Saquon Barkley's legs alone weren't enough at the Eastern Pennsylvania Conference Track and Field Championships, he also used a pair of wheels while competing in four events on the same day.

While his legs led him to victory in the 100 meters inside the Zephyr Sports Complex, crossing the line in 11.15, the senior needed a set of wheels to immediately rush him to the shot put after the medal ceremony.

Barkley hopped into the Gator driven by Whitehall trainer Sean Harkcom and was escorted to the practice field beyond the football stadium where the throwing events are held.

Barkley was competing in the 100, long jump, 4x100 and shot put that day, and time was of the essence, especially since a failure to report before the final call could result in a disqualification.

Once there, Barkley threw three consecutive times, perhaps disrupting his normal routine. He finished with a 41-11, his worst performance of the year.

While that may have been the low point of his day, what transpired earlier as a result of Barkley's kindness was the high point of the day for a hurdler from Saucon Valley High School.

During the first race of the day, Rachel Panek crossed the finish line first in the 100 meter hurdles. The meet featured the combined teams from both the Colonial League and Eastern Pennsylvania Conference, and the Panther thought she won the race. However, a timing system malfunction meant that the competitors would have to run the race again.

They were told they would have a 30-minute respite before rerunning the race, and this is where Barkley and Panek first encountered one another. Panek was holding the starting blocks for Barkley whose 100 meter final immediately preceded the rerunning of her race.

Barkley flew down the straightaway and won the event, avenging an earlier loss to Nazareth's Julian Liaci. It was Barkley's first gold of his track career, having only taken up track his senior year.

But it wouldn't be his for long.

When the gun sounded to rerun the 100 hurdles, Panek clipped a hurdle, losing her momentum and wound up eighth.

As he left the podium, Whitehall head coach James Sebesta had a stunned look on his face. Barkley had just revealed to him his plan for giving his medal to Panek.

"I can't believe it," said Sebesta. "He wants to give his medal to that girl [Panek]. "That just shows you what kind of kid he is."

Barkley found Panek and handed her the medal.

Barkley's ability to put together what he's learned this year paved the way for that gold medal. He's combined that raw speed with the nuances of racing, learning how to lean at the finish and staying low out of the blocks.

"It felt really good, especially competing against Billy [Walter] and Julian [Liaci] and Mike [McDaniel], they're all great runners, and to come out on top out of those guys, that meant a lot to me," said Barkley. "It was a great race, great competition, and I'm just glad I came away with the gold."

Barkley admitted that his success in the 100 meters has been a bit surprising. The senior became involved as a way to stay in shape for football, something that's going to encompass the next four years of his life and perhaps beyond, and winning all but two 100 meter races has been a revelation.

"I started winning races, then broke the school record, and after looking after looking at the stopwatch, I was shocked," said Barkley.

After losing in the ASD Invitational, Barkley said his mindset was to come into leagues and win the race.

Barkley said that once he lost his first race, he realized he had to fix his technique, something he continued to work on as the year progressed.

"I stared fixing them, and day by day, along with the help of my coaches, I got better," he said.

Barkley wasn't the only Zephyr atop the podium. Ivana Jones won the high jump with a 5-2 mark. She was also part of the fourth-place 4x100 team that included Kourtney Cunningham, Decontee Krayee and Amanda Crooks. That foursome hit the tape in 50.71.

Jones' gold-winning jump came on her first attempt. The junior has made a habit of first place finishes in the high jump this season, and getting that gold medal draped around her neck was especially gratifying given all her hard work.

It was the second gold medal of the year for the junior who also won gold as a member of the girls soccer team in the fall. While that district championship was shared with a team, getting to the top of the podium in the high jump rested squarely on her shoulders.

"It was really exciting," said Jones who's a three-sport athlete at Whitehall. "It's different than a team, it's an individual thing. I felt really proud."

Jones said while she's been running track since her freshman year, it's only been the last the last two year's that she's been jumping. One of her goals is to set the school record in the high jump to go along with the record she set in the long jump at the District XI meet this week (More on that next week).

"I started jumping last year and that's what I wanted to do," said Jones. "It's been something I've been working toward."

In addition to Jones and Barkley, the Zephs had a number of athletes who shined at the EPC Championships.

Calvin Schneck finished second in the 800 meters, hitting the tape in 1:59.01. He was also a member of their third-place 4x800 team that included Gabe Lamm, Andrew Hawk and Elliot Miller. The junior finished 5th in the 1,600, getting edged out at the line with a time of 4:24.23.

Sebesta said that Schneck got caught up in trying to stay with Easton's Colin Abert in the 1,600, hampering his chance for a medal.

"He has to realize he can't got out with Colin [Abert]," said Sebesta who watched as the Easton standout ran a blistering 4:14.56. "He went out too fast. You run with the pack and outkick those kids."

Sebesta said that Schneck will file that race away and be ready for districts.

"He's a smart kid," said Sebesta. "He knows what to do."

Sebesta said that Schneck ran his fastest time of the year. It was also just three seconds off the school record.

Amanda Crooks finished second in the 100 meters, crossing the line in 12.64. Crooks' time in the preliminaries put her fourth among the 25-girl field, but the freshman saved her best performance for the finals, coming on strong at the end to earn the silver.

"It feels great," said Crooks. "I went out there and did what I had to do."

Crooks said she listened to what Sebesta said before the race and implemented that in the finals.

"It came out well," she said.

Crooks, who is appearing in her first postseason as a Zephyr was somewhat surprised at her second-place finish. She's had a number of first-place finishes throughout the year, but running against such a talented field even left her a bit in awe.

As for the district tournament this week, Crooks said she "wants to put it all out there."

Sebesta has watched her mature throughout the season. While it was a difficult process at times, he knew she had the talent to be one of the top runners in the area.

"It takes a little bit of success, and all of a sudden you realize you're better than you thought you were," said Sebesta.

Crooks demonstrated that talent by passing three girls on the front stretch during the 4x100 relay.

"That's unheard of," said Sebesta.

The boys 4x800 team finished third behind Pleasant Valley and Emmaus, crossing the line in 8:13.81.

Elliot Miller tied for 6th in the pole vault, clearing the bar at 11-9, while Javaughn Hussett finished 9th in the high jump at 5-10.

Lamm finished 6th in the 3,200 at 9:58.76, while Tyler Meyers was 10th in the discus with a 117-11 toss.

In the javelin, Nate Wechler finished 8th with a 142-07 mark, while Vanessa Hadeed was 9th in the shot put with a 31-07.75 toss, and Natalie Saraceni was 8th in the javelin with a 104-08 mark.

In the final standings, the boys finished 8th with 35 points, while the girls finished tied for 6th with 34 points.