Above: Baylee Espinosa at last year's Susquehanna HS Invite (Photo by Bill Shearn)
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The River Hawk High School Invitational made for an impressive showcase of mid-season talent in central PA. Lily Hendricks and Baylee Espinosa stand out amongst other top performers, both hitting PA No. 1 marks in their respective events.
1. Lily Hendricks launches her way to 2 PRs and a State Lead in the Triple Jump
Hendricks was jumping with a purpose on Sunday, hitting personal best distances in triple and long jump.
The Central Mountain senior covered 38-1.5 to beat Susquehanna Township's Shaniyah Weidler, who jumped an impressive 37-1.0.
Hendricks earned the PA No. 1 rank, while Weidler's effort overtook the PA No. 2 spot.
Hendrick's momentum started in the long jump, which she won with a PR effort of 17-9.0.
2. Baylee Espinosa clocks PA No. 1 time in the 3k
Espinosa (Lewisburg) led the 3k wire-to-wire, winning by almost an entire minute.
Espinosa ran a new PA No. 1 time of 9:57.72 in an incredible solo effort.
Note that this is the sophomore's first time racing the 3k on an indoor track, and she made the most of it.
3. Viktorya Luckenbach runs impressive back-to-back 60m PRs.
Luckenbach (Pine Grove) got the 60m dash started with a strong 7.86 PR, clocking the fastest prelim time.
She kept the fire burning, improving her PR to a 7.80 in the finals and cracking this season's PA Top 5.
4. Central Columbia duo lights up the boys' 60m hurdles
Cole Bradley and Aiden Huntington made for an exciting hurdle matchup on Sunday.
Huntington clocked the fastest prelim time in an impressive 8.31, barely edging out Bradley, who ran 8.32.
However, Bradley demonstrated the consistency of a senior to his younger teammate, winning the final in an 8.36.
Huntington took second in an 8.44.
5. Xavier Diaz in the 60m, Rodger Nguyen in the Triple Jump, and Colin Melhorn in the Shot Put, are others who had notable performances.
Diaz ran a PR of 7.01, earning himself the 60m win in a closely contested showdown over Logan Rodkey (Selinsgrove), who ran 7.05.
Nguyen was in a league of his own, winning the triple jump contest by nearly two feet after covering 44-5.50.
Melhorn cracked this season's PA Top 10 in the shot for the second time this year after throwing a solid 51-8.75.