Lady Knights take third at final MVC Championship
By Ray Popkess
The sun is beginning to set on the Mississippi Valley Conference as the final girls’ track and field championships took place on Thursday, May 7. Waterloo’s varsity squad took home the first place plaque while Triad’s varsity group took third behind Mascoutah. As for the junior varsity competitors, Mascoutah was the top group where Triad finished second as a team.
Varsity
Grace Parker was among the top throwers in the conference on Thursday, as she finished fourth in the shot put and second in the discus. Her shot put landed 8.99m (29’ 6”) from the throwing circle and her discus landed at 31.15m (102’ 2”). Lily Demange took eighth in shot put with a throw of 8.30m (27’ 2.75”), setting a new personal best in the event. Peyton Epling took sixth in the discus with a personal best throw of 27.87m (91’ 5.25”).
Lilly Suter took bronze and set a new personal best in the pole vault, clearing 2.82m (9’ 3”).
Moving over to the sand pits, Reece Nadler took sixth and set a new personal best in the long jump with an attempt of 4.75m (15’ 7”). Izzy Stein finished in seventh place with an attempt of 4.58m (15’ 0.25”).
In the triple jump, Stella Noonan took seventh place with an attempt of 9.05m (29’ 8.25”) and also set a new personal best.
Sophia Schardan was the fastest to compete in the 100m and took gold with a time of 12.29s. Addie Field took bronze in the same event with a time of 12.50s.
Field also took second in the 200m dash with a time of 25.51s. Stein took bronze in the same event, crossing the finish line with a time of 25.84s.
In the final individual varsity sprint race, Field took silver again in the 400m with a time of 58.14s. Maddie Schram took ninth in the same event with a time of 1:05.31s.
Kacey Ruger rounded out the top five in the 800m distance race with a time of 2:31.90s. Alyssa McCalla set a personal best in the same event, finishing ninth with a time of 2:51.34s.
Cameron Powers set a new personal best in the 1600m, knocking down her mile time to 6:14.31s and finishing eighth overall. Alivia Phillips trailed closely behind Powers in ninth with a time of 6:26.10s.
Emmy Goins was the lone competitor for the Lady Knights in the 3200m where she set a new personal best with a time of 12:01.03s, earning bronze.
Ava Gallia took fifth in the 100m hurdles with a time of 17.93s. Stella Noonan rounded out the top 10 with a time of 23.85 in the same event.
Gallia continued to dominate the circuit in the 300m hurdles, taking gold again with a time of 46.10s. Noonan finished ninth in the same event with a time of 56.09s.
The Lady Knights took gold in both the 4x100m and the 4x200m relay. The team of Gallia, Field, Stein and Schardan combined for a time of 47.46s in the 4×100, while the team of Reyna Rehg, Noonan, Maddy Norder and Stein crossed the finish at 1:45.21s in the 4×200.
The 4x400m team of Gallia, Norder, Rehg and Ruger finished fourth with a time of 4:10.57s.
Triad’s 4x800m relay team of Abby James, Morgan Mason, Phillips and Brynn Carey finished fifth overall with a time of 11:00.15s.
Junior Varsity
Lydia Oglesby took gold in both the shot put and discus in the junior varsity division with personal best throws of 8.47m (27’ 9.5”) and 25.42m (83’ 4.75”), respectively.
Imani Hawkins set new personal bests in the pole vault and the long jump. She vaulted 2.07m (6’ 9.5”) in the vault and leaped 4.00m (13’ 1.5”) into the sand pit.
Victoria Mumper took gold among JV runners in the 100m dash with a time of 14.11, setting a new personal best.
Oglesby also took gold in the 200m dash with a personal best of 28.97s. Mumper finished just behind her in second with a time of 29.42s, a personal best as well.
Wren Ilvarsonn added another gold medal for Triad in the 400m with a time of 1:03.26s, a personal best. Rae Bollinger finished third in the same event with a time of 1:11.53s, another personal best.
Lainey Rockwell was the fastest Lady Knight in the 800m, placing seventh overall with a time of 3:12.00s, a new personal best.
Brooklyn Carpenter took fourth in the 100m hurdles with a time of 27.73s.
The 4x100m relay team of Carpenter, Riley Dunlap, Josephine Schardan and Bollinger took bronze with a time of 58.33s.
The 4x200m relay team of Mumper, Alaina Mertz, Makenna Day and Oglesby took silver with a combined time of 1:56.47s.
Triad’s next relay team in the 4x400m race took third overall. The squad of Gabby Sanchez, Mertz, Mumper and Ilvarsonn combined for a time of 4:43.31s.
Triad’s final relay team took silver in the 4x800m. The team of McCalla, Rockwell, Sage Hardy and Aniya Suggs combined for a collective two mile time of 12:26.74s.
Coming up…
Up next for the Lady Knights’ Varsity squad will be the Sectional meet in Springfield at Southeast High School on Thursday, May 14.
