SELINSGROVE - The Selinsgrove Classic has turned into a great early-season measuring stick.
In many cases, the area's boys are ahead of where they were at this point last year, while the girls have some catching up to do.
To illustrate that point, there were seven gold medals claimed by area participants on the boys side in Saturday's third annual event, while the girls went without a champ.
Southern Columbia's Matt Moore (110-meter high hurdles and 300-meter intermediate hurdles) and Tom Schetroma (shot put and discus) were each individual double winners.
Shamokin's Matt Gass won the 400-meters and teamed up with Zach Santey, Brandon Nash and Davey Williams to win the 1,600-meter relay.
Mount Carmel's Mikael Hause made sure the Red Tornadoes got to the top of medal stand by winning the individual 1,600-meter race.
Team scores were not kept, but Southern Columbia boys' coach Lanny Conner would have liked his chances.
Joey Kleman added to the good overall day with a second in the 200-meter race, and Andrew Steeley just lost to Hause in the 1,600.
"We ended up with four firsts and two seconds," Conner said. "They're not going to score the meet, but I'll go home and score it myself because I'm curious to see, but we'd end up 70 points and put us at least in the top five."
Moore should have gotten credit for three golds, but only because the 110s had to be run twice after it was discovered the clock malfunctioned.
"The 110s were good the first time and it felt pretty good," Moore said. "I think that tired me out for the 100s. I was really happy to get under 40 in the 300s."
He then finished eighth in the 100-meter sprint, before setting a meet record with his 39.54-second 300 intermediate race.
"Matt Moore had a great day," Conner said. "He was clean on the 80 and might have been two or three tenths faster. In the intermediates, he's only 5/100ths off of his silver-medal time at states last year, and into this wind.
"I told him he had get out fast, use his body strength against the wind and then even if he was gassed on the last straightaway the wind was going to carry him. For him to run under 40 (seconds) this early in the season is. ...I don't know what we're going to see. It's going to be fun to watch, I'll tell you that."
Schetroma beat out Mount Carmel's Eric Joraskie by eight inches in the discus, and also won the shot put.
Gass led a near Shamokin sweep in the 400. The Indians' senior beat Mount Carmel's Meyrick Lamb by .75 seconds, then Shamokin's Brandon Nash and Shane Williams came in third and fourth, respectively.
Then the 1,600-meter relay, what could have been the most competitive relay race of the afternoon, was decided in separate heats.
Shamokin won with a time of 3:32.81, and Mount Carmel finished second with a 3:33.02, but the two best teams were in different heats because of a computer glitch. Fans will get to see who is better when they go head-to-head at a dual meet Thursday.
"Our relays are our strengths, and we build from our relays out to our individuals on the track," Shamokin head coach Mike Rogers said. "I don't think the intensity was there that we had Tuesday, but we still performed well. We probably didn't hit the times we wanted to, but you have those days."
Mount Carmel head coach Mike Farronato wanted to see more intensity from his team, and was happy with their effort.
"I really happy with today because is the first season that I'm coaching that we're coming into the season without a winter track season to use as conditioning," Farronato said. "It's the last three weeks of the season that really count, and if anything this might hold off our peak off a little more."
Indicative of the extra effort he saw was Hause's last 30 yards along the homestretch to catch and pass Steeley in the 1,600. Hause also finished fifth in the 800.
"We needed to come in and finish races and I thought we did that a lot better today," Farronato said.
Other male medalists were: second - Davey Williams, Shamokin (100); third - Robbie Varano, Mount Carmel (pole vault); fourth - Alec Zsido, Mount Carmel (pole vault), Steeley (3,200); fifth - Meyrick Lamb, Mount Carmel (200); Justin Skavery, Mount Carmel (1,600); Jacob Kleman, Mount Carmel (300 hurdles); Southern Columbia (400-relay); Ray Heromin, Mount Carmel (javelin); Joraskie (shot put); sixth - Joey Kleman (100); Drevin Miller, Shamokin (200); Southern Columbia (1,600-relay and 3,200 relay); Heromin (discus).
The female medalists were: second - Megan Van Doren, Mount Carmel (high jump); third - Heather Bolick, Mount Carmel (javelin); Samantha Zelinskie, Shamokin (shot put); Gabby Engelke, Mount Carmel (pole vault); Brooke Adamski, Southern Columbia (pole vault); fourth - Engelke (javelin); fifth - Teanna Shutt, Southern Columbia (800); Ali Varano, Mount Carmel (long jump); sixth - Renae Brocious, Shamokin (shot put); Adriana Townsend, Southern Columbia (pole vault).