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Fairfield snaps Delone's dual meet streak


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For the Fairfield girls' track and field team, it might as well have been just another dual meet.

The Green Knights had just beaten Delone Catholic, 79-71, to hand the Squirettes their first loss since 2011 and likely end their streak of five consecutive YAIAA Division III titles. But outside of a few high fives and hugs, the Knights showed little emotion.

That's because the result came of no surprise to Fairfield.

"I told them if you do your best, you're going to win," Fairfield head coach Phomma Phanhthy said. "They're just going to move on to the next one. We let them do a little bit of a hoorah there, but besides that we're ready to go home and get something to eat."

As expected, the Squirettes had the advantage in the field events but the Green Knights took control on the track. Fairfield opened up strong, winning the 4x800 relay, 100-meter hurdles, 100-meter dash and the long jump to take a commanding early lead it never gave up. While the final score was close, it was clear by the midpoint of the meet that Delone would need some career performances to win.

The two girls leading Fairfield for most of the afternoon were the same sisters that helped lead Phanhthy and the Knights to a state title in soccer this fall. Senior Hannah Logue took first place in the 100 (12.8 seconds), long jump (16 feet, 10 inches) and 200 (26.6 seconds), while junior Moriah Logue won the 100 hurdles (16.0 seconds) and 300 hurdles (50.6 seconds). Moriah's win in the 100 hurdles was the most thrilling race of the day, as she posted the same time as Delone's Bri Milliken but beat her by half a step.

Both girls reached or came close to personal records in those events, impressive considering both are dealing with injuries. Moriah banged her right knee at last Saturday's Arctic Blast Invitational and didn't decide to run Monday until 30 minutes before the meet, while Hannah is coming back from a stress fracture in her foot.

"Moriah and I push each other to do our best, and injuries put a damper on things sometimes but when you come back you have to come back stronger," Hannah Logue said. "I didn't feel (pain in my foot) at all today which is great."

Added Moriah Logue: "There's just been a lot of eating (at our house), lounging on the couch. If we're not competing we're eating."

Another Fairfield runner who had a strong day was Lindsey Lytle, who took first place in the 800-meter race with a time of 2:35.9.

With their remaining dual meets against teams they're much stronger than on paper (Littlestown, Hanover, Biglerville), the undefeated Green Knights seem headed for a division title. And with only three seniors of the roster, Fairfield could be in position to win for a long time.

"I think this sets the bar pretty high," Moriah Logue said. "We have to uphold our standard now. We beat what was the top team and now we're the top team and have to keep it going. I think it might be a couple years running."

Delone head coach Dusty Lehr agreed the Green Knights will be formidable in the future, and said the Squirettes should feel no shame in losing today. Delone's top performance on Monday came from sophomore Julianna Malesky, who set the school high jump record with a mark of 5-3.25 feet.

"There's a difference in high school athletics between getting beat and losing," Lehr said. "We got beat. We ran well, and we're an invitational team this year, there's no doubt."