Chalmers Stroup and Hunter Flack each captured a gold medal at the Pioneer Athletic Conference Track and Field Championships last weekend. Stroup shattered his

Hunter Flack won a gold medal in the pole vault at last week's PAC championship meet.

previous personal best in the javelin, while Flack finished first in the pole vault at Norristown High School.

            In his final throw, Stroup reached a distance of 182 feet, 9 inches to secure the conference crown. The senior defeated his closest competitor, Owen J. Roberts senior Darian Storti, by nearly 20 feet.

            Stroup also finished fifth in the discus with a throw of 138 feet, nine inches. He (45 feet, 00.25 inches) and Jonah Johnston (37-5.5) each set personal bests in the shot put. Johnston added a career long discus throw of 117 feet, 6 inches.

            Flack, a sophomore, won the pole vault by clearing 13 feet. He defeated Albert Pickles, a senior from Perkiomen Valley, by three feet.  Chase Ziegler, junior, added a fourth place finish (11 feet, 3 inches) and set a new personal record for Upper Perkiomen.

            "I was blowing through the pole," said Flack, who came into the meet seeded first. "The conditions were perfect."

            In 300 meter high hurdles, junior Ethan Markwalter finished 10th (43.38 seconds), while classmate KeSean Kennedy took 18th (44.83). Both set personal records in the event.

            In the 3,200 meter run, a pair of Indians also set personal best times. Donald Miller, a freshman, finished 12th with a time of 10:22.18. Blandin Conklin ended up 22nd (10:40.93).

            In the 800 meter run, Dylan Simms (19th place) and Jonathan Trzaska (3rd) reached the finals. Conklin, a sophomore, added a 22nd place finish in the 1600 meter run.

Both the 1,600 meter relay team – of Simms, Markwalter, Ethan Trzaska and Jonathan Trzaska – and the 3,200 meter relay team – of Simms Ethan Trzaska Cody Schwenk Jonathan Trzaska – posted their fastest times of the season.  

            Upper Perkiomen held sprinter Tyrese Reid out of the conference meet due to a nagging hamstring injury. Reid has already qualified for this weekend's District One Class 3A championships in the 100 meter dash, 200 meter dash and the long jump. According to Dsuza, the junior could be limited to one event based on his condition.

            Stroup and Flack have also qualified for this weekend's district meet. 

            Flack, who expects to be tested during the meet at Coatesville High School, said he will likely have to finish in the top six or clear the qualifying height of 14 feet to reach the PIAA Championships. 

            Josie Coddington was the Indians' only female performer to reach the finals on the track. She finished 16th overall in the 300 meter hurdles. Her time of 53.95 seconds set a new personal record. Lilliana Goodrich set a new individual standard in the 100 hurdles (17.79 seconds.)

            In the field, junior Nicole Bair finished 13th in the pole vault (7-6). Meghan Carlin finished 14th with a vault of 7 feet).

            Audrey Nagata, a freshman, triple jumped a distance of 29 feet, 5.25 inches to finish 18th in the long jump. She and Giana Deskevich (28-9.5) each posted personal best distances in the event.

Deskevich finished 19th (14-05) and Emily Schaut (14-0) ended up in 22nd place. Both set new individual bests.

             Melina Rivera, a junior, took 25th place in the discus with a throw of 69-05.00. Her classmate, Martina Garcia, finished 26th in the shot put (23-10).

            The girls entered a limited number of competitors in the meet, according to head coach David Dsuza. He said some didn't meet the qualifying standards, and others had previous commitments.