Matthew Knaub: Hardy, Hoke lead Wyomissing to Girls Class 2A title at District 3 track and field championships
May 22—SHIPPENSBURG — Berks female athletes dominated on the second day of the District 3 track and field championships on Saturday at Shippensburg University.
Tulpehocken senior Ella Ahner and Schuylkill Valley junior Emma Deyarmin each finished with two gold medals and the Wyomissing girls track and field team won the Class 2A team championship with 97.33 points.
"They just continued to battle and grab points in every event that we expected them to and they completely outperformed their effort," Spartans coach Jim Delp said. "(I'm) proud of them."
Wyomissing was led by freshman Alexis Hardy, who earned three medals on Saturday. She finished second in the 100 with a career-best 12.57 and third in the 200 with a career-best 26.42.
Hardy was also a member of the Spartans' 400 relay team, which finished first at 50.01. She qualified for the PIAA championships in the 100 and 400 relay.
"It feels very good," Hardy said. "It's very exciting."
Junior Cadi Hoke was also stout for Wyomissing, winning the 400 at 59.79. The first-place finish clinched her spot in the state championships, where she will make the first appearance of her career.
"This is all I've ever wanted since (I started) running track," Hoke said about qualifying for the state championships. "I'm really looking forward to it."
Hoke served as the anchor of the Spartans' 1600 relay team, which finished second in 4:11.34 to qualify for the state championships. She was also the anchor on the 3200 relay team, which finished third at 9:57.96.
"The whole season, this is what we've been working for," Hoke said. "It feels great."
Hardy and Hoke helped Wyomissing earn 48 of its 97.33 points, which was enough to win the title. The Spartans also won the boys team title.
"This is what we trained for," Hoke said. "The team win is bigger than any individual win, so I'm really happy for the entire team and all the work they put in today."
Hardy was defeated in both her individual events by Tulpehocken senior Ella Ahner, who repeated as champion in the 100 with a career-best 12.53 and in the 200 at 26.13. While she was not the top seed for either event, Ahner topped Hardy and Schuylkill Valley's Madison Ziska, who were other top seeds.
"I really came in knowing it was tough competition," Ahner said. "To be able to go against people who are so humble and are so proud of whoever is doing well, it feels really good."
With her performances in the 100 and 200, Ahner qualified for the state championships for the third time in her career. She also finished third in the 400 at 1:02.07.
"It feels really good, especially representing such a small school," Ahner said. "It's very special to me."
The only other female athlete from Berks to win multiple gold medals was Schuylkill Valley junior Emma Deyarmin, who finished first in the Class 2A shot put with a throw of 34-10.75. She won gold in the Class 2A discus on Friday with a throw of 118-1.
"I feel on top on the world," Deyarmin said. "I really showed what I can do and who I can beat."
The Panthers finished fourth in Class 2A with 67 team points. Wilson finished fifth in Class 3A with 41 points.
The lone event winner from Berks in Class 3A on Saturday was Wilson senior Katie Dallas, who successfully defended her district title in the 800, winning in 2:15.82. With the victory, Dallas qualified for the PIAA championships.
"Coming back and winning this, it really means a lot," Dallas said. "It's a good feeling knowing that you can come back and win again after a whole year."
