That quest begins in Milton as the Black Panthers host the event this year due to construction ongoing at Williamsport High School.

So, lets take a look at some interesting things to keep an eye on at the District 4 track and field championships, which begin with the first day of competition on Thursday and wrapping up Saturday afternoon.

SISTER ACT

Williamsport’s Sanders sisters — Isabelle and Madeline — are having outstanding seasons this spring and are hoping that carries into the District 4 championships.

TIM WEIGHT/For The Express Williamsport’s Isabelle Morrow broke the school record this year in the high jump by clearing 5 feet, 7 inches and Morro is a favorite to win District 4 Class AAA gold in said event.

Isabelle holds the school record in the 1,600 and has the area’s only sub-five minute time witha. mark of 4:55.01. Even more impressive is the fact in Williamsport’s long history of track and field standout athletes, no girl runner ever has run a sub-five minute 1,600 prior to Sanders this past Saturday at the PHAC Championships.

Sanders also has run a 2:13.99 in the 800, the second-best area time in Class AAA in the event behind her sister. Madeline ran a 2:12.72 this year in the event. Madeline also has the area’s top 3,200 time in 10:52.48, almost a minute faster than the area’s next top two-mile time (Loisa Hofstrom, 11:47.89).

Isabelle dropped almost almost five and a half seconds in the 1,600. Her original school record was a 5:00.52 before running a 4:55.01 on Saturday. That’s an outstanding time drop heading into the district tournament and without question gives Isabelle a huge confidence boost if she didn’t already have one.

Both Madeline and Isabelle were state-bound last year, and they wanna get back again this year.

They’re both outstanding distance runners, so expect them to put on a great performance in both events once again this year.

RALPH WILSON/Sun-Gazette Correspondent Williamsport's Alex Takach competes in the boys 100 during the District 4 Class AAA track and field championships last spring. Takach won two District 4 gold medals last year and is looking for success again this year.

GOING HIGHER?

Isabelle Morrow of Williamsport was more than surprised when she broke the school record earlier this year when she cleared 5 feet, 7 inches. She knew she could do it, but to see the mark be official was a pleasant surprise. Morrow admitted after the Lock Haven High School Classic that being able to reach that mark was a confidence boost for the already talented high jumper — and triple and long jumper — as the District 4 championships get underway.

No one this year has jumped higher in Class AAA in the area in the high jump. In fact, Morrow’s the only area Class AAA competitor to go higher than 5-0. But nothing’s a given when it comes to competition, and Morrow knows she’ll have to be her best in Milton to secure another trip to the state championships.

That includes athletes like Shamokin’s Gabby Jacoby and Jersey Shore’s Elizabeth Hollick who could push Morrow.

EXCITING RACES ON DECK

TIM WEIGHT/Special to the Sun-Gazette Hughesville’s Kylie Temple won a state title in the Class AA 300 hurdles last year in Shippensburg and the Spartan hopes to close her career with another gold medal. She has the area’s best time in the 300 hurdles event.

Both the Class AAA 100 and 200 races are going to be fun ones for fans to watch. Last weekend’s PHAC Championships are a prime example of why.

In the boys 100 at Bloomsburg, Williamsport’s Alex Takach ran an 11.21 and Nathaniel Woods ran an 11.22 to take second and third, respectively, and Takach was just 0.10 seconds behind Mifflinburg’s Landen Murray.

The 200 was even a closer race as Takach, Woods and Montoursville’s Bryce Winslow went 1-2-3 in 22.30, 22.53 and 22.67. The top 3 finishers separated by just 0.37 seconds? That’s fun to watch at the finish line.

Even more so given those three will all be running on Saturday at the District 4 championships too since Montoursville and Williamsport are both in Class AA.

Takach leads the area with a season-best time of 22.00 and Winslow ran a 22.39 earlier this season. Woods’ best time this year? A 22.24. That means those three are separated by just 0.39 seconds in their season-best times. Iron sharpens iron when it comes to competition, and those three are going to be pushing one another to run their absolute best times.

Get your popcorn ready for the 200 — or rather, another snack at the concession stand at Milton — because that will be fun to watch down the stretch.

WHAT, OH WHAT, TO RUN?

Lewisburg senior Baylee Espinosa won two state titles last spring at Shippensbrug when she won gold in both the 1,600 and 3,200 events. We’ll see which events Espinosa competes in this year, however. She’s run the 3,200, 1,600 and 800 throughout the year.

At the PHAC Championships this past weekend in Bloomsburg, Espinosa competed in the 1,600 individually and was part of Lewisburg’s 1,600 relay team. In the 1,600, she ran a 4:58.81 and was behind only Williamsport standout Isabelle Sanders (4:55.01), who broke a league record in the process. Espinosa’s time was the highest among the Class AA runners at the league meet, however, and Sanders and her were the only two runners to break five minutes.

Espinosa has the area’s best time in the 800 this year with a time of 2:14.86 and the best time in the 1,600 in Class AA in 4:58.81. And, as fans know from last year, Espinosa is one of the best when it comes to the two-mile event. However, it appears the 800 and 1,600 is where Espinosa will be running this year.

There’s no doubt either that Espinosa will be motivated to win another state gold medal in the 800 to make it 3 for 3 in distance events.

“I learned to love the 800 more of an event as time goes on. I don’t know what decision will be,” Espinosa said at the Lock Haven High School Classic this year regarding what events she was leaning towards for the postseason.

MOTIVATION

As a freshman last year, Loyalsock’s Zaryah Hawkins-Pegues had a lot of success. She set the freshman school record in the shot put and qualified for the state meet. Last year in Shippensburg, she just missed out on the podium as she finished in 11th place with a throw of 35 feet, 4 inches. She was just two feet behind eighth-place finisher Victorya Byler of Sharon.

Consider that some extra motivation for Hawkins-Pegues this year. No doubt the Lancer is eyeing another trip to Shippensburg and wants to do better than her freshman campaign.

The good news for the Lancer is she’s well exceeded expectations into her sophomore campaign. She has a season-bes tthrow this year of 39-7, already more than four feet better than what she threw last year in the state meet. For comparison, if she threw 39-7 at states, it would be good for third place based on last year’s finishes.

Nothing’s guaranteed though, and Hawkins-Pegues will have solid competition in the shot put. That includes Canton’s Alexis McRoberts, who has the top throw in the area this year with a mark of 39-7 1/2. Expect McRoberts and Hawkins-Pegues to push one another in Milton. Lewisburg’s Gwynn Rowe should be in the mix as well and Mount Carmel’s Mia Haggerty has improved throughout the year.

Hawkins-Pegues took fifth at the PHAC Championships (34-5).

THREE FOR THREE?

Lewisburg’s Lydia Delsite has been having an absolutely outstanding season this year. Be it the triple jump, long jump or high jump, the Green Dragon keeps coming up big and placing. She was a three-time winner at the PHAC Championships in said events and that’s a huge confidence boost for her right before the District 4 championships.

Delsite showed her talents at the Lock Haven High School Classic by taking wins in the triple and long jumps as well, setting a meet record that day in Lock Haven in the triple jump.

Milton’s Elizabeth Schrock and Mount Carmel’s Hannah Fourspring could give Delsite a run in the triple jump as both did well at PHACs in said event. And in the long jump, expect Jaynah Jones of Milton and MIfflinburg’s Makayla Martin to try to give Delsite a run, in addition to Bloomsburg’s Lucy Maclay as they all placed top-8 at PHACs. Schrock has the area’s second-best jump in the Class AA triple jump this year.

In the long jump, Madalynn Bailey of Williamson has the second-best jump in Class AA in the area at 17-6 and could challenge Delsite.

In the high jump? Delsite is tied with Hughesville’s Casey Schultz for the highest height cleared this year at 5-4. Delsite is used to jumping with talented athletes though. At the Bald Eagle Invitational at Lock Haven, the Lock Haven High School Classic and this past week’s PHAC Championships, Delsite competed with Williamsport’s Isabelle Morrow, who cleared 5-7 earlier this year.

Could Delsite go 3 for 3 in the jumps at districts? We’ll have to wait and see, but no doubt she’s definitely a favorite in Class AA in those events given what she’s done the past month on the track.

AROUND THE AREA

• Wellsboro’s Piper Hoprich is a two-state state medalist and she’s no doubt a favorite to win two more gold medals on Saturday in district competition to get back to Shippensburg. Not many area Class AA girls can run and stay with Hoprich in either the 100 or 200. The Green Hornet has proven she’s unbelievably fast and she’s backed it up again this year.

She has the area’s top mark in the 100 this year when she ran a school-record time of 11.91 — almost a second faster than Casey Schultz of Hughesville’s best time — and in the 200, she has the area’s best time in 25.09. In the 200, it should be an exciting race however with Hughesville standout Kylie Temple having ran a 25.83 earlier this year and Warrior Run’s Natalie Hall running a 25.96 earlier in the season. Those three all being within less than a second of one another means if Temple and Hall both run in said race, it’ll be fun to watch for fans.

• Speaking of Temple, will anyone dethrone her in the 300 hurdles this year at districts? Probably not. Temple seems to be on another level than other hurdlers. She ran a time of 43.66 earlier this year in the 300 hurdles and no area Class AA 300 hurdler is even close to her time, the next best time being Katherine Batkowski of Lewisburg, who ran a 47.34. Once Temple gets on the straight stretch and final turn, she’s gone and not many can track her down.

No doubt Temple wants to close her senior year and career as a Spartan with one more gold medal at the state meet. And she’s got a good chance to do just that.

• Aubrey Phillips-Cobb of Williamsport has been having an outstanding season in the 100 hurdles this year and the Millionaire has a solid chance to make a repeat trip to the state meet in Class AAA competition. She is the only area runner to go sub-15 in the 100 hurdles in Class AAA this year with a time of 14.97. The next fastest area runner is Central Mountain’s Macia Owens (15.75) and Sarah Hall of Central Mountain (15.99). Jersey Shore’s Elizabeth Hollick ran a 16.08 earlier this year in the 100 hurdles and could push Phillips-Cobb, but Hollick will have to run her best.

• Williamsport’s Aamiyah Gallishaw PR’d at the PHAC championships in the long jump by hitting a mark of 16-6 1/2, PR’ing by almost four inches. Doing so a week before districts is a huge positive step for the Millionaire and will give her confidence heading to Milton. She has the second-best long jump time in the area behind only teammate Morrow (17-9 1/2).

• Another area athlete who reached a PR at the PHAC Championships last week was Williamsport’s Cordoza Minor and Lewisburg’s Rebira Jemama. Minor PR’d by almost two feet in the shot put by throwing 51-0 after his previous mark was 49-4 1/2. And for Jemama, he had a distance of 42-1 in the triple jump and jumped 42-7 3/4 last Saturday. Both of those athletes will be looking to reach the podium in their respective events as well.