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Franklin County hauls in 11 District 3 medals on Day 2


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Franklin County has new District 3 champion.

Well, not really new, because she also holds the District 3 title in cross country - but the freshman phenom from Greencastle-Antrim can now call herself a district track champion, too. 

Taryn Parks settled for a lower spot on the District 3 podium in the 3200 (third, 10:45.90) and the 1600 (second, with a PR time of 4:55.64) - but that wasn't about to happen again, despite having one of Carlisle's top distance runners on her tail. 

At the 200 meter mark of her final lap in the 800, Parks was trailing Meg Lebo of Carlisle by a few meters, but she turned on her kick and passed Lebo on the final turn, and pulled ahead with ferocious power for the win in 2:15.71. 

"I really just wanted that district title so badly," Parks said. "And I knew that if I were to start kicking then maybe I could out-kick her and finish with the win. I was hoping for a better two mile and mile this weekend, but going into next weekend I feel pretty good and confident."

TROWS RULE ALL: On Day 1 of the District 3 track & field championships, Franklin County had a pair of gold medals and a third-place finish in the throws.

And on Day 2, Franklin County throwers brought home five more. 

Five area athletes medaled in various throwing events on Saturday, all with PIAA qualifying marks. 

Greencastle's Jenay Faulkner threw a major personal record on the way to placing fifth in the javelin with a throw of 130-01 to improve on her seed by nearly 10 feet. 

Faulkner's throw was also a new area-best record by more than six feet.

Campbell Parker of Greencastle placed second in the boys discus with a throw of 178-04, while his teammate Jacob Hockman placed fifth (160-06) for his first district medal. 

"I just took it easy at first throw just to get things out there, but during the finals I heard my coach in the back of my head telling me to give it everything I got, so I just went out and threw," Hockman said.

Chambersburg's Kelton Chastulik, who won gold in the boys shot put, placed third in the discus with a throw of 172-01. 

Reagan Winebrenner of Chambersburg placed fourth in the girls discus with a throw of 126-05. 

END OF AN ERA: If you've attended any dual meet or an invitational at Chambersburg High School, you know the Trojan girls 4x800 relay team. 

They're the ones insistently giggling on the sideline after each race is done, dancing and skipping, and torturing girls track coach Chris Monheim.

But they're also Franklin County's most competitive 4x800 squad. 

Saturday the 4x800 team, comprised of Sydney Parson, Kaylee Mowery, Cadie Kiser, Abby Yourkavitch and alternate Livvy Sommers, ran its last race as a complete assembly as Kiser and Sommers are set to graduate next week. 

Thankfully, the team made it a memorable one.

Chambersburg ran for a seventh-place finish with a PR of 9:37.99, but missed the state qualifying mark by two seconds. 

"We started the season at 9:39 and to finally get our PR feels great," Parson said. "I'm glad we could finish this year on a strong note and that we could all do it together."

"It feels great but it's also really sad," Kiser said. "I'm going to have another team next year (in college) but they're never going to compare to this team."

Yourkavitch will be back at the PIAA championships next week after sneaking into the final qualifying spot of the 1600 with an eighth-place finish in 5:09.62. 

JAMES BUCHANAN MEDALS 2: Dalton Leab and Dan Corcoran each came home with district medals on Day 2 of the District 3 track & field championships, but did not qualify for the state meet next week. 

Leab placed seventh in the boys 800 with a time of 1:57.56 in a highly competitive heat. Corcoran placed sixth in the 400 with a time of 51.24.