Sentinel photo by MIKE GOSS Mifflin County's 4x800m relay team earned gold on Saturday. (From left, Connor Lynch, Carter Smith, Wyatt Kauffman and Reese Cubbison).

SHIPPENSBURG — This season has been a historic one for Mifflin and Juniata County track and field athletes as they entered Day 2 of the PIAA track and field championships already capturing two state titles.

Juniata’s Jasper Shepps took the top honors by winning the gold in the high jump with a height of 6′ 5″.

Earlier in the day, Mifflin County distance phenom Carter Smith captured his seventh state championship winning going away in the 1600-meter run with a 4:02.63 performance.

Smith’s teammate Wyatt Kauffman finished 10th in the same event posting a 4:14.04.

Day 2 started off with the 3200-meter run with Mifflin County being represented by Reese Cubbison.

Cubbison came into the race seeded 14th with a qualifying time of 9:20.83.

Cubbison finished his run with a time of 9:35.49 good for a 22nd place finish.

The stage was set for the Mifflin County 4×800 boys relay team as they looked for PIAA gold. The team consisting of Cubbison, Smith, Connor Lynch, Kauffman, Aidan Scavitti and Camryn Treaster.

They came into the top seed in the third section with a top qualifying time of 7:43.37.

Not even Mother Nature could keep them from their destiny as the rain began to fall as the race was getting underway.

The sloppy conditions were no match for the fab four.

It would be a total team effort with Smith finishing things off after being in eighth place when he handed the baton. His kick would ultimately put him in front and he never looked back as the team took home a gold medal. In the process setting their legacy to a legendary status.

“We had a great day at the PIAA Track and Field Championships. Reese Cubbison, Wyatt Kauffman, Connor Lynch and Carter Smith are the state champions of the 4×800, running it in a school record time of 7:42.46,” said Mifflin County coach Tamara Sechler.

Wyatt Kauffman was back in action Saturday as he went in the third section in the 800-meter run. He was seeded 12th in the third section with a seed time of 1:54.87.

He also landed another medal as he finished fifth in the state with a final time of 1:53.50.

The lone field representative for the Huskies was javelin qualifier Reese Bell. Bell competed in the downpour Saturday morning. His longest throw was a 171′ 10″ which was good for 12th place.

Shepps was very active in the second day as he competed in the 110-meter hurdles and the 300-meter hurdles. With his third-place finish, the Juniata senior placed third with a time of 14:54 in the 110-hurdles.

“You know, the weather isn’t the greatest, but you can’t complain. You get to come out here and run and that many kids don’t get to do that, so I’m very thankful for that,” noted Shepps. “But, you know, I always like to say that a wet track makes you faster.”

Shepps finished his Day 2 in fine fashion, posting a third-place finish in the 300-meter hurdles with a medal time of 38.90.

“I was impressed how Jasper handled himself both days of competition. Yesterday was very stressful with competing in the high jump and 300 hurdles preliminary simultaneously. Jasper stayed calm and relaxed and made sure that he was where he needed to be at all times,” Juniata coach Shari Miller said.

“Today with the miserable weather, he took care of making sure he stayed as warm and dry as he could until it was time to race. The last two days are a great way for Jasper to end his high school track career coming home with a gold and two bronze medals. To make it even more special, he ran on the same track that he will run on during his college career. Jasper will be attending Shippensburg University in the fall, pursuing a degree in civil engineering while playing football and running track and field. We wish Jasper the very best as he heads into the next chapter of life.”

When the night set in at Shippensburg the stars were shining bright, not in the sky but from the Mifflin County and Juniata track and field athletes who took the weekend by storm. It was a weekend that will remain a historic one in local lore.