A pair of Pottsville-area high schools feasted the day after Easter during the Tamaqua High School Track and Field Invitational Monday.

The Nativity BVM boys sprinted past the host team for a 173-141 victory, while Pottsville Area’s girls edged Tamaqua 156-142. On a day blessed with perfect weather, both team titles came down to final event results.

The Green Wave were led by a strong group of sprinters, headlined by senior Noah Dolbin and Michael Stank.

Dolbin — a Division I football recruit committed to the U.S. Military Academy at West Point — earned three first-place medals, winning the 110-meter hurdles (14.46), the 300 hurdles (39.24), and the long jump (21-10.50). Marian’s Jacob Tom was second in the long jump, while Tamaqua’s Luis Sanchez finished third in the 300 hurdles.

Stank picked up a pair of wins for Nativity, claiming the 400-meter dash (51.15) ahead of Tom, and the 200 (21.30), where he edged Mahanoy Area’s Jose Figuereo-Perez. Nativity’s 4x800 relay team — consisting of Stank, Liam Messina, Nash Stehr and Nolan Daynorowicz — beat Tamaqua with a time of 8:26.36. The Blue Raiders finished in 9:01.81.

Tamaqua added a 1-2 finish in the triple jump behind freshman Terrance McDowell and Scott Case, both recording marks of 37-1.

In the 1600-meter run, Tamaqua’s Aiden Elston (4:54.49) and Anthony Marchetti (5:02.44) finished first and second, respectively. Marchetti also placed third in the 3200 (10:54), with Nativity’s Bill Mayberry taking first (10:42).

Messina added another win for Nativity in the high jump (5-08), edging Panther Valley’s Mrgim Neziri (5-04) and Tamaqua’s Victor Schlosser (5-04).

Lehighton’s Emma Repsher won the javelin with a mark of 131-3, beating Weatherly’s Kelly Reiner (103-0). Repsher established an area best in the javelin with her mark, beating her previous best of 129-2.

Tamaqua head coach Jim McCabe was pleased with the performance of his teams.

“I’ve said this time and again as a coach: what we really need to do is focus on getting better — one percent better every day,” said McCabe, who also coaches boys soccer and wrestling. “A lot of our kids say, ‘Why am I not jumping higher or running faster?’ All we want is that one percent improvement every time we practice or compete. That’s all.”

That mindset showed in the girls 3200 relay, where Tamaqua won in 11:45.04. Madelyn Schaefer ran the opening leg and also earned a second-place finish in the 800 (2:41.65). Andrea Betz, Lila Stegemerten and Kiely Kunkel ran the remaining legs of the relay, which finished ahead of Marian. The same quartet later added a second-place finish in the 1600 (4:31.29) behind Pottsville (4:19.06).

“We all work very hard in practice, and we wanted to make sure our handoffs were smooth,” said Schaefer. “We’re already running faster than last year, so I think we’ll only get better. In the 800, I know with more practice I’ll improve. I feel pretty confident.”

Tamaqua senior Samantha Plasha, fresh off basketball season, had a standout day, winning the pole vault (10-0) and high jump, and finishing second in the long jump. Plasha is aiming to top the school record of 10-6 in the pole vault.

“I feel very strong in the pole vault,” she said. “That’s my main goal, but I enjoy competing in all of the events.”

Marian head coach Justin Hugel saw promise in his girls squad despite limited outdoor practice due to weather.

“We really haven’t had a lot of time outdoors,” Hugel said. “But we’ve got some promise. Our relay teams should do pretty well as we get more meets in. It’s looking pretty promising right now.”

Marian’s 400 relay team — Caitlyn Kovatch, Gabriella Osenbach, Addison Fritz and Alizabeth Pikitus — posted a winning time of 53.16, holding off a strong Tamaqua team.

“We haven’t had a lot of outdoor practice,” said Pikitus, who competed indoors during the winter. “But we’ll get better once we get more time outside.”

Fritz, recently honored as a third-team all-state basketball selection — was also encouraged.

“We all work hard in practice,” she said. “It’s just a matter of perfecting our timing and handoffs. Our times are pretty good right now, and with more work they’ll drop.”

ON THE SIDE … The meet was rescheduled due to earlier inclement weather, which caused several schools to drop out. McCabe noted that athletes, especially wrestlers, often face packed schedules — implying the quick turnaround wasn’t a concern. Some schools scheduled meets for the following day.

ALSO AT THE MEET … Kutztown sent several athletes, including Joey Ruth, who competed in the javelin, discus and shot put. His father previously coached football at Shenandoah Valley and North Schuylkill. Ruth placed second in the discus (140-1), behind Pottsville’s Galen Rayn (143-9).