LOYSBURG — Hard work and dedication often pay handsome dividends for any athlete.

Northern Bedford Area High School senior distance running star Savanna Hershberger and junior throwing standout Bella Gable provided proof of that in the District 5 track and field meet held Wednesday at Panther Community Stadium.

Gable won the girls shot put with a throw of 36 feet, 4 and ¼ inches, earning herself a trip to the PIAA Class 2A track and field state meet May 23-24 at Shippensburg University’s Seth Grove Stadium.

Gable will be joined at the girls state meet by Hershberger, who finished second to Bedford’s Chloe May in the 3200 run, but met the state qualifying time by finishing the race in 11:28.

Northern Bedford girls coach Brittany Beach said that Hershberger and Gable have made it a practice of going the extra mile in their preparation during their entire career.

“They’re both awesome,” Beach said. “Bella is a hard worker who does everything that is asked of her, and she has always been dedicated in focusing on the little things that have made her success come together.

“Savanna has such a positive attitude, and she always stays late after practices to put in the hard work,” Beach added.

Gable defeated long-time nemesis Rachel Weber of Bedford in the shot put. Weber threw the shot 36 feet, 3 and ½ inches to finish second.

“I came in here with a lot of doubts, because I hadn’t been throwing that well recently,” Gable said. “I’m pretty proud of myself today. I was the top seed in the shot put, but (Weber) had beaten me in every single meet. I got it this time.”

Gable kicked off her day by singing the national anthem prior to Wednesday’s event, then finished second in the discus to Weber, who won that event with a throw of 109 feet, five inches. Weber threw the discus 98 feet, five inches.

“I was in pretty high spirits after singing the national anthem, and I threw the discus pretty decently,” Gable said. “Before the shot put event, I told my coach that we’re going to get this one.”

Beach said that Gable’s strongest event is the shot put, but that she has been making good progress in the discus all season.

Gable would like to earn a state placewinner’s medal for finishing among the top eight in the girls shot put next week.

“I’m ranked eighth in the state right now, and I want to place at states this year,” Gable said. “I’m real excited, that’s all that I can say.”

Hershberger was running the last event of her high school career on the Northern Bedford track Wednesday.

She made her finale a very good one, punching her ticket to the state meet with her qualifying time and second-place finish in the 3200 run.

“I always rely on my faith, and I’m so grateful and thankful to have the opportunity to come out here and race,” Hershberger said. “All the hard work and the early-morning runs have paid off today.

“I felt 100 percent in the 3200, my legs felt light, and I felt almost euphoric out there running,” Hershberger added.

Like Gable, Hershberger hopes to make her mark at the state meet next week.

“It’s not enough for me to just make it there, I want to make it on to the medals podium there,” Hershberger said.

The Bedford boys and girls teams both defended their District 5 team championships with strong showings Wednesday.

The Bedford girls won their fifth consecutive District 5 team title behind double-victory performances from Chloe May (1600 and 3200 runs) and Keira Koontz (100 and 300 hurdles). Along with Weber’s victory in the shot put, Jillian Beck won the long jump in individual competition for Bedford.

Bedford’s 1600 relay team of Grace Brallier, Amayah McAllister, Kate McDevitt and Alyssa Leydig took first place, as did Bedford’s 3200 relay team of Lindsay Patton, Brallier, Olivia Ritchey, and May.

“The girls team has been running well all season, and because we have so much team depth and so many talented girls runners, our girls only have to run two or three events as opposed to four, which helps us,” Bedford coach Brian Creps said.

Keira Koontz is shining as a freshman this season, finishing the 100 hurdles in 16.55 and the 300 hurdles in 49.17 Wednesday.

“We had a need for a hurdler this year, and Keira volunteered to do it even though she had never done the hurdles before,” Creps said. “I’m proud of the way that she has progressed this year.”

Koontz was happy in the aftermath of her events Wednesday.

“It took a lot of work, but I got it done,” Koontz said. “The last 100 meters of the 300 hurdles was really difficult, but I tried to stay confident and tell myself that I was going to run a good race and push through until the end.”

Koontz is looking forward to the state meet.

“I’m definitely real excited and real proud of myself for making it,” Koontz said. “I’d like to run the 100 hurdles in 15 seconds down there, and the 300 hurdles in 48 seconds.”

The Bedford boys team got first-place individual finishes from Henry Redinger in the 800 run and A.J. Koontz in the 110 hurdles, as well as first-place finishes in all three relay events. Ethan Yocum, Carson Lynch, A.J. Koontz and Owen Lantz won the 400 relay, Lantz, Redinger, Lynch and Brallier teamed to win the 1600 relay, and Joseph Pencil, Aaron Weiler, Lincoln Sipes and Redinger won the 3200 relay event.

“I felt good and strong today,” Redinger, a junior, said after winning the 800 run.

“Our boys team ran well today,” Creps said.

Chestnut Ridge crowned two boys individual champions in Gary McDonald (3200 run) and Aaron Ickes (pole vault).

Ickes won his first district championship in the pole vault as a senior this season after finishing second in the event in the last two years.

“I placed second twice in a row, so it’s definitely an accomplishment to be a district champion,” said Ickes, who registered a pole vault of 13 feet even. “I was trying for the school record of 13 feet, 11 inches, but I didn’t get it today.

“I’ll have another shot at it at states.”

BOYS

3200 relay-1, Bedford (Joseph Pencil, Aaron Weiler, Lincoln Sipes, Henry Redinger) 8:41.29. 2, MC 8:46.05. 3, SF 9:02.13. 4, CT 9:07.54. 5, BB 9:13.17. 6, WD 9:24.08. 110 hurdles-1, A.J. Koontz, BD 15.45. 2, Buterbaugh, MC 15.55. 3, Sherwood, EV 16.61. 4, Mellott, SF 16.83. 5, Yoder, CT 16.94. 6, Dilling, NB 17.38. 100-1, Cameron Dunn, CT 11.04. 2, Wharton, CR 11.29. 3, Suber, BB 11.31. 4, Lynch, BD 11.36. 5, G. Klosky, WD 11.59. 6, Yokum, BD 11.65. 1600-1, Teagan Ritz, SF 4:40.65. 2, McDonald, CR 4:50.77. 3, Brambley, BD 4:52.15. 4, Fraker, MC 4:58.18. 5, Calhoun, BD 4:58.67. 6, Hart, NB 5:07.31. 400-1, Dillon Defibaugh, CT 50.49. 2, Brallier, BD 51.68. 3, Poteat, EV 52.46. 4, Johnson, MC 52.77. 5, K. Klosky, WD 52.84. 6, Suber, BB 53.48. 400 relay-1, Bedford (Ethan Yokum, Carson Lynch, Joseph Brallier, Owen Lantz) 44.68. 2, CR 44.95. 3, CT 45.46. 4, MY 46.36. 5, TM 47.05. 6, EV 47.16. 300 hurdles-1, Caleb Buterbaugh, MC 40.74. 2, Mellott, SF 42.23. 3, Yoder, CT 44.29. 4, Minahan, WD 44.59. 5, Lepley, CT 45.54. 6, Dilling, NB 46.01. 800-1, Henry Redinger, BD 2:04.65. 2, Ritz, SF 2:07.78. 3, Weiler, Bd 2:08.28. 4, McClemens, CT 2:0842. 5, Ross, CR 2:10.30. 6, Bell, EV 2:10.85. 200-1, Dillon Defibaugh, CT 23.37. 2, Suber, BB 23.07. 3, Yokum, BD 23.59. 4, Easton, MY 23.54. 5, Dunn, CT 23.55. 6, Brallier, BD 23.20. 3200-1, Grady McDonald, CR 10:18.20. 2, Lease, CT 10:18.23. 3, Calhoun, BD 10:50.45. 4, McCoy, BD 10:55.65. 5, Ritz, SF 11:06.28. 6, Fletcher, MC 11:13.51. 1600 relay-1, Bedford (Owen Lantz, Henry Redinger, Carson Lynch, Joseph Brallier) 3:34.74. 2, MC 3:34.73. 3, BB 3:37.94. 4, WD 3:40.73 5, SF 3:42.13. 6, EV 3:44.33. Shot put-1, Jordan Synowietz, MY 52-2. 2, Dylan Mobus, EV 45-6 ½. 3, Joe O’Brian, NB 43-3 ¾. 4, Zach Winck, EV 42-9 ¾. 45, Jimmie Bard, SF 39-8 ¾. 6, Nathan Crownover, BD 39-7 ¾. Discus-1, Jordan Synowietz, MY 173-9 (meet record, Duane Knisley, Chestnut Ridge, 170-4, 2019). 2, Winck, EV 132-11. 3, Fisher, BD 129-6. 4, Mellott, MC 126-5. 5, Ingraham, BD 126-2. 6, Weyandt, WD 123-5. Javelin-1, Myles Bard, SF 153-3. 2, Morse, EV 138-8. 3, Bussard, EV 136-7. 4, J. Bard, SF 135-3. 5, Imler, CR 130-5. 6, Friend, MY 126-5. High jump-1, Jackson Sotosky, CT 6-2. 2, Krause, WD 6-0. 3, Schrock, BD 5-10. 4, Bell, EV 5-10. 5, Bard, SF 5-8. 6, Patterson, TM 5-8. Long jump-1, Jackson Sotosky, CT 22-2. 2, Lynch, BD 22-1. 3, G. Klosky, WD 21-10 ¼. 4, Krause, WD 20-6 ¼. 5, Claycomb, CR 19-10 ¼. 6, Bell, EV 19-9. Triple jump-1, Jackson Sotosky, CT 43-8 ½. 2, G. Klosky, WD 43-0 ½. 3, K. Klosky, WD 41-0. 4, Cessna, EV 40-9 ½. 5, Bell, EV 40-8. 6, Leasure, EV 38-9. Pole vault-1, Aaron Ickes, CR 13-0. 2, Mumma, MC 11-6. 3, Evans, BD 11-0. 4, Showalter, CR 10-0. 5, Iverson, CR 10-0. 6, Alexander, MC 9-6.

TEAM STANDINGS

1, Bedford-BD 123. 2, Conemaugh Township-CT 94. 3, Everett-EV 61.5. 4, Southern Fulton-SF 58. 5, tie, Chestnut Ridge-CR and McConnellsburg-MC 56. 7, Windber-WB 45.5. 8, Meyersdale-MY 29. 9, Berlin Brothersvalley-BB 23. 10, Northern Bedford-NB 9. 11, Tussey Mountain-TM 3.

GIRLS

3200 relay-1, Bedford (Lindsay Patton, Grace Brallier, Olivia Ritchey, Chloe May) 10:23.55. 2, WD 10:34.39. 3, NB 10:38.38. 4, CT 11:48.37. 5, MC 12:02.79. 6, MY 12:21.51. 100 hurdles-1, Keira Koontz, BD 16.55. 2, Sleek, CT 16.70. 3, Williams, TM 16.94. 4, M. Glessner, BB 17.26. 5, Hendershot, MC 17.41. 6, LaMarche, BD 17.87. 100-1, Izzy Slezak, CT 12.19. 2, Leydig, BD 12.79. 3, Zavorotny, BD 13.14. 4, Williams, TM 13.16. 5, Shaffer, EV 13.60. 6, McDevitt, BDF 13.65. 1600-1, Chloe May, BD 5:18.09. 2, Madison, SF 5:22.04. 3, Hershberger, NB 5:24.43. 4, Russo, WD 5:48.75. 5, Wise, BD 5:55.53. 6, Pemberton, BD 6:01.40. 400-1, Ellie Speigle, CT 1:00.36. 2, Bozovich, BB 1:00.54. 3, Kreydatus, CR 1:03.46. 4, Hershberger, BD 1:04.86. 5, Swank, CT 1:04.92. 6, Hiller, SF 1:05.29. 400 relay-1, Conemaugh Township (Ellie Speigle, Layla Overly, Danika Black, Izzy Slezak) 50.20. 2, BD 50.33. 3, NB 54.43. 4, WD 54.53. 5, EV 55.46. 6, MY 55.48. 300 hurdles-1, Keira Koontz, BD 49.17. 2, M. Glessner, BB 49.93. 3, Shuster, WD 50.07. 4, Kordell, CT 50.12. 5, Walz, WD 50.59. 6, Sollenberger, NB 51.62. 800-1, Julia Madison, SF 2:24.55. 2, Moyer, CR 2:31.78. 3, Ritchey, BD 2:34.89. 4, Hiller, SF 2:36.08. 5, Keebaugh, EV 2:38.89. 6, Hostetter, CT 2:39.20. 200-1, Izzy Slezak, CT 24.84 (Meet record, Izzy Slezak, 25.27, 2024). 2, Leydig, BD 27.07. 3, McAllister, BD 27.89. 4, Black, CT 28.22. 5, Overly, CT 28.44. 6, Sechler, BB 28.89. 3200-1, Chloe May, BD 11:19.73. 2, Hershberger, NB 11:28.25. 3, Russo, WD 12:32.43. 4, Hostetter, CT 13:14.32. 5, Wise, BD 13:28.36. 6, Pemberton, BD 13:44.56. 1600 relay-1, Bedford (Grace Brallier, Amayah McAllister, Katie McDevitt, Alyssa Leydig) 4:13.64. 2, BB 4:20.13. 3, CT 4:20.42. 4, WD 4:22.16. 5, CR 4:35.45. 6, NB 4:42.67. Shot put-1, Bella Gable, NB 36-4 ¼. 2, Weber, BD 36-3 ½. 3, Boyce, BB 30-8 ¼. 4, McCann, CT 30-6. 5, Parks, CR 30-1 ¾. 6, Yutzy, TM 29-8. Discus-1, Rachel Weber, BD 109-5. 2, Gable, NB 98-4. 3, McCann, CT 95-6. 4, Mickle, CR 91-10. 5, Yutzy, TM 90-6. 6, Smith, SF 86-8. Javelin-1, Katrina McCann, CT 114-3. 2, Reynolds, CT 112-9. 3, Parks, CR 109-2. 4, McGill, CR 105-11. 5, Yutzy, TM 103-6. 6, Keebaugh, EV 103-4. High jump-1, Baylee Sleek, CT 5-6 ½ (Meet record, Baylee Sleek, 5-6, 2004). 2, Brallier, BD 4-10. 3, Gelvin, MC 4-10. 4, McDevitt, BD 4-10. 5, Berkey, CT 4-8. 6, Hasenbuhler, FM 4-8. Long jump-1, Jillian Beck, BD 16-9. 2, Taylor, CR 15-11. 3, Shaffer, EV 15-10 ½. 4, LaMarche, BD 15-6. 5, Hershberger, BD 14-9 ½. 6, Short, MY 14-8 ½. Triple jump-1, Heather Carney, WD 34-6. 2, Shaffer, EV 33-11 ¼. 3, Taylor, CR 32-6 ¾. 4, Baker, NB 32-6 ½. 5, Sechler, BB 31-7 ¼. 6, Detterline, NB 31-6 ¼. Pole vault-1, tie, Sophia Genditzki, BD and Pacey Oyler, WD, 9-6. 3, Martz, BD 9-0. 4, A. Glessner, BB 9-0. 5, Sumner, TM 9-0. 6, Zavorotny, BD 8-6.

TEAM STANDINGS

1, Bedford-BD 176. 2, Conemaugh Township-CT 115. 3, Windber-WD 53. 4, Northern Bedford-NB 51. 5, Chestnut Ridge-CR 46. 6, Berlin Brothersvalley-BB 41. 7, Southern Fulton-SF 24. 8, Everett-EV 21. 9, Tussey Mountain-TM 17. 10, McConnellsburg-MC 10. 11, Meyersdale-MY 3. 12, Fannett-Metal-FM 1.