Conrad Weiser's Aliyah Serrano sprints to two first-place finishes at the Stephan Track and Field Meet

Apr. 18—Aliyah Serrano didn't have to compete in both meets. Four individual races in less than 24 hours is a lot.

Conrad Weiser's senior wanted the challenge. After missing out on her previous track and field season, the sprinter is making up for lost time.

Serrano swept the 100 and 200 at the Leonard Stephan Invitational at West Lawn Saturday.

"Aliyah is so phenomenal," Weiser sprints coach Avory Cole said. "If you give her something to do she'll push herself past her limits. You can never ask for more from a kid."

There were many notable performances in the first Berks invitational since 2019.

Schuylkill Valley's Ashlyn Giles broke two county records in the span of a few hours. Teammate Luke Seymour won a pair of distance events.

Wilson's Ethan Capitano took third in the boys 100 in 10.86. Teammate Katie Dallas won the girls 800 in 2:18.48.

Serrano's performance was like a lightning bolt. She finished the 100 in 12.36, which ranks among the top times in the state this season, to hold off a strong field. More than 30 schools made the trip to Gurski Stadium.

"In the beginning I was a little behind," Serrano said. "Then I started reaching toward the end and I caught up to the girl. It felt amazing to get first. I'm really proud of myself."

Serrano completed her double by taking the 200 in 25.87. She captured first in both of those events at the Twin Valley Invitational Friday and set new personal bests along the way.

Cole said it was Serrano's choice to compete in both events in both meets. She also anchored the 400 relay team.

"Missing her season last year made her more hungry," Cole said. "I'm so proud of her and everything she does. She's only going to keep growing."

Giles is in a class by herself among Berks girls throwers. She reached 48-10 in the shot put, adding 3 inches to her county record. This is the second time she has surpassed the mark since setting it earlier this month.

The senior broke the discus record later in the afternoon. Giles threw 145-3 to eclipse Kutztown's Jocelen Ruth, who set the standard at 143-8 in 2014.

"I'm really excited and happy," Giles said. "I just hope I can get more later. I really should be hitting big marks at the end of the season. I'm glad because this means even bigger marks are coming."

Giles and Fleetwood's Cyre Virgo are the only Berks girls to own two county records.

Seymour captured the 1600 in 4:22.67 and the 800 in 1:59.77. It was the second time he won both events at a major invitational. He did it at the Bruce Dallas earlier this month.

The junior is looking to reach 4:15 in the mile and the low 1:50s in the 800. He's a county and District 3 contender in both.

"Today I was hoping for sub-4:20," Seymour said. "But it was a good race. I was happy with it."

Other Berks boys winners were Schuylkill Valley's Nathan Schaeffer (pole vault) and Wyomissing's Rushard Williams (discus). Girls winners were Wilson's Nicole Kutz (triple jump) and Wyomissing's Grace Kuhn (1600).

When Serrano was asked if she wanted to test herself in both meets, she said yes without hesitation. Her reason was simple. She believed she wanted it more than everyone else.

"It means a lot," Serrano said. "I'm happy with it. I'm ecstatic."

By the time the equipment was packed away at the Stephan Meet, Serrano had it all. Four first-place finishes and the chance for many more.