NL) 72-5.

Long jump

- 1. Lauryn Male (PA) 16-5 q, 2. Erica Holben (Sal) 16-0, 3. Sayler Burke (Palm) 15-7, 4. Rhianne Markovchick (Wea) 15-7, 6. Emma Christman (Palm) 15-4, 7. Aneilia McLeod (PaV) 15-3 1/2, 8. Maddison Beahm (Palm) 15-2 1/2, 10. Abigail McGinley (JT) 14-10 1/2, 11. Marnea Wise (JT) 14-10, 13. Serena Jones (Tam) 14-3 1/2.

High jump

- 1. Kendall Bernardyn (MA) 5-2 q, 2. Erica Holben (Sal) 5-2 q, 3. Jocelyn Itterly (PA) 4-10, 4. Caprice Lynch (JT) 4-10, 5. Alexa Stianche (Tam) 4-6, 8. Maddison Beahm (Palm) 4-6, 10. Emily Moyer (NL) 4-6, 11. Chloe Oldt (Palm) 4-4.

(PIAA State Meet qualifiers denoted by “q”)

CLASS 3A

(Top 3; plus locals)

3200

- 1. Madison Zaun (Park) 11:14.63 q, 2. Olivia Haas (BM) 11:24.86 q, 3. Amy Conboy (Str) 11:45.22.

3200 relay

- 1. Liberty (Camryn Bortz, Rachel Byrne, Emily Jobes, Greta Stuckey) 9:42.09 q, 2. Northwestern (Madeline Consuelos, Allison Costa, Sarah Supplee, Alyssa Zack) 9:42.60 q, 3. Emmaus 9:43.41.

300H

- 1. Donjee Mosley (ESN) 46.41 q, 2. Yamilet Ferrufino (Lib) 46.61 q, 3. Jacey Miller (BM) 46.73, 10. Denair Drew (PlV) 49.51, 21. Sarah Supplee (NW) 53.21.

Shot put

- 1. Kasey Thomas (East) 42-9 3/4 q, 2. Jaida Davis (Lib) 37-11 q, 3. Autumn Carr (Pali) 37-7 q, 14. Isabella Meckes (Leh) 31-0 3/4.

Triple jump

- 1. Juanita Wiggins (PMW) 37-5 1/4, 2. Kaia Slaw (Leh) 37-4 3/4, 3. Lindsay Lumsden (Emm) 37-2, 10. Kelly Whalen (PlV) 35-3, 12. Megan Aaron (Leh) 35-0 1/4.

Pole vault

- 1. Jamilie Atiyeh (ACC) 12-0 q, 2. Jada Mangahas (Park) 11-6 q, 3. Hannah Frankenfield (Bang) 11-0; 6. Isabella Baka (Leh) 10-6, 7. Sydney Derr (NW) 10-0, 12. Sarah Laible (Leh) 9-0.

(PIAA State Meet qualifiers denoted by “q”)

PRELIMINARIES

CLASS 2A

(top qualifier; plus other locals)

100

- 1. Emily Zoscin (Wea) 12.84, 2. Kristen Guelcher (NL) 12.86*, 4. Caitlin Smith (Tam) 13.26*, 7. Adriana Tavares (PaV) 13.47*, 9. Sayler Burke (Palm) 13.53*, 10. Tress Barron (Tam) 13.54, 11. Grace Mussoline (MC) 13.65, 12. Emma Christman (Palm) 13.71, 15. Kayla Sherry (Tam) 13.76, 17. Aneila McLeod (PaV) 13.77, 18. Makayla Weaver (PaV) 13.92, 23. Nicole Gordon (Wea) 14.20, 24. Marnea Wise (JT) 14.55, 25. Rhianne Markovchick (Wea) 14.62, 26. Rhiannon Berger (JT) 14.70.

200

- 1. Emily Demalis (ShV) 27.11*; 2. Emily Zoscin (Wea) 27.15*, 3. Kristen Guelcher (NL) 27.41*, 4. Caitlin Smith (Tam) 27.73*, 5. Kayla Sherry (Tam) 27.91*, 6. Adriana Tavares (PaV) 28.10*, 7. Tessa Bevilacqua (JT) 28.57*, 12. Delaney Frank (Palm) 29.32, 15. A’Nyhia Gentry (JT) 29.63, 16. Makenna Carroll (Tam) 29.63, 19. Makenna Bankes (Wea) 29.84, 21. Rebecca Jones (PaV) 30.56, 22. Brandy Montemuro (JT) 30.62, 23. Emily Moyer (NL) 30.65, 24. Nicole Gordon (Wea) 30.72.

100H

- 1. Meredith Rhoades (MA) 16.98*; 2. Kylee Dulski (JT) 17.53*, 3. Madison Martinez (Palm) 17.87*, 5. Kristen Guelcher (NL) 18.15*, 6. Kaitlin Lowery (MC) 18.23*, 8. Autumn Steibler (PaV) 18.33*, 10. Ashley Jones (Tam) 18.47, 11. Molly Murphy (Tam) 18.60, 12. Makayla Weaver (PaV) 18.62, 17. A’Nyhia Gentry (JT) 19.55, 18. Makenna Kane (Tam) 19.62, 20. Olivia Horninger (NL) 20.31, 21. Emily Butz (Palm) 20.36, 25. Rhianne Markovchick (Wea) 20.80.

* - denotes qualified for the finals

CLASS 3A

(top qualifier; plus other locals)

100

- 1. Kylie Kutz (BM) 12.54*, 15. Alana Porter (PlV) 13.21, 18. Nyia Moon (PlV) 13.21.

200

- 1. Talitha Diggs (SaV) 24.85*, 6. Armani Dunkley (PlV) 26.68*, 18. Nyia Moon (PlV) 27.47, 19. Alana Porter (PlV) 27.51.

100H

- 1. Gabriella Taylor (ESS) 15.26*, 8. Brittany Bartasavage (Leh) 16.48*, 11. DeNair Drew (PlV) 16.84, 23. Emma Fogal (NW) 17.81.

* - denotes qualified for the finals