Christopher Dock girls win second straight District 1-AA title
CALN — As coach Tim Eger put it, it was a “whirlwind.’
One state qualifier after another, one gold medal after another, and ultimately, one team title after another.
With a dominant, all-around performance, the Christopher Dock girls rolled to their second consecutive District 1 Class AA title Saturday afternoon at Coatesville High.
“It’s awesome. We worked real hard this year, and we have a lot of good freshmen this year that replaced our seniors,’ said senior Bailey Kratz, a four-event winner for the Pioneers. “We knew that we could do this, so we worked hard throughout the season and it paid off.’
After winning gold in the long jump on Thursday, Kratz had a busy Saturday on what was a blistering afternoon on the track.
“It was a hot day, but I was like, ‘ okay, three more races left, two more races left, one more race left.’ I just went all out and did my very best,’ she said.
Kratz raced to first in both the 100 and 200 dashes and also anchored the 4×1 relay, joining Niki Clements, Olivia Seavy and Haley Anderson to go 49.66 and push through to Shippensburg.
“We had been up and down with our time, and we just came out today and said ‘ give it your all. If something goes wrong, that’s fine — just give it your all,” Kratz said. “And that’s what we did, and we not only P.R.’d but set a school record, so we’re excited to take it to states and see what we can do there.’
Dock dominance stretched into the field and over the hurdles, as Tabitha Miller wore four gold medals by meet’s end, taking the triple jump and high jump, and also crossing first in the 100 and 300 hurdles.
“I felt really good. Last year, I kind of started off slow and then carried out throughout the day, so today my goal was to come out strong and finish strong,’ said Miller, who had a leap of 36 feet, 10 and three quarter inches to win the triple.
Dock’s 4×8 team of freshman McKenzie Swartley, Clements, freshman Lindsey Bernd, and Maddison Landis, meanwhile, won a back-and-forth battle with New Hope-Solebury, crossing in 9:33.14.
Later in the day, Landis would be all by herself in the 1,600, winning in 5:10.21. Her closest competition was her own teammate, as Swartley raced to silver-medal honors.
“I was really excited for her,’ Landis said of the youngster.
Landis took the lead early and stayed comfortably in front of the pack.
“It is a bit more challenging for me when I don’t see anyone ahead of me, but I usually just imagine there’s someone right behind me,’ the junior said, “and that kinda pushes me on.’
