Running to Stay Warm
Junior high took on their fourth track meet of the year on April 27 for the Twin Valley Conference Meet, filled with wind and cold. For girls field events, Brooklyn Meyer placed first in long jump jumping 13’6.5”, Marissa Erickson took home 4th in shot put throwing 20’10” and Samantha Bonifas followed right behind by placing 5th with a throw of 20’6”. Rehgan Miller placed 2nd in discus with a soaring length of 60’5”. Meyer took home 5th place in high jump and Josi Sharp just falling behind landing in 6th place with both girls jumping 4’2”. Sharp then rebounding and got the 4th place ribbon in triple jump with a jump of 26’9”. Morgan Dinkler stayed warm with her 1600 meter run, leading the pack and placing 1st with a time of 6:59. Sydney Bartels ran the 1600 meter run for the first time and set the bar high for herself ending in 6th place with a time of 7:50. Reagan Rust earned 4th in the 100 meter hurdles with a time of 18.25 as well as placing 6th in the 100 meter dash running a 14.61. Rust also placed 3rd in the 200 meter hurdles with a time of 36.91. Rust comments on how she felt competing: “It was hard to compete giving the conditions that we were in and I felt like I could have done better.” Meyer, Dinkler, Monie, and Rust worked together to place 3rd in the 1600 meter relay running it in 5:20. After a hards day work, the girls were able to place 4th out of 9 tough teams.
The boys also had a successful day, taking home 6th place overall. Keaton Karr placed 5th in the 1600 meter run with a time of 6:05. With a time of 2:38, Jake Knehans took the win in the 800 meter run. Eric Blythe, Adrian Gomez, Jacob Borgman, and Logan Shockey ran their leg to place 6th in the 400 meter relay with a time of 61.47. Jake Knehans, Keaton Karr, Manuel Fontes, and Cody Pankoke got 1st place in the 1600 meter relay with a time of 4:39. In field events, Blythe placed 4th in High Jump jumping 4’8” and Shockey placed 4nd in the Shot Put throwing 33’.5”. “The conditions were not the best and I felt like I could have done better than I did,” said Shockey when asked about how he felt about competing in Shot Put.
Ribbon and Plaque Galore at Franklin Junior High Track Meet
The junior high Mustangs came prepared for their third track meet of the season at Franklin on April 16. As soon as the team took their first steps off of the bus, they were focused and ready to compete. Teams competing at the meet included Alma, Wilcox-Hildreth, Franklin, Blue Hill, Red Cloud, and Silver Lake. To start off the long afternoon of track, team members headed to field events first. Brooklyn Meyer set a personal record in high jump with a jump of 4’10”. Eric Blythe and Manuel Fontes both jumped 4’8” and took fourth place and fifth place respectively. Also placing in high jump was Josi Sharp in fifth and Sydney Bartels in sixth, jumping 4’2” and 4’0 respectively. Meyer earned another first place in long jump with a jump of 13’7”. Jake Knehans jumped 16’2” for a third place in long jump, and 33’9” for a second place in triple jump. Cody Pankoke jumped 14’4” to receive fourth in long jump. In triple jump, Sharp brought back a second place in triple jump, jumping an impressive 27’9”. Logan Shockey placed first and received a personal record with a throw of 35’ 7 ¼” in shot put. Adrian Gomez threw 32’10” and slid in at third. For the girls side of shot put, Marissa Erickson threw 21’10 ½” and placed fourth. Samantha Bonifas received fifth with a throw of 21’1 ½”. Gomez and Shockey gathered more points in discuss. Shockey threw 85’7” and got fourth while Gomez threw 85’4” and got fifth. Georgi tenBensel was proud of her team and the way they competed at the meet. She commented, “Our team is great about showing support for each other. When we’re not competing, we are always cheering each other on, and seeing that makes me so proud.” By the time field events were completed, the Mustangs had accumulated several team points. To start off the last half of the meet, runners got ready for the 1600 meter run. Morgan Dinkler finished the race first with a time of 6:38. On the boys end of the mile, Keaton Karr placed third with a time of 5:57 and Manuel Fontes placed fourth with a time of 5:59. In the 100 meter hurdles Georgi tenBensel crossed the finish line at second and Reagan Rust crossed the finish line fourth with times of 18.2 seconds and 19.1 seconds respectively. The 100 meter dash was the event with the most competitors and anyone in it faced tough competition. Reagan Rust showed off her sprinting skills, placing third with a time of 14.64 seconds. Logan Shockey ran the race with a time of 14.2 seconds to place sixth. Jake Knehans added 10 points to the team with his first place finish in the 800 meter run. Brooklyn Meyer crossed the line sixth with a time of 3:08. Running a time of 31.4 seconds in the 200 meter dash was Emily Monie, which gave her third place. Reagan Rust ran the 200 hurdles in 34.72 seconds and earned second place. For the boys in the 200 hurdle event, Keaton Karr slid into sixth with a time of 34.81 seconds. Taylor Hanson sprinted the 400 meter dash with a time of 78 seconds which gave her fifth place. The boys took two places in the 400 meter dash with Cody Pankoke finishing first and Jacob Borgman finishing third with times of 65 and 71 seconds respectively. The girls 4x100 meter relay team consists of Sharp, Bartels, Lexi Wengler, and Monie. Monie was the last leg of the relay team and crossed the line fourth. The boys took third, with their team of Blythe, Gomez, Borgman, and Shockey. To end the long day of events, the 4x400 meter relay was started. Meyer was the first leg of the relay, followed by Dinkler, Monie, and Rust. The team ran the race in a time of 5:10 and finished second. The boys ended the day first with Knehans, Karr, Fontes, and Pankoke running a time of 4:27. While the officials added points, the Mustangs waited in anticipation. It was announced that the girls racked up 98 points and the boys totaled 100 points, which gave both teams second at the meet. The team will go back to work as they prepare for the TVC meet at Sandy Creek on Saturday, April 27.
Run, Run, Run
The Junior High Mustangs track team went to Sandy Creek on Tuesday, April 9 for their second meet of the season. The meet was a larger one, with 11 teams competing including: Shelton, BDS, Superior, Sandy Creek, Blue Hill, Lawrence-Nelson, Elba, Red Cloud, Harvard, and Deshler. Starting with the girls, Brooklyn Meyer placed second in both long jump and high jump with jumps of 13’ 7” and 4’6” respectively. Additionally, Meyer placed fifth in the 800 meter run, with a time of 3:04, combining for 18 points to add to the team score. Next, Morgan Dinkler got the Mustangs out and running with a third place finish in the 1600 meter run with a time of 6:20. Georgi tenBensel added 26 individual points to the team score, placing first in both the 100 meter hurdles and 300 meter hurdles with times of 18.29 and 56.15 and third in the 400 meter dash with a time of 1:10. Reagan Rust showed her speed in the 100 meter dash, 100 meter hurdles, and 200 meter dash securing a fourth, fifth, and sixth place ribbon with times of 14.83, 19.34, and 30.91. Emily Monie snagged a sixth place ribbon in the 200 meter dash with a time of 31.28. For the relays, the girls also put on a strong showing, placing third with their time of 1:02 in the 400 meter relay comprised of Josi Sharp, Sydney Bartels, Lexi Wengler, and Rust. The weight relay comprised of Samantha Bonifas, Rehgan Miller, Madison Karr, and Marissa Erickson placed fifth with their time of 1:11. To finish the day for the girls, the 1600 meter relay team comprised of Meyer, tenBensel, Monie, and Dinkler took home second place ribbons with a time of 5:00. The girls team placed third out of the 11 teams with 74 team points.
The boys showed up strong as well. For field events, Logan Shockey placed fourth in discus, with a throw of 90’1”. Additionally, Jake Knehans and Cody Pankoke combined for 28 points in field events. Knehans placed second in triple jump and third in long jump with jumps of 33’3” and 15’2.5”. Pankoke took first place in triple jump and fourth place in long jump with jumps of 33’6” and 15’.75”. To start off the running events, Keaton Karr and Manuel Fontes took third and fifth place in the 1600 meter run with times of 5:59 and 6:06 respectively. Knehans also claimed second place in the 800 meter run, coming across the finish line at 2:27. The weight relay comprised of Trey Vance, Adrian Gomez, Jacob Borgman, and Shockey claimed third place with a 1:03 time. Finally, the boys 1600 meter relay walked off the track with second place with a time of 4:27, with team members including Knehans, Karr, Fontes, and Pankoke. The boys team grabbed 62 points on the day to take fifth of the 11 teams competing.
Run to Live, Live to Run
The Jr. High track and field team kicked off their season by traveling to Kenesaw for their first track meet of the season. There were three teams at the track meet consisting of the Silver Lake Mustangs, Kenesaw Blue Devils, and Red Cloud Warriors. The meet was a practice track meet to get the athletes a feel of what they are going to be competing against at some of the bigger track meets with more competition. When asked how the track meet will help the Mustangs at other track meets Georgi tenBensel said, “There were only three teams at the meet but it was a good meet to start out with for the beginning of the season with a competition that we will see often at other track meets. Everyone did good at the meet and will do well in the track meets in the future.” To end her quote tenBensel said, “Also the meet was a good learning experience for the 7th graders who haven't had much experience competing against other teams.”
