SHIPPENSBURG — For some area track athletes, it was as easy as 1-2-3 at the PIAA Track and Field Championships Friday: they came from three different districts, and they garnered three different places.

Grove City High junior Kristy Woods won a Class AA title in the discus with a throw of 137 feet, 10 inches.

Meanwhile, Seneca Valley senior Da'Lynn Mills placed second in the Class AAA high jump and Karns City junior Xandria White finished third in the Class AA long jump at Shippensburg University.

Woods won the District 10 title last week in the discus and didn't disappoint at the state meet, beating second-place finisher Lindsey Guldin of Northern Schuylkill Valley by almost two feet.

For Mills, the WPIAL champion in the high jump, things were going well until she and Becky Novacek of Hopewell reached the 5-5 height.

Novacek cleared it on her first attempt, but Mills did not and missed on her other two attempts.

It was her first misses of the competition, while Novacek struggled at times, missing on several of her jumps along the way.

"I thought we had it there for a while," said Seneca Valley jumping coach Dan Sample. "She jumped very, very well. It was extremely hot down here, I don't know if that had anything to do with it."

Mills said it didn't. She said she actually enjoys the heat, and she was enjoying things until the 5-5 jumps came.

At practice Thursday, she cleared that height easily.

"Actually, I thought I had a really good chance," Mills said. "But you know what? It all comes down to who makes that last jump. You do what you can and see what happens."

Mills said she was feeling great until the end, when her mechanics started wavering.

"I really messed up my steps at the end," she said.

For Mills, placing second was bittersweet. She hoped to win the title, but she said she was proud to earn a silver medal at the biggest meet in the state.

What made the afternoon even more special was that Seneca Valley superintendent Donald Tylinski presented her with the silver medal on the podium.

Mills and Novacek are no strangers. The Hopewell senior finished behind Mills at the WPIAL meet and the two have had epic battles in the event over their careers.

"We went back and forth all season," Mills said. "It just ended up she made the big jump when she needed to."

White, who finished second at the District 9 meet in the long jump, as well as first in the 100- and 200-meter events, jumped 17-1¾. She was only 10 inches shy of the winner, Asha Jaramogi of Masterman High in Philadelphia.

It was particularly satisfying for White, who advanced to the state meet last season and struggled mightily.

"We're very pleased with how she jumped today," said Karns City girls track and field coach Tom Wagner. "We were pretty confident she would do well, but you never know how kids respond out here. Last year was good for her because she got a feel for things out here and this year, I think she was more determined."

White got better with each jump, and she erred on the side of caution early in the competition, jumping from well in front of the board.

Wagner said she was afraid to fault. On her third-place distance, she took off from the board.

"She had a lot of work this week with (jumping coach) Renee Steele," Wagner said. "I think she really helped Xandria understand she had to get more height on her jumps."

Woods could not be reached for comment.

PIAA Track and Field FinalsFriday resultsBoysClass AAATriple jump: 18-Mike Martin (Butler) 43-7

Class AAShot put: 10-Greg Reiber 50-7½; Triple jump: 13-Brett Moore (Union) 42-4¼; Javelin: 9-Neil Scott (Union) 175-6, 11-Brian Zimmerman (Freeport) 168-11

GirlsClass AAAHigh jump: 2-Da'Lynn Mills (Seneca Valley) 5-4, 13-Jen Boyd (Seneca Valley) 5-0, 19-Ashley Lotz (Butler) 4-10; Shot put: 16-Carol Cress (Knoch) 37-6; Long jump: 10-Jen Boyd (Seneca Valley) 17-1, 15-Ashley Lotz (Butler) 16-10

Class AAPole Vault: 16-Marissa Malcolm (Freeport) 9-6;

Long jump: 3-Xandria White (Karns City) 17-1¾,13-Maurielle Blake (Freeport), 21-Allison McCleland (Freeport) 15-5½;

High jump: 13-Angela Shaffer (Slippery Rock) 5-0, 25-Megan Affrica (Freeport) 4-8, 25-Cassandra Dumont 4-8;

Discus: 1-Kristy Woods (Grove City) 137-10, 18-Kendra Hall (Moniteau) 104-10