By Staff
MCPHERSON – On Thursday, the Smoky Valley track/field teams opened their 2023 season by participating in the McPherson Early Season Meet where you have unlimited Entries and no team scoring.
Making use of the brand-new McPherson High School track/field setup on a warm but windy afternoon where medals were given to the top three of each event, the Viking boys and Lady Vikings each scored 15 top-five finishes.
“What would a first meet be without some challenges presented by the weather,” noted Smoky Valley track/field head coach Jay Myers. “We were surely somewhat daunted at times with the wind in our face finishing most races, yet we still had some amazing marks, but most notably got a starting point for all of those who competed today.”
The Viking boys earned seven first-place finishes including Zach Gross (200), Wyatt Johnson (400), Justin Holt (Shot Put), Trystan Stambaugh (Discus) and Samuel Peterson in the pole vault along with both the 4×400 and 4×800 meter relay quartets.
Among the five first place wins by the Lady Vikings was a school record 18’0” in the long jump by Breanne Peters. Peters also won both the pole vault and 100 meters while placing third in the 200 meters. Other first place wins for the Smoky Valley girls came from Hope Willems in the 3,200 meter run and the 4×800 meter relay team.
Coach Myers continued his post-meet reflections by adding, “We had 10 individual first-place finishes and placed four girls in the pole vault while going one, two, and three in the boys’ 200 meters and first, second in the boys’ 400 meters.”
The Smoky Valley tracksters will be back on the competitive track on Thursday, April 6 when they go to the Marion Invitational.
Concluding his thoughts on the first meet of the season, Myers said, “We have work to do as we are not very smart about sweats and when to wear them and when not to – it surely had some influence on some of the marks. If you are shivering just minutes before needing to run, the conclusion is you are not truly warmed up. We have work to do on relays, block starts, field event techniques, and many other individual items. It will be fun to move ahead as we are making progress and this meet will be considered that. We got experience and we got better.”
SMOKY VALLEY INDIVIDUAL RESULTS
SMOKY VALLEY LADY VIKINGS:
100 Meters > 1. Breanne Peters 12.45; 6. Noelle Peters 13.45; 11. Ceeley Friesen 13.74; 13. Gabby Behanna 13.92; 16. Izzy Fanning 14.30; 17. Jillian Fishback 14.31.
200 Meters > 3. Breanne Peters 28.50; 10. Gabby Behanna 31.69; 13. Izzy Fanning 32.33; 16. Jillian Fishback 32.97; 20. Taytum Reed 33.64.
400 Meters > 3. Katja Blanchat 1:07.52; 7. Mila Sims 1:15.79.
1,600 Meters > 3. Hope Willems 6:06.54; 7. Esther Clark 7:00.43.
3,200 Meters > 1. Hope Willems 13:19.16.
100-Meter-High Hurdles > 3. Clara McElroy 16.85; 7. Hope Duncan 18.96.
300 Meter Low Hurdles > 6. Hope Duncan 55.74; 7. Taytum Reed 58.11; 9. Clara McElroy 1:01.11; 10. Esther Clark 1:06.57.
4×100 Meter Relay > 3. Lady Vikings (Noelle Peters, Madi Oakes, Ceeley Friesen, Clara McElroy) 54.72.
4xr400 Meter Relay > 3. Lady Vikings (Noelle Peters, Madi Oakes, Ceeley Friesen, Katja Blanchat) 4:44.31
4×800 Meter Relay > 1. Lady Vikings (Hope Willems, Esther Clark, Mila Sims, Katja Blanchat) 11:43.19.
High Jump > 4. Trista Spitler 4’6”; 10. Echo Clark 4’0”; 12. Oria O’Farrell 4’0”.
Pole Vault > 1. Breanne Peters 10’0”; 2. Noelle Peters 9’6”; T-4. Ceeley Friesen 7’6”; T-6. Gracia Peterson 5’6”; T-8. Mila Sims 5’0”; T-8. Sarah Ratcliff 5’0”.
Long Jump > 1. Breanne Peters 18’0” (SCHOOL RECORD); 8. Trista Spitler 15’0.5”; 10. Madi Oakes 14’5.5”; 12. Jillian Fishback 13’11”; 14. Mila Sims 13’5.5”; 17. Echo Clark 13’4”; 19. Oria O’Farrell 10’5”.
Triple Jump > 6. Hope Duncan 32’5.5”; 10. Jillian Fishback 29’10”; 12. Trista Spitler 28’11.5”; 14. Echo Clark 26’11.25”; 15. Gracia Peterson 24’8.75”; 16. Sarah Ratcliff 22’6.25”.
Shot Put > 5. Maggie Riedel 23’3”; 12. Lillie Fulton 18’11”.
Discus > 3. Maggie Riedel 74’6”; 15. Lillie Fulton 47’7”.
Javelin > 2. Keira Mullen 102’6”; 4. Madi Oakes 74’10”.
SMOKY VALLEY VIKINGS:
100 Meters > 6. Gavin Stambaugh 11.47; 8. Zach Gross 11.57; 25. Isaac Gonzalez 13.17; 30. Chandler Reed 13.49; 33. Caeden Guldner 15.43.
200 Meters > 1. Zach Gross 25.31; 3.Gavin Stambaugh 25.34; 22. Isaac Gonzalez 29.75; 28. Chandler Reed 31.95; 30. Caeden Guldner 36.62.
400 Meters > 1. Wyatt Johnson 53.11; 2. Karson Pihl 56.36; 7. Samuel Peterson 1:00.48; 11. Jakorian Crain 1:02.15; 12. Nathan Klapp 1:03.37; 14. Isaac Gonzalez 1:06.94; 15. Chandler Reed 1:08.86; 17. Caeden Guldner 1:19.25.
800 Meters > 6. Tytus Reed 2:22.33; 8. Kaden Bishop 2:24.59; 11.Sebastian Pavlovich 2:33.69; 14. Diesel Dauer 2:38.89; 16.Elijah Spooner 2:45.38.
1,600 Meters > 7. Brayden Eyer 5:16.49; 8. Tytus Reed 5:16.77; 12. Kaden Bishop 5:29.36; 14. Sebastian Pavlovich 5:34.90; 19. Elijah Spooner 6:23.34.
3,200 Meters > 5. Sebastian Pavlovich 12:36.89.
300 Intermediate Hurdles > 2. Vincent Pickering 46.70.
4×100 Meter Relay > 3. Vikings (Gavin Stambaugh, Zach Gross, Wyatt Johnson, Karson Pihl) 45.98.
4×400 Meter Relay > 1. Vikings (Gavin Stambaugh, Tytus Reed, Karson Pihl, Wyatt Johnson) 3:37.98.
4×800 Meter Relay > 1. Vikings (Tytus Reed, Brayden Eyer, Karson Pihl, Wyatt Johnson) 9:07.85.
High Jump > 11. Vincent Pickering 5’0”.
Pole Vault > 1. Samuel Peterson 9’6”.
Long Jump > 4. Ki Blanchat 19’8”.
Shot Put > 1. Justin Holt 43’6”; 4. Trystan Stambaugh 38’10.5”; 9. Parker Gardner 35’ 11.5”; 11. Gus Griffith 34’10”; 14. Richard Zeller 33’1”; 16. Mason Morel 31’4”; 21. Conner Smith-Bolin 28’10”; 22. Alex Grosland 28’9”.
Discus > 1.Trystan Stambaugh 128’1”; 10. Mason Morel 102’7”; 12. Gus Griffith 96’2”; 13. Richard Zeller 95’9”; 14. Parker Gardner 95’4”; 16. Conner Smith-Bolin 91’1”; 20. Alex Grosland 85’9”.
Javelin > 5. Trystan Stambaugh 133’3”; 7. Gus Griffith 118’2”; 10. Justin Holt 110’6”; 16. Parker Gardner 94’9”; 20. Alex Grosland 75’11”.
(The Staff covering events for the MAC AREA SPORTS NEW can be reached by email at crossdovewriter@gmail.com)