Aiden Janowicz has had a whirlwind couple of weeks following the greatest two-lap race in Lackawanna Track Conference history.

On the final day of the PIAA Track and Field Championship meet, Janowicz powerfully won his heat of the Class 3A 800-meter race amid a steady rainfall. His time flashed upon the digital scoreboard at Seth Grove Stadium at 1 minute, 51.52 seconds.

Then, he waited for the final heat that included the fastest-seeded runner and featured Upper Darby’s Josh Sharp, the top-ranked 800 runner in the state. Sharp earned a win, but the important element was his time of 1:51.44.

Darby won the gold medal. Janowicz nearly pulled off the improbable by winning the state title out of a slower heat.

He proudly stepped up to the second-place step on the podium to accept his silver medal. Janowicz ran the fastest time for the event in Lackawanna Track Conference history and completed one of the finest distance-running careers in District 2.

Soon after, Janowicz celebrated with a vacation, then got right back to work and raced at a meet. In between, he learned that his effort at the state meet earned him a place on the Pennsylvania Track and Field Coaches Association All-State third team.

In addition, the Wallenpaupack graduate was accepted and committed to fulfilling his dream of serving the country. He will join the United States Naval Academy’s prep school, where he plans to continue running.

This weekend, Janowicz will hit the track for one final race representing the Buckhorns. He will compete in the Championship 800 at the New Balance National Championship meet at the University of Pennsylvania’s Franklin Field that starts June 18.

“This experience has all been awesome,” Janowicz said. “It’s also been extremely hectic having all of these events happening so quickly here in the last couple of weeks. I am extremely grateful to have finally decided where I will be going, and I am excited about the national championships. It is another opportunity to have fun and do well. It is a ton of fun at that meet. I have been there before, and you get to meet some great athletes, and I can’t wait to go do it.”

Throughout his career, Janowicz established himself as an outstanding competitor and added his name to Wallenpaupack’s storied history in the distance events.

He hit the scene as a freshman when he ran a personal-best time in the 1,500-meter run of 4:15.95 at the New Balance National Championships. He also broke the 2-minute barrier in the 800 with a 1:58.69.

For three seasons, Janowicz captured gold in the 1,600 at the District 2 Class 3A Championship meet. He won in a personal-best 4:19.77 as a sophomore and defended his crown as a junior (4:27.73) and this past spring (4:27.14).

In his junior season, Janowicz emerged as a national-level athlete in the 800. He raced at the prestigious John Hay Pennsylvania Distance Festival and posted a time of 1:55.69, and followed with a 1:56.23 at the East Coast Track and Field Championships.

This spring, he made headlines by setting a school record in the 800 during a dual meet against North Pocono. He had a winning time of 1:52.9, which converted to a fully automatic time of 1:53.14. It was the fastest time run for the event in conference history.

After winning his third gold for the 1,600, Janowicz added a win in the 800. However, two days of racing took a toll on him, and he finished with a winning time of 1:55.24, which landed him in the second of three heats of the PIAA meet, where the race is conducted as a timed final.

Determined and racing fresh, he ran what he called that day, an amazing time. His 1:51.52 and silver medal brought a flood of emotions and tears for Janowicz, who also added a seventh-place medal as a member of the 1,600 relay.

He took a vacation immediately following the state championships and got back to racing at the Henderson Last Chance for Nationals Open Meet at West Chester Henderson High School. He ran a time of 1:53.32.

“That was a rust buster,” Janowicz said. “I went on vacation the week after the state meet and didn’t get much time to train. I got to go out there and race. It felt good to get out there again.”

Janowicz earned a third-team all-state berth for the 800. Sharp was the first-team choice, and Mifflin County’s Carter Smith, the overall Male Track and Field Athlete of the year, was the second-team selection.

“That is another awesome thing added to the resume,” Janowicz said. “It is kind of a cool thing to be named all-state with all of the great athletes.”

Back in training, Janowicz locked down his future after being accepted to the Navy Prep School.

“I knew last year after the Naval Academy sent me a recruitment letter that that is what I wanted to do with my life,” Janowicz said. “For the past year and a half, I have worked on the application process, which took forever. I also had to take the SAT a couple of times too. I got wait-listed at the prep school. I waited patiently, and now I heard back, and I am ready to go.”

Heading into the New Balance National Championship meet, Janowicz will race in the Championship 800 and report to the Navy Prep school one month later.

“We are training pretty hard,” Janowicz, 18, said. “I am getting in some good workouts. I will race, then take a week off to recover, and start getting ready to report to school. I’m just very blessed.”

Athletes at National Championships

Mid Valley’s Olivia Thomas, the PIAA Class 2A champion in the triple jump, will compete in the freshman division at the New Balance National Championship meet at Franklin Field.

Thomas will compete in the 100 hurdles, the long jump, and the triple jump.

Nationally, she ranks first in the long jump (19-5), second in the triple jump (40-10.75), and eighth in the 100 hurdles (14.32) among freshmen, according to pa.milesplit.com.

Last season, Thomas finished ninth in the girls’ middle school long jump with a distance of 17-1.5. She also finished 57th in the 100 hurdles.

Wallenpaupack’s Ryan Vargo will compete in the championship discus competition.

Vargo, the District 2 Class 3A champion in the discus, had a personal-best distance of 179-11 at the Godek Twilight Invitational this past spring.

He threw 176-4 at the District 2 Class 3A Championships, won the event at the Spagna Championships (178-5), and qualified for the Penn Relays (162-2), where he had a 16th-place finish (146-1).

Wallenpaupack’s Isabella Maslowska will compete in the 800 in the freshman division. She had a personal-best time (2:21.82) at the John Hay Pennsylvania Distance Festival.

Maslowska finished sixth at the District 2 Class 3A championships (2:23.95) and fourth at the Spagna Championships (2:24.92) and the Godek Twilight Invitational (2:26.43).