Aument breaks two Class 3A girls records

May 18—WILLIAMSPORT — Two was the magic number for Selinsgrove senior sprinter Carly Aument.

Aument started off her day by consuming a couple of donuts and a refresher from Dunkin'. Apparently, her breakfast of champions helped Aument out as she won the 100- and 200 meter dashes and in the Class 3A girls meet to qualify for the PIAA state meet on Saturday at Williamsport High School.

Aument also broke district records that she set last year in both events. She ran a 12.07 in the 100 and then a 24.66 in the 200 later in the day.

"It feels great actually because I've just worked hard throughout the season," said Aument, who's signed to run at Penn State. "Finally it paid off, and I had to come out here and show everyone what I have.

"I had a really good block start in each, and I have really good competitors on both sides in all of my races. So they really helped to push, and just finishing through the line today was a really big part too."

Aument is seeking to add the coveted state medal to her resume in her final high school meet next week. Aument was eliminated in the preliminaries by 0.01 seconds during both events at last season's state meet.

"I'm really excited," Aument said. "I just wanna go down there and hopefully place on the podium, top eight, and just show everyone what I have."

Aument's main competition in both sprints, Shikellamy's Jilly Deivert, also punched her ticket to Shippensburg in the 100 and 200. Deivert crossed the finish line in 12.27 and 25.54 in the 100 and 200, respectively, to take home two silver medals.

It's the third time this month that Deivert's broken the school record in the 100 — a milestone that stood since 2002 before the start of the season. Deivert previously broke it after running a 12.29 in Thursday's preliminary run.

"It feels really great, especially as a sophomore, because I still got two years left," Deivert said. "I just wanna keep growing and pushing myself and see what I can do. But I think that we have really great coaches and teammates, so the community around us is really good."

Deivert will also run in the 4x100 and 4x400 relays at Seth Grove Stadium. The Braves' 4x100 squad, which consisted of Deivert, Lily Persing, Emma Koontz and Elli Ronk, beat a meet record that was set by Williamsport in 1986 with a time of 48.51 for first place. Williamsport was close behind after crossing the finish line in 48.78, which also qualified it for states.

The same four athletes won the 400 after clocking in a time of 4:00.92.

"It feels really good," Ronk said. "Like knowing that we've worked for this all year and holding that spot all year. Knowing people are chasing us and dealing with the pressure really shows our mindsets and how when we wanna compete, we're here to compete."

"Now that we're here, we love doing it for each other," Persing added. "We did it for Elli for her last year. We care about this team just as much as we do for our 4x1."

Ronk also will also get another crack in the 400 at states after not making the medal stand last season. Ronk won gold after running a 57.32 in the 400.

Lewisburg's Caroline Blakeslee was the runner-up to Ronk in the 400 after popping a 57.75, which bested the qualifying time. Blakeslee will also run in the 200 at states after earning a time of 25.63, good enough for bronze.

Two more Green Dragons, Baylee Espinosa and Jenna Binney, clinched a trip to Shippensburg on Saturday. Espinosa won the 3200, setting a new district record as the only runner to break 11 minutes. Espinosa's 10.59.78 smashed the previous record set last year by Shikellamy's Bri Hennett by about eight seconds.

Binney also set a new district record with her first-place showing in the 1600 with a 5:05.03. Binney broke a record that had stood since 1986 by more than four seconds.

"It feels kinda surreal," Binney said. "I wouldn't have expected (breaking the record) coming into this. I knew I wanted to make the state time, but would've never I thought I would've won that. It's just kinda crazy."

Selinsgrove senior Abby Parise will also make a return trip to Shippensburg after winning the long jump title with a mark of 17-8 3/4. Parise ran in the 100-meter hurdles and 300 intermediates in last year's state meet.

Parise was out for most of the season with an injury and also took home silver in the 300 after finishing in 47.07. However, the time failed to qualify her for states in the event.

"It's a really good environment," Parise said. "I'm hoping that I can really push myself there with the tough competition, so I'm really excited.

"I was able to watch the long jump last year and get a good idea. So I'm hoping to do really good at states."

Danville's Victoria Bartholomew (3,200, 11:07. 41) and Shamokin's Alexis Bressi (800, 11:07.41) will also run in the state meet.