Even as a freshman, Salisbury's Lindsay Bauer received recognition in the track and field landscape.

In a regular season meet of her inaugural season, before capturing three second-place finishes in districts as a ninth grader, one of the area's top track and field sprinters in Palmerton's Jessica Pereira provided Bauer with some insight on her own career. As a sprinter, Pereira went on to the University of North Carolina where she continued her track and field career.

"The first time I met her was when we competed against them during the regular season," Bauer said. "She kind of couldn't believe it. She was like, 'wow, you re only a freshman and you re doing all of this.' She just told me about her freshman year, and how she wasn't nearly as good as she became and how much she improved. It gave me all the confidence that if she could improve that much to that point, that I m going to improve even more than I already was."

There's no question that Bauer, this year's Salisbury Press Female Athlete of the Year, has improved as both a runner and jumper. She captured three gold medals (in the 400-meter dash, long jump and triple jump) at districts as a sophomore, while also earning two top-five finishes at the PIAA Track and Field Championships. Her mark of 37-0 in the triple jump at states was a personal record.

"The thought of me winning it didn't even cross my mind," Bauer said of being named Athlete of the Year. "It's really great to be able to do what I love and be recognized for it."

What is even more impressive about Bauer s growth, particularly in the triple jump, is that she had not even participated in the event until the third-to-last meet this year. A couple of weeks later, she was the fourth-best finisher in the state.

Before track and field, her passion was softball, a sport she has been playing since the fourth grade. She admits the decision was tough to give up softball and undertake track and field, but also knows it was best decision she ever made.

"I was debating for a while on what I wanted to do, Bauer said. I thought I should just give track and field a chance, and if I ended up not liking it, I was going to go back to softball. But I did like it, and here I am.

In the summer, Bauer does play softball for a tournament team in Bethlehem, Northwest Explosion.

Ultimately, Bauer has her eyes sight on the PIAA's top spot in the long jump or triple jump. With two years to continue growing, Bauer understands that goal is within reach.

"I need to get a lot more flexible," Bauer said. "That will help me keep my legs up as long as I can and higher when I'm in the air. It will help my triple jump, getting my legs extended and getting higher off the ground. If I get my legs stronger, I'll have so much more power in my running, which will make me faster and power off the ground when I'm actually jumping."

As a team, Salisbury girls took first place in District 11 Class AA.

Bauer also ran cross country and was a key player on Salisbury's girls basketball team.

After being the first player off the bench as a freshman, Bauer became a vital part to the Lady Falcons' basketball success last winter. As a Colonial League Honorable Mention selection, she scored 218 points for Salisbury.

She was a part of a Lady Falcons team that made program history. After coming up short in the District 11 Class AA title game, the Lady Falcons advanced to the second round of the PIAA tournament, tied for the second-longest run in team history.

"The team, we were all really close," Bauer said. "We all worked together pretty well. It was exciting going from one game to the next. We kept accomplishing more and more and more."

Two of her biggest role models in the sport are Megan and Caitlin Hrebik, both of whom are 1,000-point scorers at Salisbury. Bauer had the opportunity to learn from Megan first-hand as a freshman, and Caitlin is an assistant on the girls team.

"She [Megan] took a lot of time to try and teach me everything that she learned from her sister, coaches and parents because I kind of had to fill in her shoes when she left," Bauer said. "She was really rooting me on, and wanted to prepare me for the role that I would have to fill.

"It s a big help to have someone watch you, and be able to tell you what you can do to improve your game. It's really hard to learn from your own mistakes when you're not watching yourself."

She also credits much of her success to her coaches, head coach Joe Mladosich and assistant Mike Garrigan in basketball, and running coach Victor DeOliveira and jumping coach Virginia Simms in track, and her parents who have supported her from the beginning.

There was a time that she danced ballet before taking up basketball. There was a point where softball seemed to hold precedence over track and field. But today, it s safe to say those days are behind Bauer.