Tim Buda posted some of the fastest preliminary heat times in the Colonial League Track and Field Championships two weeks ago. The Salisbury junior had the second fastest time in the 200-meter dash and was fifth-best in the 100-meter dash on the first day of the meet. He was set to return the next day validate that performance in finals. But after coming down with an illness hours after running the preliminary heats, he was unable to attend finals.

“I got really sick the night before,” he said. “Just a really bad stomach virus. It had to be bad for me to miss finals at leagues. It was awful.”

Fortunately he had a shot at redemption a week later in the District 11 Championships.

At last week’s district meet at Whitehall High School, Buda ran another pair of fast prelims. He broke a district record in the 200, running his heat in 22.98, which was the best time in the boys Class 2A field. He also had the fourth-best time in the 100.

Last week he was able to return for finals. He ran another district record time in the 200 finals, posting a 22.93. But Jim Thorpe’s Jarrin Geisinger ran a 22.52 for first place in the event.

“I felt it could have been a little bit better,” he said. “But I tried the best I could and came out with second place in districts, which isn’t bad.”

Buda came just hundredths of a second from the state qualifying mark in the 200, which is 22.88.

That came just a couple hours after he earned fifth place in 100, one spot away from earning a medal, which went to the top four finishers in each event.

Buda ran the 100-meter dash final in 11.33. The state qualifying mark is 11.30.

While he will have to wait for next year to earn his trip to the state meet, he was happy to be able to compete in the finals at districts after what happened a week earlier.

Buda’s friend and teammate Delano McKenzie came even closer to the state qualifying mark. After running an 11.30 in the 100 prelim, McKenzie took fourth place in the final with a time of 11.31.

McKenzie, a senior and a football teammate of Buda’s, earned two medals at the meet. He finished third in the long jump at 20 feet, 9 inches. He was the only Falcon boys athlete to earn more than one district medal.

Other Salisbury athletes who made it to the medal stand last week at Whitehall High School were Shane Artis and Hunter Bleam.

Artis took second place in the 1600-meter run with a time of 4:32.6. Bleam finished third in high jump at 6-1.