And for the boys Class AA team title, as many of Hughesville’s athletes as possible crowded on top of the podium as the Spartans were announced as the boys Class AA champs.

And boy, there were a lot of medalists.

Kaviko Faulkner, Spencer Stine, Tyce Shaner, Tristan Kurzawa, Wyatt Laubacher, Brendan Wolfgang, Sam Haddon, Jack Smith, Carter Gormont, Carter Sherwood and Patrick Stine, among others, stood on the podium as they all had their medals draped around their necks.

Those 11 Spartans qualified for the state meet on the boys side and another seven qualified for the girls as Hughesville is more than well represented at Shippensburg this weekend.

Katelyn Temple hands off to Grace Fortin of Hughesville during the 4x800m during the District IV track & field championships at Milton High School Saturday afternoon. DAVE KENNEDY/Sun-Gazette

“We were expecting a victory if we all run what we need to,” Hughesville’s Kaviko Faulkner said after winning district gold in the 110 hurdles. “Maybe a few PRs here and there, but we all put in the work over the season.”

And that showed at districts. Now, the next step is the state meet.

Faulkner is state-bound in both the 110 and 300 hurdles events thanks to two gold medals while Spencer Stine took won the 100 and took silver in the 200 to qualify for states. Shaner is another two-event qualifier individually by doing so in both the 800 and 1,600 with wins in each at districts. Kurzawa qualified in the 800 and Wyatt Laubacher in the 1,600.

Sam Haddon, Spencer Stine, Jack Smith and Carter Gormont qualified in the 400 relay and Kurzawa, Sherwood, Patrick Stine and Shaner qualified in the 3,200 relay.

“It’s so crazy that even freshman year when I looked at people going to states, we had like two relay teams, maybe a jumper and me in the hurdles,” Hughesville’s Kylie Temple said . “But now just looking around and half of our team is going to states? It’s so cool to see.”

Grace Fortin wins the 800m race during the District IV track & field championships at Milton High School Saturday afternoon. DAVE KENNEDY/Sun-Gazette

Temple is one of Hughesville’s seven state qualifiers on the girls side and is a defending state champion as she will attempt to defend her 300 Class AA hurdles title.

Casey Schultz qualified in the 100 and 200 and is part of the 400 relay, Grace Fortin qualified in the 800 and 3,200 relay, and Kylie and Katelyn Temple qualified in the 300 hurdles and 400, respectively, and are also both part of all three relay teams going to Shippensburg (400, 1,600 and 3,200).

Sierra DeWire is part of the 400 and 1,600 relays as well and Emelia Wolfe is running in the 3,200 relay.

On the boys side, Hughesville’s Haddon, Sherwood, Faulkner and Stine are running in the 1,600 relay.

“We have someone going to states in almost all of our track events,” Kylie Temple said. “Looking around and seeing half of these kids and get top-2 finishes and qualifying times, it just shows how much effort has been put into our program and how much effort all the kids put in.”

Grace Fortin of Hughesville receives the gold medal after winning the 800m during the District IV track & field championships at Milton High School Saturday afternoon. DAVE KENNEDY/Sun-Gazette

Those 18 Spartans going to states is a testament to the hard work and practice they all put in, and how coaches Rick Glenwright and Griffin Molino have gotten the best out of their athletes who wear the green and white.

“I go to practice and everyone’s going to push their hardest and everyone’s going to try to best of their abilities,” Kylie Temple said. “I think that just speaks levels to Hughesville.”

Hughesville’s girls 3,200 relay team enters the state meet as the top-seeded 3,200 Class AA relay team in the state with their district-winning time of 9:14.64. Central Cambria is seeded second and has a time 16 seconds slower than the Spartans. If Hughesville runs another outstanding race like they did at districts, they can easily be near or at the top of the podium.

The Spartans’ girls 400 relay team is also the top team in the field with their time of 48.47. Hughesville enters states as the only 400 relay team in Class AA to break 49 seconds as Mifflinburg is second (49.16) and Wyomissing is third (49.34). Hughesville’s girls 1,600 relay team is seeded at the top as well in Class AA in 3:59.27, the only school to break the four-minute mark at districts. Their time is four seconds better than Wyomissing (4:03.01).

Katelyn Temple is seeded third in the 400 with her district-winning time of 57.23. She is behind only Seneca’s Brenna Kuhl (56.10) and Neshannock’s Kaley Cubellis (56.73).

Runners take their first strides in the second heat of the boys 1600m race during the District IV track & field championships at Milton High School Saturday afternoon. DAVE KENNEDY/Sun-Gazette

Kylie Temple, as noted, is the defending state champ in the 300 hurdles and is the top seed in the field in Class AA. She won districts with a time of 43.67 and was the only runner in Class AA to break the 44-second mark at districts. Wyomissing’s Lily Paolini is second in 44.81.

Grace Fortin is seeded second in the 800 with a time of 2:16.44 and is behind only Kuhl’s time of 2:15.15. That means the 800 should be an exciting finish as Cathedral Prep’s Fina Bannister is seeded third in 2:16.70, just behind Fortin.

In boys competition, Hughesville’s 3,200 relay team is seeded second in 7:56.28, just three seconds behind Lewisburg (7:53.37).

Faulkner is seeded 12th in the 110 hurdles and Wolfgang is seeded 13th. In the 300 hurdles, however, Faulkner is seeded sixth with a time of 39.17.

Shaner has the sixth-best time in the 1,600 in 4:18.90 and is behind only Fort LeBoeuf’s Blake Glass (4:13.17), Elk Lake’s Kendel Jones (4:14.84), Quaker Valley’s Jonah Montagnese (4:17.15), Regina Luminis’ Gabe Simkiss (4:17.55) and North Catholic’s Jack Steinman (4:18.31). In the 800, Shaner is seeded 11th.

Hughesville’s boys 1,600 relay team is the fifth seed in 3:25.26 behind only Catasaqua, Warrior Run, Dunmore and Notre Dame Green Pond.

What does that mean for Hughesville and its fans? Well, if the Spartans all run their best like they did at districts, it means an awful lot of medals could be coming back to Hughesville on Saturday evening.