SLIPPERY ROCK — Tyler Arblaster's physical ability was compromised, but his will to win was as strong as ever.

Running with a bad hip, the senior anchor on Slippery Rock's 4x400-meter relay team was handed the lead from teammate Levi Prementine at the District 10 Championships at Slippery Rock University on Saturday.

Arblaster kept the Rockets in the lead until, with 90 meters left, he was passed by Lakeview's Danick Hinkson. Before the latter could gain a lengthy edge, however, Arblaster managed a finishing kick.

"I didn't know I had it in me, but the three guys before me did such a good job of getting us the lead, I couldn't let them down," said Arblaster. "I couldn't lose."

Hinkson leaned forward at the finish line and fell to the track, but his effort came up just short as the Rockets edged the Sailors by one-hundredth of a second, 3:23.93 to 3:23.94.

"We didn't know if Tyler would be able to run, but he sucked it up," said Slippery Rock coach Tom Meling. "That's the best time in that event in school history. Because of the perfect weather today, it was a great day to compete. We haven't had a day like this for the district meet in years."

Aside from their 4x400 relay, which also included Eli Anderson and Trent Davey, the Rockets had a number of other efforts that yielded a berth into Friday and Saturday's Class 2A state meet at Shippensburg University.

Prementine is the defending state champion in the 300 hurdles and long jump. In the 110 hurdles, he has spent the season working on faster starts.

"I've changed my stance in the blocks a bit and that's been going well, but in the final heat today, I thought the official was a little jumpy with the (starting) gun. I wasn't prepared for it," he said.

But his delayed start did not cost Prementine. He rebounded and won the event with a time of 14.55 seconds. He also won the 300 hurdles (38.67) and was second in the long jump (22-6.5). Runner-up efforts are guaranteed a spot at states, though the meet produced many athletes placing outside the top two who extended their season by meeting the state's qualifying standard.

"I think there were some guys who may not have entered the meet today with the best seeds, but they felt the environment and pressure and used it to their advantage," said Prementine.

One of those who qualified with his time was Anderson in the 110 hurdles. He led the race until his foot clipped the sixth hurdle. In a split second, he needed to change his focus from winning to meeting the standard of 15.35. He placed third at 14.98.

"I just knew I had to beat that time and was able to finish strong," he said. "There's time to fix things and make sure it doesn't happen at states."

Anderson also placed second in the 300 hurdles and joined Sal Mineo, Davey and Arblaster in placing third with a state-worthy and school-record time of 43.53 in the 4x100 relay.

Davey, a senior, will finish his high school career by running on two relays at states.

"I was on the team last year, ran the 4x100 and 200," he said. "We needed someone to step in and run the 4x400 and I knew it was going to be a challenge, but I'm just glad I was able to help the team."

Following are the Slippery Rock High athletes who earned a medal by placing in the top eight at the District 10 Class 2A Track and Field Championships, held Saturday at Slippery Rock University.

Boys

110 hurdles: 1-Levi Prementine (SR) 14.55*; 3-Eli Anderson (SR) 14.98*

400 run: 5-Tyler Arblaster (SR) 51.87

400 relay: 3-Slippery Rock (E.Anderson, S.Mineo, T.Davey, T.Arblaster) 43.53*

300 hurdles: 1-Levi Prementine (SR) 38.67*; 2-Eli Anderson (SR) 39.46*

200 dash: 6-Trent Davey (SR) 23.0

1,600 relay: 1-Slippery Rock (E.Anderson, T.Davey, L.Prementine, T.Arblaster) 3:23.93*

Long jump: 2-Levi Prementine (SR) 22-6.5*; 6-Dustin Joyce (SR) 21-4.5

Triple jump: 4-Dustin Joyce (SR) 43-5.5

Girls

3,200 relay: 3-Slippery Rock (Ashley Ragan, Leah Perez, Tessa Szymanski, Kasey Yeager) 10:09.26

100 hurdles: 4-Aiva Reich (SR) 16.07; 6-Ali Popovec (SR) 16.46

300 hurdles: 6-Shareen Thangiah (SR) 49.50

800 run: 3-Ashley Ragan (SR) 2:26.93; 7-Kasey Yeager (SR) 2:32.99

1,600 relay: 6-Slippery Rock (R.FaJohn, S.Thangiah, A.Ragan, M.Gearhart) 4:19.67

Javelin: 4-Autumn Christie (SR) 109-7

Long jump: 7-Samantha Montgomery (SR) 16-4.5

Pole vault: 4-Elise DiFrischia (SR) 9-6