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Body found in river in eastern Pennsylvania

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RailRiders Playlist: Staying calm before the storm for Dustin Fowler

<p><em>*This story has been updated to note a correction</em></p><p>SHIPPENSBURG &#8212; The pain shooting from her right knee seemed to be telling Nalasjia Harris-Johnson her string of state medals was pretty much over.</p><p>Her incredible will wouldn&#8217;t listen to it.</p><p>Not without one more honor to add to her illustrious high school collection.</p><p>Harris-Johnson overcame an aching meniscus injury suffered at states to win her fourth PIAA medal in as many years Saturday, finishing in eighth place in the girls Class 2A 100-meter dash during the Pennsylvania Track and Field Championships at Shippensburg University&#8217;s chilly and rain-spattered Seth Grove Stadium.</p><p>&#8220;I was shocked,&#8221; the speedy Meyers senior said. &#8220;So shocked. Incredibly shocked. Massively shocked.&#8221;</p><p>That&#8217;s because, during Saturday&#8217;s preliminaries, Harris-Johnson felt her meniscus flare while running the preliminaries of the girls Class 2A 400 relays &#8212; where her Meyers team finished 10th and out of Saturday&#8217;s finals.</p><p>That left Harris-Johnson needing to surge into the top eight of her signature event, the 100 dash, during Saturday morning&#8217;s semifinals. And the night before, she wasn&#8217;t even sure she&#8217;d be able to make it onto the track.</p><p>&#8220;There was doubt, but I had some stim (stimulation) and I feel a lot better,&#8221; Harris-Johnson said. &#8220;You never think bad. Think positive. Even when you&#8217;re doing bad, you have to think positive thoughts.&#8221;</p><p>Speaking of showing some inner strength, plenty of competitors from the Wyoming Valley Conference put it on display Saturday.</p><p>Meyers sophomore Nazir Dunell, talked into taking up track and field by his cousin Harris-Johnson, bagged a bronze medal in the boys Class 2A 110 hurdles. In his first and only trip to states, Pittston Area senior Paul Moska earned a bronze medal by clearing 6-4 and tying with four other competitors for third place in the boys Class 3A high jump.</p><p>Hanover Area&#8217;s Brandon Brueckner finally earned a state medal by finishing seventh in the boys Class 2A 300 hurdles, while Pittston Area&#8217;s Taryn Ashby took a fifth-place medal in the girls Class 3A javelin, just ahead of sixth-place state medalist Kayla Merkel of Hazleton Area.</p><p>And the Holy Redeemer boys and Lake-Lehman girls both finished with fourth-place state medals in the Class 2A 3,200 relays, where neither was supposed to be anywhere near the finals.</p><p>Dunell&#8217;s dynamic performance came with a personal-best time of 15.13 and kept a Meyers streak of strong finishes at states going.</p><p>Former Meyers great Raheem Twyman earned a state gold medal in the 300 hurdles last year and took a silver in that event during the 2015 PIAA Championships.</p><p>&#8220;He told me a lot about lifting my trail leg and helped me with my form,&#8221; Dunell said. &#8220;I was seeded third, that&#8217;s what I was hoping to get. It feels amazing. The moment I started hurdling, I wanted to go to states and get a medal. Now I&#8217;m hoping to get a first-place medal next year.&#8221;</p><p>Neither Class 2A relay team from the WVC ended up in first, but completed finishes that seemed golden.</p><p>The Lehman girls roared from a No. 15 seed to place fourth, with Jace Garnick, Jade Fry, Olivia Vasey and Hailey Kubiski completing the first run to the state medal stand for the two-time District 2 championship 3,200 group. Kubiski, the team&#8217;s only senior, finished off the team&#8217;s best time in two years, a 9:36.70 mark that easily put the Black Knights among the top four Class 2A two-mile relay teams in Pennsylvania.</p><p>&#8220;To me, it&#8217;s the last time I&#8217;ll run with these girls,&#8221; Kubiski said. &#8220;I said before the race, &#8216;Let&#8217;s go out and have fun.&#8217; It was awesome to do this with the girls.&#8221;</p><p>Holy Redeemer&#8217;s run to the podium was even more astounding.</p><p>The Royals were seeded 19th entering the boys 3,200 relay, only to earn a spot in the finals. That&#8217;s where the foursome of Nick Brown, Lukas Volpetti, Jonathan Weybrecht and Dominic Capaci really shined, finishing with a season-best run of 8:02.81 to take fourth.</p><p>&#8220;Nobody really saw us coming,&#8221; Brown said.</p><p>Brueckner saw a prime opportunity to reach the medal stand, after finishing back in the pack as a junior in the state triple jump last year.</p><p>&#8220;That was my best shot at doing something here at states,&#8221; Brueckner said. &#8220;Last year, I didn&#8217;t make an impact whatsoever. It feels good, senior year, going out with a bang. It feels good to finally come back and make a name for myself.&#8221;</p><p>Ashby knows the feeling.</p><p>After years of trying, the senior stalwart finally made the state medal stand &#8212; one year after just missing out on a PIAA award by finishing ninth as a junior.</p><p>&#8220;It feels awesome,&#8221; said Ashby, who threw a distance of 137-11 to accomplish the fifth-best girls Class 3A throw. &#8220;I was pretty consistent today. I really wanted to medal badly, after my past three years. I was definitely happy to get a medal this year.&#8221;</p><p>Her classmate Moska also collected his first, and only, state prize. He did it with a high jump of 6-4, just shy of his career best of 6-5 he accomplished while winning the District 2 Class 3A title.</p><p>&#8220;It feels good,&#8221; Moska said. &#8220;I just wanted to get on the medal stand. It was raining every now and then, everybody was slipping. I was glad I didn&#8217;t have trouble.&#8221;</p><p><ins>For other sports stories, <a href="https://www.timesleader.com/category/sports" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">click here</a>.</ins></p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">Dallas' Jack Zardecki during the boys 3A 3200 meter run at the PIAA Track &amp; Field Championships at Shippesnburg University's Seth Grove Stadium.</div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/web1_PIAA-Track-ZardeckiCMYK-1.jpg</photo0><caption0>Dallas' Jack Zardecki during the boys 3A 3200 meter run at the PIAA Track &amp; Field Championships at Shippesnburg University's Seth Grove Stadium.</caption0><photoCredit0></photoCredit0></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/web1_PIAA-Track-RedeemerRelay-2.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Holy Redeemer&#8217;s John Weybrecht competes during the Class 2A 4x800 relay. The Royals were seeded 19th but finished fourth on Saturday. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo1>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/web1_PIAA-Track-RedeemerRelay-2.jpg</photo1><caption1>Holy Redeemer&#8217;s John Weybrecht competes during the Class 2A 4x800 relay. The Royals were seeded 19th but finished fourth on Saturday. </caption1><photoCredit1>Michael Bupp | For Times Leader </photoCredit1></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/web1_PIAA-Track-LehmanRelay-2.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">The Lake-Lehman girls finished fourth in the Class 2A 3,200 relay. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo2>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/web1_PIAA-Track-LehmanRelay-2.jpg</photo2><caption2>The Lake-Lehman girls finished fourth in the Class 2A 3,200 relay. </caption2><photoCredit2>Michael Bupp | For Times Leader </photoCredit2></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/web1_PIAA-Track-DallasBoy-2.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Dallas&#8217; Christian Roberts competes in the boys 3A 400-meter prelims on Friday. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo3>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/web1_PIAA-Track-DallasBoy-2.jpg</photo3><caption3>Dallas&#8217; Christian Roberts competes in the boys 3A 400-meter prelims on Friday. </caption3><photoCredit3>Michael Bupp | For Times Leader </photoCredit3></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/web1_PIAA-Track-Montana2-2.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Berwick&#8217;s Payden Montana won gold in the Class 2A shot put on Friday. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo4>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/web1_PIAA-Track-Montana2-2.jpg</photo4><caption4>Berwick&#8217;s Payden Montana won gold in the Class 2A shot put on Friday. </caption4><photoCredit4>Michael Bupp | For Times Leader </photoCredit4></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/web1_PIAA-Track-Norwillo-2.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Coughlin's Madisyn Hawkins clears the bar in the girls 3A pole vault at the PIAA Track &amp; Field Championships at Shippesnburg University's Seth Grove Stadium.</div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo5>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/web1_PIAA-Track-Norwillo-2.jpg</photo5><caption5>Coughlin's Madisyn Hawkins clears the bar in the girls 3A pole vault at the PIAA Track &amp; Field Championships at Shippesnburg University's Seth Grove Stadium.</caption5><photoCredit5>Michael Bupp | For Times Leader </photoCredit5></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/web1_PIAA-Track-RedeemerRelay2-2.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Holy Redeemer's Lukas Volpetti, right, hands off to John Weybrecht during the   boys 2A 4x800 relay at the PIAA Track &amp; Field Championships at Shippesnburg University's Seth Grove Stadium.</div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo6>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/web1_PIAA-Track-RedeemerRelay2-2.jpg</photo6><caption6>Holy Redeemer's Lukas Volpetti, right, hands off to John Weybrecht during the   boys 2A 4x800 relay at the PIAA Track &amp; Field Championships at Shippesnburg University's Seth Grove Stadium.</caption6><photoCredit6>Michael Bupp | For Times Leader </photoCredit6></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/web1_PIAA-Track-Zardecki-2.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Dallas&#8217; Jack Zardecki during the Class 3A 3,200-meter run on Saturday. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo7>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/web1_PIAA-Track-Zardecki-2.jpg</photo7><caption7>Dallas&#8217; Jack Zardecki during the Class 3A 3,200-meter run on Saturday. </caption7><photoCredit7>Michael Bupp | For Times Leader </photoCredit7></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/web1_PIAA-Track-Harris-Johnson-2.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Meyer&#8217;s Nalasjia Harris-Johnson placed eighth in the girls Class 2A 100-meter dash at the PIAA Track &amp; Field Championships at Shippensburg University&#8217;s Seth Grove Stadium on Saturday. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo8>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/web1_PIAA-Track-Harris-Johnson-2.jpg</photo8><caption8>Meyer&#8217;s Nalasjia Harris-Johnson placed eighth in the girls Class 2A 100-meter dash at the PIAA Track &amp; Field Championships at Shippensburg University&#8217;s Seth Grove Stadium on Saturday. </caption8><photoCredit8>Michael Bupp | For Times Leader </photoCredit8></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><subheadMeta>Meyers senior makes it 4 for 4 at states</subheadMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Paul Sokoloski</p><p>psokoloski@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach Paul Sokoloski at 570-991-6392 or on Twitter @TLPaulSokoloski</p></shirttailMeta></div>

Meyers’ Nalasjia Harris-Johnson takes 4th straight PIAA track and field medal