May 26—SHIPPENSBURG — Colin Kravitz made history and added to his track legacy.

North Pocono's senior sprinting star bolted from the blocks and seized first place, never relinquishing the lead. He powered down the home stretch to a rousing ovation from the crowd and won his heat of the 400-meter dash in 47.78 seconds. It was the best qualifying time for the boys Class 3A meet at the PIAA Track and Field Championships at Shippensburg University on Friday. It is also the fastest time run by a Lackawanna Track Conference athlete.

Kravitz will race again Saturday in the finals of both the 400 and 200.

"Before the race, I was really nervous," Kravitz said. "And you can't be nervous before a big race like this. I kept thinking to myself that I had this. I came out of the blocks and I knew it was going to be a good day. I came up on the turn and nobody was next to me, and I knew I could do it."

One of the most decorated sprinters in District 2 history, Kravitz obliterated his time of 48.57 from last season's state meet qualifying race when he went on to earn a seventh-place medal. This past indoor season, he finished second at the Pennsylvania Track and Field Coaches Association championship meet with a time of 48.55. During the spring, he dominated all of the sprint events, and his top 400 time on a fully automatic clock was 49.17, which won him the District 2 Class 3A gold medal.

Kravitz's time beat the previous best in the LTC of 48.34, which was set by Honesdale's Lionel Wilson at the PIAA Championships in 2011.

Abington's Luke Coleman has the second-best qualifying time of 47.91 for Saturday's final in the 400.

In addition, Kravitz also raced in the 200 and won his heat with a career-best time of 21.57. That was the second-fastest time in the qualifying heats and also the fastest time run by an LTC athlete, which he previously held at 21.85.

Central Bucks West junior Conor McFadden ran a 21.34 in his trial heat.

"I just feel blessed," Kravitz said.

In the Class 2A meet, Riverside's Nathan Oliphant returns to the Class 2A 110 hurdles final. The senior, who is headed to Lehigh University, ran a time of 14.96 to finish second in his heat with the eighth-best time. Last season, Oliphant finished ninth in qualifying after winning a seventh-place medal as a sophomore.

Slippery Rock's Levi Prementine had the top qualifying time of 14.61.

WVC

Holy Redeemer's Jacob Hunter had his best 400-meter sprint of the season at the perfect time. He reached his goal of breaking the 50-second mark and won his heat in 49.86 for the third-best time heading into the final. Penn Cambria junior Josh Stolarski is in front after a 49.27.

"I was trying to get under 50 for the last three weeks," Hunter said. "I put a lot of hard work into this. I still have one more, but to get sub-50 and know that I can do that is a really good feeling."

Contact the writer: jbfawcett@timesshamrock.com; 570-348-9125; @sportsTT on Twitter