Whether it was by finishing in the top two or earning the state-qualifying time in the 1600-meter run, all senior Kelly Gonoude wanted was a trip to the PIAA Track and Field Championships this week at Shippensburg.

As the fourth and final lap approached at last week's district championship meet, Gonoude positioned herself comfortably in second place, roughly three seconds behind Pen Argyl's Angelina Biondo. A trip to states was nearly locked for the Salisbury senior, but she had plenty more in store.

Coming down the final stretch after the final turn of the last 400 meters, Gonoude passed Biondo to win the 1600 in 5:20.31 at the District 11 Class AA Track and Field Championships at Whitehall High School. She edged Biondo, who finished in 5:21.27, to not only earn gold, but also secure her inaugural trip to states.

"It was all I wanted for the past three years," Kelly Gonoude said. "I'm just so happy that it happened. I've been pretty close the past three years."

Coming in, Gonoude was familiar with Biondo's running style and her ability to start races on a fast pace. That proved to be true, as Biondo, the top-seeded girls AA runner in the 1600, led for nearly the entire four laps.

But Gonoude's strategy worked to perfection, as she used a late kick to pass Biondo when it mattered most.

"I knew that she always starts off really, really fast," Gonoude said. "I wanted to kind of let her go, and just keep my distance the same throughout the laps and not let her break away. I tried to keep her within striking distance. I just tried to go all out the last 200 meters so I could beat her."

Gonoude was one of eight Falcon girls that medaled at districts, four of which qualified for states on Friday and Saturday.

Lindsay Bauer placed first in both the long jump (18-0 3/4) and triple jump (36-5 1/2), while taking second in the 200-meter dash and 300-meter hurdles. While she qualified for states in all four events, she won't be running the 200 dash and was considering dropping the hurdles to focus on the jumps.

For a junior that earned a total of eight medals in the last two weeks at leagues and districts, Bauer wasn't completely satisfied with her outing at districts. She's been dealing with a number of health issues as a result of a spider bite just days before the biggest meet of the season.

"Health was definitely an issue in this postseason thus far," Bauer said. "But I'm all better now, and I'm just going to try to learn from all of this, brush off my mistakes, and come back stronger for states."

She placed fourth in the triple jump and fifth in the long jump at states a year ago. This time around, she's hoping for an even more impressive finish.

"Last year I was seeded first in the long jump," Bauer said. "Going in people thought I would have pressure on me to try and finish first. But honestly, last year I just wanted to be on the podium. I went freshman year for a few events, but that was more for experience than anything. Last year I wanted to get on the podium, and this year I'm looking to place pretty high."

Senior Katie Toman was the other district gold medalist after she cleared a height of 12-4 in the pole vault. Only one other competitor-Tamaqua's Morgan Boyle-cleared 10 feet at districts.

Just moments after clearing 12-4, a new personal best for Toman, she had the opportunity to tie the district record at 12-6. While she didn't clear that height, Toman was pleased to have a new personal record and another opportunity at the state level.

"I've never been big about records," Toman said. "It would've been cool to get it, but I was more excited that I had jumped 12-4. [The district record] wasn't even in my head at that time."

A year ago she cleared 12 feet at states, which was then a personal best for Toman. It was the top height of the competition, but she fell to second place based on the number of misses.

"I would love to jump 12-6," Toman said of her goal for states. "That was my goal for this year. I would really love obviously to get the gold because I got so close to it last year."

Holly Szita placed second in the high jump and will be making the trip to states as well.

The following girls also earned medals at districts: Meagan Eripret (third in shot put), Isabelle Bubenko (fourth in shot put), Jenna Keet (fourth in high jump) and Maddy Undercuffler (fourth in discus).