In just his second year of running track and field, Salisbury senior Jacob Gibbons became a Colonial League medalist last week with a pair of second-place finishes.

Gibbons posted the best time of his career in the 400-meter run, coming in at 51.38 to improve on his previous best time of 51.94. Alec Miner (Notre Dame Green Pond) won the event in 50.97.

“The 400 is my favorite event,” Gibbons said. “I feel like it’s a true test of your endurance and speed at the same time and because it’s one of the most challenging events. I like challenging myself.”

The 400 is too long to be a full sprint, but short enough that athletes must keep up a rapid pace the entire time.

“I approach it differently than others,” said Gibbons, who was seeded fourth for the race. “I sprint, then I slow down and stride it out and then in the last 150 meters I go into full speed.”

In the 200, where Gibbons was seeded second at 23.0, he improved on his career best time by a hundredth of a second, finishing in 22.99 behind winner Gianluca LeBlanc (Palisades), who crossed the line in 22.97.

“I had a goal to beat my seeding and be competing with the person in first,” said Gibbons, who added that running the event about an hour after competing in the 400 might have taken a bit of gas out of his tank for the 200.”

He enters this week’s District 11 Class 2A Championships as the fourth seed in the 200. He’ll need a top two finish to earn an automatic berth into the state meet, but could also qualify on time if he finishes outside the top two places.

“I feel like I’ve got a shot,” said Gibbons, who will major in engineering at Penn State University next fall. “I feel like it would be a fun experience. Something I’d probably never forget.”

Gibbons is in just his second year of track and field after playing baseball up until his sophomore year. He played football in fall and wanted to continue being a two-sport athlete after he stopped playing baseball.

“It was all fun, really,” he said. “I did it because I stopped playing baseball and I wanted to do a sport in the spring. I found that track was something I could improve myself at and it would help with football.”

Gibbons was one of three Falcon league medalists last week.

Jairo Suarez earned a fourth-place medal in the 100-meter hurdles, while Alexandra Miller finished fourth in girls pole vault.

Suarez was seed fifth at 15.6. He ran the finals in 15.73 for fourth place and a league medal.

“I was coming in here trying to get fourth,” said Suarez. “I could have done better but I’m happy with what I got. I’m happy I got a medal. Goal was to PR, get a medal and go home happy.”

Suarez, a junior, is seeded sixth for this week’s district meet.

Miller, a junior, was seeded seventh in pole vault at 7-3. She improved on that season-best mark to finish fourth at the league meet. She is the sixth seed for this week’s district meet.

Several other Falcon athletes competed at the district meet.

Gabriella Pena finished sixth in girls discus at 88-3. Emily Batten was seventh in the 1,600-meter run (5:39.45) and 19th in the 800 (2:39.10). William Kocher took ninth place in triple jump (40-4 1/4), while Andrew Lucas finished 14th in the 400 (56.89).

Josiah Day (high jump), Louis Mongulitz (pole vault) and Paige Ziegenfus (pole vault) also competed at the league meet, but didn’t make a height.

The District 11 Championships will return to the site of last week’s league meet, Whitehall High School, on Tuesday and Wednesday. Athletes will be trying to earn a trip to Shippensburg University’s Seth Grove Stadium for the annual Memorial Day Weekend state championship meet, slated for May 26-27.