WHITEHALL - Last year, Monika Shimko continued what was a breakout freshman campaign with a gold medal in the Class AA 800-meter run at the District 11 Track and Field Championships.

Teammate Morgan Boyle, who showed tremendous promise as a sophomore last season, took second in the javelin to teammate Paige Demetriades at the district meet, missing the top step of the podium by less than a foot.Yesterday, the duo demonstrated the continued growth that has made them among the Times News area's best in their respective events, as Shimko won her second straight title in the 800 while Boyle claimed her first ever district crown with an impressive performance in the javelin.The titles also ensured that both will compete at the PIAA Track and Field Championships in multiple events, as Shimko helped the Lady Raiders win the 3200-meter relay on the first day of competition Tuesday, while Boyle advanced to the state meet with a second-place finish in the pole vault."It means a lot," Shimko said of her back-to-back titles in the 800. "It's just amazing to get it again. I really wanted to try to repeat and just do my best."Shimko won the event with a time of 2:24.60, just ahead of Marian's Tina Capparell (2:26.98), who also qualified for states with her second-place finish.Boyle's throw of 133-7 in the javelin was a significant improvement on her throw of 117-8 in the event at last week's Schuylkill League Championships, and a bump up from her 131-3 at last year's district meet.While happy with the win and eager to make a return trip to Shippensburg, Boyle acknowledged she's hoping for a little more once she gets there."I'm excited, but still not satisfied," she said. "I'm ready to go to states and do better."Boyle took much of the pressure off herself early, getting her winning throw on the first attempt, which easily surpassed the AA state qualifying standard of 121-0."I was just a little bit more relaxed on that throw," Boyle said. "I wanted to get a mark so I could go to finals and have more throws after that."Northwestern continued its success from the first day of the district meet that saw the 3200 relay team qualify for states with a second-place finish in the Class AAA event.The Lady Tigers qualified a second relay team for the state meet yesterday when the quartet of Sabrina Mertz, Sarah Segan, Emily Renner and Alexis Gawelko won the 1600 relay with a time of 4:06.15.While Segan and Mertz will be competing in both relays, Gawelko secured her spot in a second event at Shippensburg with a fourth-place finish in the 100 hurdles. The senior's time of 15.54 was solid and under the AAA SQS of 15.65 for the event.After feeling like she didn't perform up to her potential in Tuesday's trials, Gawelko was looking forward to having another chance yesterday."The wind was pretty strong today so I was hoping for my personal best," she said. "Yesterday, I hit a hurdle so I almost didn't even qualify (for the final), but I was just able to get in there, and today I was determined to do a lot better."I definitely had a lot of motivation. After not having a good race yesterday, I really wanted to end my season on a good one. But luckily, I made a state qualifying time so I was able to extend it."Northwestern's success wasn't limited to the track, as Natcheli Gomes won gold in the high jump with a mark of 5-3, tying her personal best.The victory didn't come easy for Gomes, who defeated Whitehall's Iyana Jones in a jump-off after both cleared the SQS of 5-3.When neither was able to surpass 5-4, or do 5-3 again and both missed the first attempt at 5-2, Gomes claimed the title by clearing the height on her second attempt, something Jones was unable to do."We were both so tired," Gomes said. "We both had about 18 jumps today. But the fact that we had to do a jump-off made it very rewarding."Pleasant Valley's Jenn Mickens won the Class AAA 800 after taking third in the event last season.Mickens was happy to prevail in the event on a day where blustery conditions gave many of the competitors difficulty."The time was OK," Mickens said of winning with a time of 2:21.21. "I knew it wasn't going to be fast, especially in these conditions. The wind was a killer on the backstretch. But I'm happy I got first. I get to go to states again as a junior, and that's a great feeling."While Mickens will be making her second consecutive trip to Shippensburg, Northern Lehigh's Jessica Olewine will be making her third straight appearance at the state meet.After taking second in the Class AA long jump on Tuesday, Olewine earned another runner-up finish yesterday, taking second in the triple jump (36-4).Having the opportunity to close out her career with another chance at a state medal is something Olewine is looking forward to."Just to keep going out there is a great feeling," the senior said. "There are always new athletes coming in, but each year, I've progressively gotten better. I'm just hoping to do the same out there, and hopefully it will get me on the medal stand."Marian's Kaylee Ceci also qualified for states with a second place finish in the Class AA shot put (33-11.5).