West Liberty-Salem’s track and field teams started their season with impressive performances Saturday at the Versailles Invitational.
The Tiger girls, who won the 2019 Division III state title, took first in the black meet out of 11 teams Saturday. They won nine-of-17 events to win comfortably with 172 points. Minster was runner-up with 108.5 points, Marion Local was a close third with 100.5 points and Versailles took fourth with 72 points.
Minster won the boys 11-team meet with 119 points, Marion Local was second with 100 points, WL-Salem took third with 87 points and Versailles rounded out the top four with 81 points.
“It was great to have a track meet,” said WL-Salem boys head coach Aaron Lauck. “It was a strong day for our distance and mid-distance crew. I am seeing some bright spots in our hurdles, sprints, and field events. We have the potential of big improvements if we continue to work hard and take care of ourselves.”
Fueling the Tiger girls with individual first-place finishes were Emily Hollar in the 200 (26.9) and 400 (1:00.8), Grace Estes in the 100 (13.6), Megan Adams in the 1,600 (5:30.8), Mandilyn Weaver in the high jump (4-10) and Kaylee LeVan in the long jump (14-8 3/4).
Winning relays included the 800 relay of LeVan, Estes, Lilly Weaver and Hollar (1:53.4), the 1,600 relay of Katelyn Stapleton, Madison Bahan, Estes and Hollar (4:12.1) and the 3,200 relay of Adams, Addison McAuley, Bahan and Stapleton (10:05.8).
Earning runner-up finishes were Stapleton in the 800 (2:31.6), Ashley Yoder in the 1,600 (5:30.9), McAuley in the 3,200 (12:30.7) and the 400 relay of LeVan, Lilly Weaver, Estes and Stapleton (52.9).
Placing third were Bahan in the 200 (28.4), Claire Longshore in the 300 hurdles (52.7) and Selena Weaver in the discus (99-4), while fourth-place finishes came from Selena Weaver in the shot put (32-3) and Yoder in the 800 (2:34.5).
Finishing in fifth were Lilly Weaver in the long jump (13-8 1/4), Bahan in the 400 (1:04.6), Taylor Kennedy in the 3,200 (13:02.9) and Sophia Hardwick in the 300 hurdles (54.9). Coming in sixth were
LeVan in the 100 (14.1) and Hardwick in the 100 hurdles (18.9).
Dylan Lauck sparked the Tiger boys by winning the 1,600 (4:46.3) and 3,200 (10:05.2). Also winning was the 3,200 relay of Lauck, Isaac Brown, Tate Yoder and Josh Spinner (8:37.08).
Runner-up finishes came from Andrew Kimball in the 300 hurdles (44.4), Brown in the 800 (2:06.4), Spinner in the 1,600 (4:58.4), Yoder in the 3,200 (10:15.2) and the 1,600 relay of Kimball, Brown, Isaiah McGill and Logan Phillips (3:42.6).
Adding fifth-place efforts were Jace Wade in the 100 (12.3) and Garrett Richardson in the 110 hurdles (18.7).
WL-Salem also had girls and boys team competing in the orange meet. The Tiger girls were eighth with 25 points and the Tiger boys took 10th with 23 points.
Leading WL-Salem girls with a second-place finish was the 800 relay of Hannah Bowman, Kerrigan Burgel, Megan Hollar and Ashley Good (2:02.6). Placing fourth were the 400 relay of Bowman, Burgel, Hollar and Good (58.1) and the 3,200 relay of Maggie Davis, Maria Henderson, Lily Smith and Izzy Wygal (12:15.4).
WL-Salem’s boys were highlighted by a first-place finish by Owen Harrison in the 3,200 (10:38.2). Taking third was Joey LaRoche in the 3,200 (11:24.1), while a fourth-place finish came from 3,200 relay (9:49.3).
WL-Salem travels to Mechanicsburg today for an OHC preview meet.
Chieftain boys second at Circleville Relays
Bellefontaine’s boys track and field team kicked off the season with a second-place finish Saturday at the Circleville Relays. Bellefontaine girls also competed and came away with a sixth-place finish.
Bloom Carroll won the boys meet with 107.5 points, Bellefontaine was next with 100 points and Greenfield McClain was third with 72 points.
“It was great to finally compete again after a two-year layoff,” said BHS head coach Ben Davis. “We were led by our veteran throwers and distance crew with a whole lot of help from our underclassmen. It was a great start to the season.”
Circleville claimed the girls title with 100.5 points, McClain was second with 98.5 points and Hillsboro was third with 77 points. Bellefontaine’s girls finished sixth with 50 points.
“We had many highlights at our first meet of the season,” said Davis. “The throwers got out of the gate remarkably well. Most of our supporting cast experienced their first high school meet.”
Winning events for the Chieftain boys were the shot put relay of Micah Fogan and Lincoln Howell (86-9), the discus relay of Fogan and Ethan Akers (151-10) and the 6,400 relay of Connor Skidmore, Gannon Purcell, Gavin Wilson and Tony Stewart (20:34.2).
Coming in second were the high jump relay of Collin Deitsch and Carter Snapp (10-10), the long jump relay of Ethan Yoder and Deitsch (38-0), the triple jump relay of Yoder and Deitsch (72-8) and the distance medley relay of Wilson, Kailyn Organ, Justin Carper and Skidmore (8:32.9).
Finishing in third were the pole vault relay of Yoder and Carper (20-0), the 3,200 relay of Carper, Patrick Donnelly, Stewart and Purcell (9:35.6) and the 800 relay of Organ, Snapp, Harper Scott and Max Varner (1:39.8), while a fourth-place finish came from the 400 relay of Organ, Yoder, Scott and Varner (46.6).
Adding fifth-place efforts were the medley relay of Sullivan Ashcraft, Micah Woolf, Donnelly and Marco Martinez (4:14.2) and the sprint medley of Organ, Woolf, Scott and Varner (1:43.1).
Bellefontaine’s girls had one first-place finish from the discus relay of Katie Pool and Carmen Shumaker (209-3), while a runner-up finish came from the shot put relay of Perri Neeld and Pool (57-6).
Taking third were the high jump relay of Emma Middaugh and Ashlyn Gonterman (8-6) and the triple jump relay of Maggie Howard and Alexis Robinson (47-9).
Coming in fourth were the 400 relay of Latoya Rogan, Joslyn Robinson, Parker Penhorwood and Gonterman (56.2) and the pole vault relay of Gonterman and Penhorwood (13-0). Taking fifth was the sprint medley relay of Rogan, Howard, Penhorwood and Gonterman (2:07.3).
Finishing in sixth were the 3,200 relay of Middaugh, Ella Reier, Taylor McCafferty and Zoey RIster (12:27.5) and the 800 relay of Rogan, Robinson, Penhorwood and Gonterman (2:08.0).
Bellefontaine travels to Urbana today for a quad meet.