Saugatuck boys dominate, girls edged late in tri-meet at Gobles

By Jason Wesseldyk
Sports Editor
GOBLES—The Saugatuck boys track team turned in a dominant performance Monday, while the girls squad came up just short in a tightly contested tri-meet at Gobles.
The Trailblazer boys earned a pair of decisive wins, defeating Gobles 88-48 and Black River 103-24. Gobles defeated Black River 102-30 in the third matchup.
Saugatuck was powered by a number of standout individual and relay performances.
Charlie Robison won the 100-meter dash in 11.52, while Gabe Lauer took first in the 200 meters in 23.33. Ashton Skinner swept the hurdles events, winning the 110-meter highs in 17.37 and the 300-meter lows in 46.27.
Saugatuck also won three of four relays events. The 4×100 team of Grady Palmer, Robison, Brennan Nor and Lauer finished in 45.46, while the 4×200 quartet of Henry Gannon, Pete Mitchell, Palmer and Skinner posted a time of 1:40.94. The 4×800 relay team of Sawyer Monroe, Jackson Bowman, Ira Brown and Tommy Bullinger added another win in 8:52.18.
In the field events, Lincoln Church won both the shot put (36-2) and discus (117-0), while Lincoln Leathers cleared 11-0 to take first in the pole vault.
“We were powered by some standout individual and relay performances,” Saugatuck boys coach Rick Bauer said.
On the girls side, Saugatuck earned a 96-28 win over Black River but fell short against Gobles, 72-64, in a meet that came down to the final event, which Black River claimed
Despite the narrow loss, Saugatuck had several standout individual performances.
Alina Martinson swept three events, taking first in the 100-meters (13.67), 400 (1:02.00) and 800(2:29.80).
Novella DeGraaf one-upped her, winning four events: the 200 (27.75), 100 (18.67), pole vault (9-6) and long jump (15-5).
Bella Ketterer added a first-place finish in the 300-meter hurdles (57.44).
“This meet showcased our depth and competitiveness, particularly in the boys’ dominant showing and the girls’ close battle with Gobles,” Bauer said. “We’ll look to build on these performances as the season progresses.”