Northern Lebanon teammates Derek DiAngelis and Joe Vedilago weren't just happy about their performances, they were thrilled.
Each athlete came away with a top-three finish at Saturday's PIAA Class AAA Track and Field Championships, held at Shippensburg University's Seth Grove Stadium.
DiAngelis placed second in the pole vault with a 15-0, finishing behind North Penn's Vincent Esposito, who also recorded a height of 15-0 but beat DiAngelis on attempts.
Vedilago marched his way through the 200 dash gamut to enter the finals event as the No. 8 seed. He ended up taking third in the event with a time of 22.79, finishing behind Ridley's Malik Jones (22.49) and Bensalem's Qhyle Elijah (22.76).
The Vikings teammates proved to be highlights for the midstate, which turned in several top-eight finishes.
"Today went great. I can't thank my family, coaches and everyone for supporting me. All of that contributed to a great day of vaulting," DiAngelis said. "This day will probably be in my mind forever."
DiAngelis faced quite a challenge when the height was raised to 15-0. It was a height he had never hit before and before long, he was down to his third and final attempt.
"If I had to hit a jump, I knew it had to be then," DiAngelis said. "I even said a prayer. I asked God to give me a jump where everything was perfect.
"It worked. I can't thank him enough."
DiAngelis finished ahead of Palmyra's Tim Moses, the No. 1 seed in the event who had become a friend of DiAngelis through pole vaulting.
Moses tied for third with a vault of 14-6.
"I was very surprised," DiAngelis said. "It's just a shame because he's the greatest vaulter in Pennsylvania and I respect him so much.
"It was bittersweet. I wish it could have ended differently with him and me, but what happens, happens."
CLICK HERE FOR A FEATURE ON LEBANON COUNTY POLE VAULTERS MAKING AN IMPACT AT THE PIAA LEVEL
For Vedilago, states was an uphill battle. He nearly reached the top of that hill.
"I wasn't nervous at all, I just got through the trials and then in the semifinals, I qualified for the last spot in the finals," Vedilago said. "I just had the attitude of 'I've got to go for this' and that's what carried me the whole way through.
"It feels amazing. I mean I came as the eighth-seed and I ended up third in the state."
There were other local top finishers, including Chambersburg's Kellen Williams, who took silver in the 300 hurdles. Williams clocked a time of 38.36 in the race, finishing second only to Garnet Valley's Wellington Zaza, who turned in a time of 37.24.
"My goal was first and I fell short, but I'm still proud of my time and proud of what I did this season," Williams said. "I knew that even if I took last in the finals heat, I'd still get a medal. I had the opportunity to pick and choose what medal I wanted to get. I took second and moved up three places from last year."
Williams said he is the perfect example of someone who can accomplish anything they set their mind to.
"In eighth grade, I was the worst track athlete ever. You'd never think of me standing on the podium at states," Williams said. "I ran a 44.0 the first time I did the 300.
"Through hard work, dedication and God's glory, I've made it to states two years in a row."
Milton Hershey's Ibn Short, the defending state champion in the high jump, placed sixth in the event with a leap of 6-6. Short added another sixth-place finish in the long jump, where he leapt 22-7.5.
Harrisburg's 4x100 squad ended its season on a high note, taking fifth in 43.14.
Carlisle and Central Dauphin each turned in eight-place relay finishes, with the Thundering Herd registering a time of 8:01.07 in the 4x800 and the Rams running the 4x400 in 3:27.
Last but not least, Shippensburg's Taylor Carey took eighth in the javelin with a heave of 177-0.
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10 years later: » Thomas Jordan's epic javelin exploits
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