An unrelenting wind couldn't prevent Darius Reid from reaching the top of the medal stand last weekend at the District One Class 3A Track & Field Championships. The Upper Perkiomen junior earned a gold medal in the high jump.
 

Morgan O'Hara, Asher Zonis, Andrea Conti and Darius Reid wear the medals they earned at last weekend's District One Class 3A Track and Field Championships. O'Hara, Conti and Reid qualified for this weekend's PIAA Champ- ionships at Shippensburg University.

            "I've dreamed of days like those," he said.
            Reid cleared 6 feet, 7 inches on Friday, May 15, to edge out Declan Gallagher, a senior from Owen J. Roberts. Gallagher cleared the same height but registered more overall misses than Reid.
            "I knew that if Darius jumped his best, he would win," Indians head coach Clayton Mowrer said.

            Reid will be joined at States, scheduled for this weekend at Shippensburg University, by seniors Morgan O'Hara and Andrea Conti. O'Hara will compete in the javelin, while Conti qualified in the Adaptive Girls discus and shot put.

            O'Hara earned her second consecutive district silver medal in the javelin. The junior finished second last weekend at Coatesville High School with a personal best throw of 148 feet, 10 inches.

            She ended up less than 11 feet behind Ava Flicker, a senior from Perkiomen Valley. The Upper Hanover resident added a ninth-place finish in the discus (116 feet, 4 inches).

            Conti earned a pair of silver medals. She finished second in the shot put (16 feet, 6 inches) and the discus (41 feet, 3 inches).

            Asher Zonis was eighth in the 100-meter dash (11.05 seconds) on Saturday. One day earlier, the senior finished 12th in the long jump (21 feet, 6 1/4 inches).

            Sean Donohue finished 25th in the 1,600-meter run (4:41.63) on Friday. The following day, he ended up 39th in the 800-Meter Run (2:01.26).

            Reid, who finished fourth last season, expected Gallagher to provide his toughest competition at districts. The two have evolved into rivals and friends.

            The two often banter during competitions, according to Reid. The Pennsburg resident claims they were talking last week about how to cope with strong winds.

            Reid explained that a strong breeze in his face prevented him from trying to match his personal best height of 6 feet, 10 ¼ inches, set at the Penn Relays last month.

            "You just have to do you," Reid said. "I knew what I was capable of. I knew I could win."

            He has developed the ability to focus and perform when it matters most, according to Mowrer. Reid enters states as Pennsylvania's top-ranked high jumper, according to the coach.

            Reid acknowledged that the rest of the field will be gunning to beat him. He expects to win gold, but said he would be happy with a top-three finish.

            Reid, who finished fourth at states 12 months ago, figures he'll likely have to clear at least 6 feet, 9 inches on Saturday at Seth Grove Stadium to earn the title. He said he expects his toughest competition to come from Gallagher, who committed to compete at Penn State University after finishing fourth at districts and third at states last year, and Noah Popp, a senior from Saint Joseph's Prep who won the District 12 title last week by clearing 6 feet, 10 inches, and earned the indoor state title with a leap one inch lower.

            O'Hara – who finished 18th at states last season – enters the PIAA meet as the No. 3 seed in the javelin, according to Mowrer. He said she performs her best against top competition.
            "Morgan is doing great," the coach said. "She needs to remain active between events."
            O'Hara improved one place in the javelin. As a junior, she finished third with a throw of 139 feet, 6 inches.