SHIPPENSBURG – Pittston Area seniors Paul Moska and Taryn Ashby closed out their high school track and field careers with state medals in the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association Championships May 27 at Shippensburg University’s Seth Grove Stadium.
Moska made the medal stand in his only appearance at the state meet while Ashby made it there after coming up one place short as a junior.
District 2 gold medalist Moska finished in a tie for third place in the Class 3A boys high jump after clearing 6-4 at Shippensburg.
Ashby’s throw of 137-11 gave her a fifth-place medal in the Class 3A girls javelin competition.
They joined junior Abby Norwillo, who finished second in the state in the pole vault the day before, to make Pittston Area athletes 3-for-3 in their medal pursuits at the state championships.
“It feels good,” Moska said. “I just wanted to get on the medal stand.
“It was raining every now and then. Everybody was slipping. I was glad I didn’t have trouble.”
Ashby completed her steady climb up through the ranks of the state’s best throwers.
“It feels awesome,” she said. “I was pretty consistent today.
“I really wanted to medal badly after my past three years. I was definitely happy to get a medal this year.”
Norwillo and Ashby combined to lead the Lady Patriots to a tie for 17th place in the team standings with 12 points. A total of 82 schools from around the state scored points in Class 3A girls.