MAHANOY CITY – Like that old ketchup commercial, anticipation was the buzzword Wednesday at Alumni Stadium on William “Coach Faz” Fazio Field.

The final day of events and medal awards at the Schuylkill League Track and Field Championships brought a horde of on-lookers waiting to see their favorites come to the medal podium.

After a strong opening day that saw them grab the lead in the team race, the Jim Thorpe boys were even more impressive Wednesday as they ran up an impressive 131 total points to easily pull away from runner-up Blue Mountain (94 ½ points)

On the ladies’ side, highly regarded Blue Mountain racked up 160 ½ points to pull away from second-place Jim Thorpe (100)

“You can’t ask for anything more than to have your kids come out and perform their best,” said Jim Thorpe coach Frank Miller. “Our guys came into this meet and just maxed out. They wanted to get the team championship, and they did just that. They performed very well.

“As for our girls, they have nothing to hang their heads about. They performed excellent as well.”

Strong start

The Jim Thorpe boys got off to a flying start when David Richards collected his second gold of the league meet. On Tuesday, Richards captured the high jump, and on Wednesday, he sprinted to the 110 hurdles title in a time of 16:23. His teammate Justin Yescavage was third.

“It feels great,” said Richards. “Last year this was my goal, but I fell a little short. So to come here the last couple of days and get it accomplished is very rewarding.”

Richards isn’t finished, or satisfied, either.

“Next week (at districts), I want to qualify for states in the high jump.”

Shining stars

Richards wasn’t the only Olympian gold medalist, as junior Ridge Snyder roared to the finish line in a personal best time of 8:00 to win the 800-meters, while teammate Aiden Clements came up with an outstanding height of 12-7 to win the pole vault.

“It was a great race,” Snyder said with a wide grin on his face. “The first 100, I was trying to get a 27 split. After that, I just wanted to finish strong. The goal was to break eight minutes and I just missed that, but I did get a PR, and that was something I am happy with.”

Clements felt comfortable, overcoming a miss at 11-5 before coming back to get that and then eventually soaring to his winning height.

“I bent my leg, and that caused me to come down on the bar,” Clements explained about the miss. “But I got that corrected and finished with some pretty good vaults.

“I know I can do at least 13, and my goal is to do 13-7.”

Tough-luck win

A lot of eyes were focused on the sprints.

That’s where Marian had the horsepower, which is showed in winning the 400 meter relay. The Colts entered as the favorites and lived up to the billing with a winning time of 44:35. The victory might have been costly, however, as defending league sprint champ Mike Fellin pulled up lame as he crossed the finish line just ahead of a hard-charging Blue Mountain team. (44:41).

Nothing is official about Fellin’s condition, or his status for the District 11 meet next week. But the injury forced him out of the 200-meter race.

In the relay, Jake Fenstermaker gave the Colts the upper hand early.

“I wanted to get out of the blocks to give my team a good start,” Fenstermaker said. “I just wanted to push as hard as I could.”

Indeed, he did come out blazing, before passing the baton to Alex Porambo for the second leg. “When (Jake) gave me the baton, I just wanted to secure it and not worry about anything else except getting it to Tex (Josian Hernandez),” said Porambo.

And Hernandez was pumped, as the sophomore eagerly raced toward Fellin, who was waiting to finish with a flurry.

“I really was just doing what I needed to, and that was make sure I made the hand-off smooth so Mike could take it the rest of the way. Once you give it to Mike, there aren’t too many guys that can beat him,” explained Hernandez.

Speaking of the injury to Fellin, Marian coach Justin Huegel said, “Mike injured his hamstring during the winter meets, but was able to make a strong recovery. He said after he crossed the finish line in the relay that it caught him a little again.

“We are going to make every effort to have him ready for next Tuesday.”

Fellin shines early

Fellin never disappointed in the first race of the day. He brought his A-game to be sure and jettisoned to the win in the 100-meters. After coming off a sensational PR on Tuesday in the prelims in a time of 10.77, he zoomed past the field and finished with a time of 10:85 in the final.

Teammate Fenstermaker placed second in a time of 11:45.

After Fellin sprinted to the finish line, he quickly tipped his hat to the entire field in a classy manner.

“These guys are incredible,” Fellin said “Not only was Jake running next to me, but everyone in the league… they’re just incredible. I was happy to win it. I wanted to defend and I did.”

Terrific athlete

Panther Valley’s standout athlete Mike Pascoe, who also is a part of the Panthers’ championship baseball team, earned himself a gold medal throwing the discus with a toss of 128-9.

“I was looking for a PR coming in here as the third seed,” Pascoe said. “I gave up a baseball game today (with Mahanoy Area) but I’m pretty sure we won. I’m looking forward to districts.”

Winner’s circle

Marian’s Fatikha Tiktova captured the high jump with a leap of 5-2.

“I’m happy,’ she beamed, “I’m unable to compete for a district medal because of the transfer rule. So I really wanted to get this win today.”

More gold

Jim Thorpe’s superb athletes Laura Clarke and Kaila O’Connor, both picked up gold medals for the second straight day. Clarke took home the gold in the shot put, with a throw of 36-6. She won the discus on Tuesday. She beat Minersville’s Kaycee Raczka (33-11), Tamaqua’s Kaziah Streisel (33-3) and Panther Valley’s Isabella Bochicchio (32-6).

Meanwhile, O’Connor won the 100 meters in a time of 12.34. On Tuesday she won gold in the 300 hurdles.

BUSY SCHEDULE ... Pascoe not only had the District 11 Track and Field meet at Whitehall on Tuesday, but his Panther baseball team opens the Schuylkill League playoffs the same day at Walter Stump Memorial Field in Pine Grove at 7:15.

TEAM TOTALS ... While the Jim Thorpe boys took the team title, several other area teams had strong showings. Lehighton was fifth with 52 points, Marian was sixth with 43 1/2 points and Tamaqua was eighth with 37 points. Weatherly (10th, 26) and Panther Valley (14th, 21) rounded out the local scores. Other girls scores besides Jim Thorpe were Lehighton (third, 75 points), Marian (seventh, 45), Tamaqua (ninth, 38 1/2), Weatherly (13th, 14), Panther Valley (14th, 5)

HEAD OF THE CLASS ... Blue Mountain’s sensational long-distance runner Oliva Hass continued her dominance in the league championship, banging out another gold medal by winning the 800-meter run in a time of 2:15.2.

SCHUYLKILL LEAGUE MEET

at Mahanoy Area

Girls

Final Team Standings

1. Blue Mountain (BM) 160.5, 2. Jim Thorpe (JT) 100, 3. Lehighton (L) 78, 3. North Schuylkill (NS) 78, 5. Pine Grove (PG) 53, 6. Mahanoy Area (MA) 47.5, 7. Marian Catholic (MC) 45, 8. Minersville (M) 44, 9. Tamaqua (T) 38.5, 10. Pottsville (P) 17, 11. Shenandoah Valley (SV) 12.5, 12. Nativity (N) 12, 13. Weatherly (W) 6, 14. Panther Valley (PV) 5, 15. Schuylkill Haven (SH) 4.

FINALS

(top 3 plus TN athletes in top 10)

100 – 1. Kaila O’Connor (JT) 12.34, 2. Abby Beam (BM) 12.69, 3. Viktorya Luckenbach (PG) 12.70, 8. Taylor Bjorkman (L) 13.47; 200 – 1. Danika Bolinsky (BM) 25.96, 2. Abby Beam (BM) 26.50, 3. Allyson Babinsky (MA) 26.97, 6. Timara Klotz (L) 28.01; 400 – 1. Haley Moss (MA) 1:00.34, 2. Nicole Carroll (JT) 1:00.67, 3. Grace Curnow (MC) 1:01.89, 5. Ehlauna Penn (JT) 1:03.06, 7. Faith Yeakel (L) 1:05.10, 9. Jocelyn Kuhn (L) 1:05.89, 10. Katie Wojton (L) 1:05.93; 800 – 1. Olivia Haas (BM) 2:15.20, 2. Ryley Schwalm (NS) 2:23.57, 3. Sophia Chipriano (BM) 2:26.24, 4. Nicole Carroll (JT) 2:27.72, 6. Grace Stegemerten (T) 2:30.90, 7. Brielle Frable (L) 2:32.93; 1600 – 1. Ryley Schwalm (NS) 5:15.86, 2. Katie McCormick (NS) 5:29.41, 3. Grace Stegemerten (T) 5:34.73, 9. Maura Walker (T) 6:02.55; 100H – 1. Abigail Frew (PG) 15.90, 2. Brittney Bartasavage (L) 15.96, 3. Rhianne Markovchick (W) 16.27, 4. Ashley Jones (T) 16.98, 5. Aurora VanAuken (JT) 17.77, 6. Isabella Mystkowski (L) 17.85, 7. Leah Wasko (JT) 19.49; 400 relay – 1. Blue Mountain 49.53, 2. Pine Grove 50.59, 3. Mahanoy Area 52.10, 4. Marian Catholic (Caitlyn Kovatch, Grace Curnow, Kerrigan Digris, Carly Minchoff) 52.36, 5. Lehighton (Makayla Sabatino, Allee Maini, Timara Klotz, Taylor Bjorkman) 52.40, 6. Tamaqua (Alexa Stianche, Sarah Hope, Ashley Jones, Samantha Plasha) 53.13; 1600 relay – 1. Mahanoy Area 4:17.93, 2. Jim Thorpe (Nicole Carroll, Aubrey Bonner, Ehlauna Penn, Kaila O’Connor) 4:22.62, 3. Marian Catholic (Grace Curnow, Isabella Genao, Alizabeth Pikitus, Kerrigan Digris) 4:25.22, 5. Lehighton (Faith Yeakel, Brielle Frable, Jocelyn Kuhn, Katie Wojton) 4:30.63, 6. Tamaqua (Sarah Hope, Grace Stegemerten, Samantha Plasha, Anna Zelinsky) 4:33.56; Shot put – 1. Laura Clarke (JT) 36-6, 2. Kaycee Raczka (M) 33-11, 3. Kaziah Streisel (T) 33-3.5, 4. Izabella Bochicchio (PV) 32-6.5; Javelin – 1. Rosalind Gergely (BM) 128-4, 2. McKayla Keck (BM) 118-8, 3. Carly Minchoff (MC) 112-9, 4. Laura Clarke (JT) 111-2, 8. Kaziah Streisel (T) 98-6, 10. Madylin Wolter (L) 93-4; Triple jump – 1. Danika Bolinsky (BM) 37-2.75, 2. Devin Hubler (M) 35-6.25, 3. Mikaili Donmoyer (PG) 34-0, 4. Fatikha Tiktova (MC) 33-6.5, 5. Megan Aaron (L) 32-7, 8. Gabby Cinicola (JT) 31-7.75, 9. Haley Ginder (L) 31-4, 10. Katrin Cavanaugh (JT) 30-10; High jump

– 1. Fatikha Tiktova (MC) 5-2, 2. Haley Ginder (L) 5-0, 3. (tie) Victoria Wagner (BM) and Brittney Bartasavage (L) 4-10, 10. Alexa Stianche (T) 4-8.

Boys

Final Team Standings

1. Jim Thorpe (JT) 131, 2. Blue Mountain (BM) 94.5, 3. North Schuylkill (NS) 68.5, 4. Minersville (M) 57, 5. Lehighton (L) 52, 6. Marian Catholic (MC) 43.5, 7. Nativity BVM (N) 42, 8. Tamaqua (T) 37, 9. Schuylkill Haven (SH) 36, 10. Weatherly (W) 26, 10. Pottsville (P) 26, 12. Shenandoah Valley (SV) 23, 12. Mahanoy Area (MA) 23, 14. Panther Valley (PV) 21, 15. Pine Grove (PG) 20.5.

FINALS

(top 3 plus TN athletes in top 10)

100 – 1. Michael Fellin (MC) 10.85, 2. Jacob Fenstermaker (MC) 11.45, 3. Joey Flail (NS) 11.69, 4. Zeeshan Issifu (JT) 11.78, 5. Ethan Buchert (L) 11.81; 200 – 1. Joey Flail (NS) 23.16, 2. Ryan Mundy (BM) 23.77, 3. Travontai Davis (P) 23.81, 4. Ethan Buchert (L) 23.83, 5. Jacob Fenstermaker (MC) 23.99, 7. Zeeshan Issifu (JT) 24.97; 400 – 1. Michael Stank (N) 52.02, 2. Ridge Snyder (JT) 52.59, 3. Nate Frankenfield (PG) 53.03, 6. Cameron Lewis (T) 54.25; 800 – 1. Ridge Snyder (JT) 2:00.11, 2. Ricky Ray (W) 2:00.42, 3. Ryan Bailor (JT) 2:05.40, 5. Jacob Parker (W) 2:08.07, 8. Jordan Remmel (JT) 2:09.54; 1600 – 1. Landon Boyle (M) 4:28.07, 2. Ryan Bailor (JT) 4:28.23, 3. Diego Olayo (SV) 4:39.59, 5. Jordan Remmel (JT) 4:49.00; 110H – 1. David Richards (JT) 16.23, 2. Colm McGroarty (MA) 16.57, 3. Justin Yescavage (JT) 16.70, 6. Alexander Nattress (T) 17.67; 400 relay – 1. Marian Catholic (Jacob Fenstermaker, Alex Porambo, Josian Hernandez, Michael Fellin) 44.35, 2. Blue Mountain 44.41, 3. Jim Thorpe (Andrew Coolbaugh, Andrew Warner, David Fiorito, Salvatore Capria) 44.82, 5. Lehighton (Joseph Roth, Xavier Moore, Christian Salerno, Ethan Buchert) 45.84, 7. Tamaqua (Michael Steigerwalt, Stephen Kieffer, Aaron Rolko, Cameron Lewis) 46.20; 1600 relay – 1. Schuylkill Haven 3:37.52, 2. Nativity BVM 3:38.11, 3. Jim Thorpe (Justin Yescavage, Ryan Bailor, Zeeshan Issifu, Ridge Snyder) 3:40.05; Discus – 1. Michael Pascoe (PV) 128-9, 2. Joey Palko (P) 124-2, 3. Ross Bobbin (BM) 123-5, 4. William Newton (JT) 120-10, 5. Zander Bauer (L) 118-1, 6. Parker Coleman (T) 117-5, 7. Jesse Rodino (MC) 116-11, 8. Kurtis Gustafson (L) 116-8, 9. James Rodino (MC) 115.7; Triple jump – 1. Cody Miller (N) 40-11, 2. Brayden Lutz (L) 39-1.75, 3. James Munster (SH) 38-11.25, 4. Adam Linkhorst (T) 38-5.25, 6. Andrew Warner (JT) 38-3.25, 10. David Fiorito (JT) 36-5.75; Pole vault

– 1. Aiden Clements (JT) 12-7, 2. Michael McIntyre (BM) 12-1, 3. Jude Harris (BM) 12-1, 5. Timothy Berg (T) 10-7, 10 (tie) Torin Perry (BM) and Cole Ackerman (T) 9-7.