Lancaster Catholic and Manheim Central have new state champions after Friday’s PIAA State Track & Field Championships at Shippensburg.

Click on photo above for video of Margaret Bila’s winning discus throw.

District III throwers threw their names in for the top spot on the podium early on Friday.

Lancaster Catholic’s Margaret Bila picked the perfect time and place to throw a personal best of 140.6, which was also the best distance for the Girls 2A Discus, adding a little more gold to the purple and gold of the Crusaders.

“140 is a big personal record for me, by six feet at least,” said Bila with a smile. “My coach kept telling me it’s not over until it’s over. The girl who got second was biting at my heels so I just had to not get too confident or cocky about my place.”

Bila also took home the gold in the District 3, Class 2A Discus Throw with a 134-04 distance.

Another Lanc-Leb student athlete saved her best for last. Manheim Central’s Laci Nelson didn’t even make states last year, but in the 3A Shot Put, it was her 40-2.5 that no one could touch to take the state crown.
“I just won districts, so that was already super exciting since I didn’t even place the last two years. Being seeded fourth also helped with my confidence, so it was just exciting,” said Nelson.

Nelson also took home the bronze third place medal in the District 3, Class 3A tournament last week.

Both Bila and Nelson are juniors and they now have their sights set on state and school records next year.

Click on the photo below for Laci Nelson’s Gold performance in her shot put throw.