SHIPPENSBURG - Brooke Cope made her first throw at the PIAA Track and Field Championships count.

The Jim Thorpe junior launched her opening throw in the third flight of the Class AAA javelin 139-3, a toss that ultimately gave Cope a fifth-place finish and her first state medal.Cope previously took 16th in 2015 and 18th in 2014 in the event."It's really nice considering this is my third year here and it's my first time getting a medal," Cope said.After getting what would be her best throw out of the gate, Cope admitted it relaxed her for the rest of the competition."It took all the pressure away because I knew I was going to make finals," she said. "I was confident in my first throw."On the hottest day of the weekend, Cope, who was seeded seventh, knew she would have to make some adjustments to reach the podium for the first time.With a slick and worn out runway to deal with, Cope and several other competitors moved to the right side to get better traction before making their throws, with great results."The middle of the runway is all torn up and if you go down the middle, your feet slide, so going to the right was definitely a better option," Cope said of the strategy. "When I was here last year, I went down the middle and I slipped."So Thursday when we came down for practice, I knew I was going to go to the right side. Most of the girls did that. There were only a couple of girls in the third flight that did go down the middle."Earned ItMarian's Dominic Mussoline and Tamaqua's Monika Shimko each took eighth in the boys and girls Class AA 800, respectively.The eighth-place finishes were hard fought for both Mussoline and Shimko, who had to hold off late surges in the final 100 meters to secure their medals.Mussoline, who has had a stellar season and entered the event as the seventh overall seed, admitted his finishes were an area where he was weak."Out of the four 200s in the 800, the third one is always my slowest, no matter what, even if I try to make it my fastest, it's just always my slowest," Mussoline said. "Guess where my coaches were standing? Right at the 300 mark."Normally I don't hear anything during my races but you could bet I heard all of them screaming that there were 300 meters left. That's usually my weakest spot. I knew if I could conquer that obstacle I would end up on the podium."Mussoline's late push helped him to a personal best time of 1:55.44, something he never thought possible."I'm speechless to see everything I've been doing since (the indoor track season) in December payoff for this right here. It's awesome," Mussoline said of his medal. "If you would have told me I would have been running a 1:55, be on the podium, at the beginning of the year, I wouldn't have taken you seriously."It's honestly a dream come true. I've been working for this and to stand on that podium. To run a 1:55, I'm pretty proud of myself."Shimko also recorded a personal best time of 2:18.56 to earn her first medal in her third try in the event.While happy with her place, Shimko confessed she is always searching for more speed."I'm satisfied with getting a medal, but my time wasn't as fast as I wanted it to be," she said. "That's something I really want to work on next season."My goal for this season was to get a 2:17.8 because that was the school record. But I'll have to settle for hopefully getting it next season."As for the present, the junior wanted to get out fast. When she found herself in the lead on the first lap, Shimko acknowledged she might have executed her plan a little too well."I was kind of surprised when I was leading off the turn (two) over there because that kind of scared me a little bit," she said. "But I tried to stay with it and find a girl with a pace. So it was good. It worked somewhat."I still felt pretty strong at the end. It felt good."RedemptionPalmerton's Logan Blasiak entered the Class AA pole vault as the top seed.Though Blasiak didn't leave Shippensburg University's Seth Grove stadium with a gold medal, the senior exorcised demons of a year ago when he failed to record a height by taking eighth place for his first state medal.While Blasiak was happy with the individual accolade, he was more proud of joining teammates Spencer Hay and Brinn Doherty on the podium. Hay won the Class AA high jump while Doherty took sixth in the AA long jump Friday."I'm stoked to bring back a medal to Palmerton," Blasiak said. "Along with my other teammates, it's definitely cool."I was hoping to do a little bit better, but it was my first time ever jumping in weather like this after jumping in cooler temperatures the last few weeks. You can't always guarantee what's going to happen, but it's something different."Blasiak made the best of the situation. Once he cleared the opening height of 12-6, Blasiak went over 13-6 on his third attempt, but was unable to get over 14-0.But after last year's disappointment, Blasiak came in ready to perform Saturday."I definitely felt more comfortable this year than I did last year," he said. "I was in my zone more this year, and I was able to settle down and get some vaults in."I felt good over the first two bars. I was looking for the gold medal, but it just didn't happen."FINAL TIME … Brooke Cope wasn't the only Lady Olympian - or Cope - to compete in the Class AAA javelin, as her sister Autumn, who is a senior, was also in the event. Though they didn't finish together on the podium- Autumn took 26th - Brooke was happy to compete with her sister one more time. "I wish that she would have done better because I know that she's capable of more than what she did today," said Brooke. "But I'm still happy to compete with her one last time. And it's the best place to compete, at the state meet."EXTRA INCENTIVE … After getting passed at the finish in both the 800 and 1600 at the Schuylkill League meet in 2015 - and knowing a medal was on the line - Shimko wasn't about to get nipped at the end again. "I was really remembering at leagues a couple of years ago, and that just keeps playing in my mind," Shimko said of the finishes. "The feeling of knowing a medal is so close, and that if a girl leans too far she can take it. I just remembered that feeling, and that pushed me a little bit." Shimko took second in the 800 that day with a time of 2:24.76 to Blue Mountain's Emily Leymeister's 2:23.95, and was a runner-up to the Lady Eagles' Caroline Rickard (5:28.40), finishing in 5:28.61.TEAM STANDINGS … Hickory won the Class AA girls team title with 48 points, while Cheltenham took the AAA girls team title, also with 48 points. Schuylkill Valley won the Class AA boys championship with 39 points; State College took the AAA boys title with 54 points.