STURGIS — The defending state champion Sturgis girls’ track team kicked off their season with a 94-43 win over Three Rivers Tuesday, March 24.
In the 100 meter run, Olivia Wenzel (TR) placed first (13.67), followed by Sturgis’ Addison Eicher in second (13.72). Wenzel also placed first in the 200 M (28.14) while Trojan Madelyn Oswald finished second with a time of 28.40. In the 400 M, Sydney Bir (S) grabbed first (1:00.95), with Bailea Krupinski (TR) finishing second in 1:08.28.
It was a one-two sweep for Sturgis in the 800 M, with Tessa Hatt placing first (2:49.44), followed by Trojan Ally Farber in second with a time of 2:57.36. The 1600 M had Sturgis taking one-two again, as Hatt (5:43.44) and LuLu Park (6:13.73) led the way. The Park sisters (LuLu and Eleanor) finished first and second in the 3200 M run, with LuLu recording a time of 13:15.09, while Eleanor crossed the line in 14:23.44.
The 100 M hurdles saw Juliet Mendoza Rangel take first (17.82), while Kenzie Eicher placed second (18.34). In the 300 M hurdles, Sturgis grabbed first and second, with Kenzie Eicher (52.22) and Mendoza Rangel (53.75) pacing the field. The 4 x 100 relay went to the Trojans, with Eicher, Kinder Smith, Oswald and Angela Cary taking first in 52.63. Sturgis also took first in the 4 x 200, with Eicher, Olivia Green, Bir and Smith crossing the line in 1:49.94.
It was another first for the Lady Trojans in the 4 x 400, as Smith, Green, Bir and Mendoza Rangel recorded a time of 4:27.83, and in the 4 x 800, the team of Smith, E. Park, Hatt and L. Park from Sturgis once again took top spot with a finish of 11:44.40. Three Rivers’ Breajana Taylor took first in the shot put (28’8”), while Lady Wildcat Emma Martin placed first in the discus (84’ 2”). Cary won the high jump with a leap of 5’ 0”, while Lady Wildcat Olivia Wenzel took top honors in the pole vault (9’ 6”). Cary also placed first in the long jump with a distance of 15’ 5”.
The Wildcats gained a split with Sturgis on Tuesday, as the boys’ track team took care of the Trojans, 99-38.
Blake Stewart (TR) won the 100 M with a time of 11:41, while Sturgis’ Caleb Hohn grabbed first in the 200, crossing the line in 23.00. Hohn made it back-to-back winning times, as he took the 400 M run in 51.33. Trojan cross country standout Benji Morales won the 800 with a time of 2:11.31, while Jonah Zietlow from Three Rivers captured first in the 1600 with a finishing time of 4:47.45. In the 3200 M, the Wildcat’s Dontrel Taylor placed first, recording a time of 11:30.61.
The 110 hurdles had Carter Rice (TR) winning in 15.90, while teammate DJ Fuller took first in the 300 M hurdles (42.13). In the 4 x 100 relay, the Wildcats foursome of Peyton Muzzey, Canady Marzett, Elijah Craig and Blake Stewart took first in 44.31, while in the 4 x 200, Muzzey, Dominick Banks, Brayden Carpenter and Craig ran a first-place time of 1:33.66. The 4 x 400 relay also went to Three Rivers, as DJ Fuller, Carpenter, Carter Rice and Zietlow finished in 3:43.29. Three Rivers then took the final relay, winning the 4 x 800, with Charlie Brauer, David Kore, Reece Howes and Zietlow recording a time of 9:24.88.
Zander Barth won the shot put event for the Wildcats, heaving the shot 44 ‘9”, and he also notched a win in the discus with a distance of 125’ 6”. David Wills (TR) placed first in the high jump (6’4”), while Sturgis’ Wyatt Miller won the pole vault by soaring two feet higher than his nearest competitor, as he got to 11’ 0”. The long jump saw the Wildcats’ Stewart go a distance of 19’ 9” to nab first place.
Freshman sets school record for Falcons at first meet
CONSTANTINE — Constantine freshman Morgan Niblock set a new school record in her first-ever track meet, running a time of 5:38.19 in the 1,600-meter run at the Grand Valley State Laker Challenge on Friday, March 20. Her time would give her a fifth-place finish.
Niblock also was part of the winning 4 x 300 relay team for the Lady Falcons, along with Raeann Michalek, Kailee Jones and Kaitlyn Jones. They finished with a time of 3:01.01. Kailee Jones also won the 800 M with a time of 2:24.39, while the 4 x 600 relay had the Lady Falcons taking third. Niblock, Anna Davidhizar, Allison Burns and Kailee Jones finished that race in 7:28.54.
Olivet won the meet with 49 points, Newaygo placed second (40 points), while the Falcons finished in third place, compiling 37 points on the day.
