District medals were awarded to six Freedom and Liberty girls at the District XI Track and Field Championships last Tuesday and Wednesday at Whitehall High School.

Silver medalists from Liberty were Tamia Bruce in shot put (36-09.75) and Brooke Rawls in triple jump (37-01.00).

“I started off at 36-02, and my final jump was 37-01,” Rawls said. “It felt great because I’m in my sophomore year. It was really fun. I just went for it. Getting to states was my biggest goal.”

Freedom sophomore Ava Fihlman captured silver in the 3200 meter run (11:28.44).

“At the one mile mark, I felt like it was too comfortable, and I needed to make a move at some point and didn’t want to get caught in the wind near the 500. Then I was trying to hold the pace and work on the gap between Hailey and me,” Fihlman said.

Emmaus’s Hailey Reinhard was the eventual winner (11:24.98), and there was a point in the race when Fihlman was within three seconds of the leader.

“We work together when we’re running and it helps both of us,” said Fihlman, who also won the fourth-place medal in the 1600 meter run (5:18.57). “I don’t tell her exactly what I’m doing before the race, but we talk about how we’re feeling that day. It’s friendly. With the conditions today, the wind, it was where my coach (Bob Thear) wanted me to be, exactly. My splits were great. It’s really exciting.”

Bronze medalists from Liberty were Annika Flanigan in pole vault (10-00.00), and Brylee Tereska in javelin (131-07).

Tereska had been working toward a distance higher than 129-00 all season and hoped for a return to the PIAA State Track and Field Championships.

“I P.R.’ed by an inch, and I’m glad I got into the 130’s again. That was my goal this whole season,” said the Hurricane senior. “I was focusing on my point to get the flight flatter. All my throws were consistent, above 125, so I knew it was coming.”