The league and district championship track meets might seem like pretty much the same event, but for most of the athletes there’s a different goal at each one. While this week’s district meet will be all about qualifying for the state meet, last week was more about winning as a team. And Parkland left no doubt which boys track and field team was the best in the East Penn Conference this season. The Trojans had five individual gold medal winners, led by Andrew Beers’ three trips to the top of the podium, along with one relay champ and a parade of athletes that reached the medal stand over the two-day meet, which was held last Tuesday and Wednesday at Whitehall High School. Beers took first place in the 110-meter hurdles, the 300 hurdles and the 400-meter dash last week. He won the 110 event in 14.43 after posting a 14.45 in his preliminary heat. He took the 300 hurdles in 37.12, with second-place finisher Jorge Santana (Dieruff) two seconds behind at 39.26. “My race was a little sloppy,” Beers said. “I hit the last two hurdles really bad. Could have dropped into the 36s, which is what I ultimately wanted because I have districts next week, which is qualifying for states. I don’t want to go super hard and end up crashing or something.” In the 400 Beers ran a 49.59 and held off Pocono Mountain West’s Mark Jackson (49.93) down the stretch. Jackson beat Beers last season and it provided motivation and a push for the Trojan champ. “This year I got him,” said Beers. “To have someone to run against, it’s a whole different ball game.” While Beers was a returning league champ, a few other Trojans picked up their first individual medals last week. Beers also ran the anchor leg for the PHS boys 4x400 relay team that took first place at the meet. Members of that team were Alex Kelchner, Tyler Rothrock, Anthony Cappellini and Beers. Ethan Willard, a senior who has been among the top distance runners in the league and district over his career, had never won an individual title in a postseason track or cross country race during his stellar career. That changed last week when he ran to the 3200-meter title in a time of 9:40.21 with teammate Colin McGuigan in second place at 9:42.23. “That was definitely a big moment for me,” said Willard. “I’ve had a lot of success, but I still never got a league or district title. That was a major first step in my goals for this year. It felt really good to finally get that done.” Willard took the lead early in the race and never relinquished it. “I just went out and took it from the front and made sure I gave myself enough distance,” he said. Xander McWhite won the 100-meter dash title by the slimmest of margins, finishing in 10.95 with Freedom’s Aaron Beete coming in at 10.96. “I didn’t know if I got first or not,” McWhite said. “I honestly wasn’t sure. I saw him out of my peripheral. I was really nervous right there.” After failing to make finals at last year’s league meet, McWhite was proud of how far he’s progressed since then. “I trained for this since last year. Came up from the bottom,” said McWhite, who was part of a state-medal winning relay team last season. “Last year I didn’t make finals (individually). I definitely upgraded. I trained harder after that. It feels really good to go from nothing to something.” Fellow sprinter Nathaniel Janukowicz, who finished fourth in the 100, took first place in the 200-meter dash in 21.83 with Freedom’s Beete (22.23) again in second place. Janukowicz had already set a new personal best time in prelims. He did it again in finals for the win. “My goal was to break 22,” he said. “I’m super happy. Yesterday I ran 22 flat, so it’s a really good accomplishment. “I think the amount of training I did over the offseason, driving up to the track and running on my own. Having my teammates here to push me too.” Janukowicz has been on the team for four years and has one of his former baseball coaches to thank for pointing him in that direction. “I didn’t even want to do track when I started,” he said. “I got cut from the baseball team. The baseball coach said ‘Sorry it’s not going to work out but you’re pretty fast. You should give track a try.’ “It’s become my main sport. I fell in love with it.” Julius Reyes earned his league title with a discus throw of 139 feet, 6 inches with teammate Leo Dauberman (133-10) in second place. “It feels good to win,” said Reyes, a senior who plans to play football and continue his track and field career at Moravian University. “I didn’t get the throw I wanted, but I’d like to think I’m saving it for districts next week to try to get to states. “My PR is 144-3. I wanted to just get over that. I threw 139, so it got me the win but it wasn’t exactly what I wanted.” Reyes was also guided to track by a coach. His sixth grade teacher was Parkland track and field head coach Stephen Ott, who encouraged him to join the team when he reached high school. Parkland also had three individual boys second-place finishers and one relay take the runner-up spot. Jacob Barnes finished second in the 1600 in 4:28.56, along with teammates McGuigan (3200) and Leo Dauberman (discus). Parkland’s boys 4x800 relay team also earned a silver medal at the meet. The foursome of Rothrock, Jacob Barnes, Henry Stein and Marcelo Castilla ran the event in 8:19.3 to finish behind only Emmaus (8:07.54). Dauberman picked up a third-place medal in javelin with a throw of 173 feet. Fourth-place finishers from the Trojan boys team were Janukowicz (100), Rothrock (800) and McGuigan (1600). The Trojans are back in action this week at the District 11 Championships at Blue Mountain High School Tuesday and Wednesday.