BUFFALO TWP — Kim Mixon was at dinner when she found out.

Kylie Shiring heard the news from a tweet while at the mall.

Neither could believe it.

Freeport seniors Mixon and Shiring had left the high school track an hour earlier thinking the Yellowjackets' girls track and field team had failed to advance to the WPIAL Class AA team championships for the first time in eight seasons only to find out later that they had indeed qualified after the narrowest of wins over Southmoreland at the team semifinals on a blustery Tuesday afternoon.

“We actually had no clue,” Mixon said. “A couple of coaches called me and I was like, 'What? That's crazy.'”

Shiring got a call from Austin Romanchak, who told her to check her Twitter feed for some surprising news.

“I saw the tweet from (assistant coach Talan) Conjack,” Shiring said. “I couldn't believe it.”

Freeport trailed Southmoreland by a rather large margin midway through the WPIAL Class AA team semifinals.

But when the final score was tabulated, checked, double-checked and triple-checked, the Yellowjackets won, 76-74.

Freeport also beat California (95-54) and Quaker Valley (97-51).

“When we left the meet, we were all pretty bummed,” Mixon said. “Now we're all kind of shocked.”

Much like the huge swing of emotion following the meet, Freeport's season has seen its fair share of ups and downs.

Most of the downs came earlier in the season as injuries and a loss to Burrell put Freeport in a very precarious position to even make the team playoffs.

“The girls, hat's off to them,” said Freeport boys and girls track and field coach John Gaillot. “They're great girls. They're just tough. They always try to find a way and some of them competed with injuries — they run and they have tears in their eyes after. As a coach, you can't ask any more than that. Freeport girls are tough. They're as tough as nails. I'd take them any day of the week.”

Just to get into the semifinals, the Freeport girls needed to win a tiebreaker over Riverview after the meet ended in a 75-75 deadlock.

“When we lost to Burrell, we hit a low,” Shiring said. “But the big thing was our girls put up a fight. We don't give up easily.”

The Yellowjackets made the most of the opportunity they earned.

They didn't know it at the time, but the 1,600-meter relay team of Maggie Ward, Shiring, Sidney Shemanski and Mixon had to finish first to have a chance to beat Southmoreland.

They did, winning by a comfortable margin.

Shemanski won the 800-meter run and Asti Brestenski won the pole vault to help Freeport to the win.

Gaillot was beaming after he discovered his girls had pulled out a victory.

“Unbelievable,” the coach said. “Where we were at the beginning of the year to where we are now — the girls just scratched and clawed. You look at the journey these girls went through, with their backs against the wall, and to compete like they did today — unbelievable. Just amazing.”

The Freeport boys also advanced to the WPIAL Class AA finals for the third consecutive year.

The WPIAL team championships will be held at Baldwin Monday.

Rob Reichenbaugh won the 400, the 200 and was on the winning 3,200 and 1,600 relay teams for the Yellowjackets.

He was a large part of the reason why Freeport beat Quaker Valley, 81½-68½, and Southmoreland, 102-48, to advance.

“It means a lot to us because here at Freeport we take a lot of pride in our track team,” Reichenbaugh said. “Our freshman year, we lost in the first round of the playoffs and didn't even win our section. Our coach told us to bounce back next year and we bounced back for three years.”

Reichenbaugh's big event is the 800, but he didn't run it Tuesday.

He's been a sort of swiss army knife for the Yellowjackets this season.

“He's an amazing runner,” Gaillot said. “He just never quits. He'd throw the javelin for us if we asked him to. He'd probably be really good at it.

“He and Kevin Lynch, our seniors, they basically were the driving force behind everything with the way they compete,” Gaillot added. “Those two deserve a shout out.”

Luke Kennedy won the 300 hurdles and Mike Fredley won the triple jump for the Yellowjackets.

Now both Freeport teams will be represented at the WPIAL team finals again.

“It all started with (former Freeport boys and girls track coach Bill Dillen,” Gaillot said. “I'm just trying to carry on what he started and not screw it up.”

Boys

Freeport 102, Southmoreland 48

Freeport 81½, Quaker Valley 68½

Quaker Valley 91, Southmoreland 59

3,200 relay: Freeport (Alec Parker, John Asay, Kevin Lynch, Rob Reichenbaugh) 9:13.79; 110 hurdles: Couffman (SM) 17.59; 100 dash: Lagnese (QV) 12.62; 1,600 run: Skolnekovich (QV) 4:55.15; 400 run: Rob Reichenbaugh (F) 51.22; 400 relay: Southmoreland 45.94; 300 hurdles: Luke Kennedy (F) 44.32; 800 run: Skolnekovich (QV) 2:03.61; 200 dash: Reichenbaugh (F) 24.09; 3,200 run: Skolenkovich (QV) 11:19; 1,600 relay: Freeport (Kennedy, Parker, Lynch, Reichenbaugh) 3:35

Shot put: Hoey (QV) 42-3; Discus: Lagnese (QV) 137-4; Javelin: Matt Straughn (F) 124-6; High jump: Keffer (SM) 5-10; Long jump: Eicher (SM) 18-5; Triple jump: Mike Fredley (F) 40-8; Pole vault: Lochhardt (SM) 11-0

Girls

Freeport 76, Southmoreland 74

Freeport 95, California 54

Freeport 97, Quaker Valley 51

Southmoreland 98, California 52

Southmoreland 106, Quaker Valley 42

California 79, Quaker Valley 60

3,200 relay: Quaker Valley 10:41; 100 hurdles: McIntosh (C) 17.29; 100 dash: California 14.67; 1,600 run: Kubniski (QV) 5:32.94; 400 run: Wicker (QV) 1:05.69; 400 relay: Southmoreland 54.10; 300 hurdles: McIntosh (C) 48.49; 800 run: Sidney Shemanski (F) 2:28.95; 200 dash: Schultz (QV) 29.69; 3,200 run: Farino (SM) 12:26.89; 1,600 relay: Freeport (Maggie Ward, Kylie Shiring, Sidney Shemanski, Kim Mixon) 4:29

Shot put: Hribal (SM) 29-4½; Discus: Rhodes (SM) 89-10; Javelin: Bitanti (C) 103-0; High jump: Wiehe (QV) 4-8; Long jump: Walsh (SM) 17-1½; Triple jump: McIntosh (C) 35-4; Pole vault: Asti Brestensky (F) 7-6