RANDY HISNER
WZBD.com
It took two days and lots of rain gear, but the New Haven Girls’ Sectional Track and Field Meet finally wrapped up Wednesday night.
Though running events were completed Tuesday, field events were postponed until Wednesday because of wet conditions. The delay didn’t bother the Homestead Spartans, who dominated both days to win the title, easily outscoring runner-up Norwell, 166.5 to 91.75. Huntington North was third with 88, Bishop Luers fourth with 53.
South Adams tallied 48.75 points to finish fifth, tops among Z-Land teams.
The Starfires had no first-place finishes, but they did get a pair of runners-up in Ana Lehman (long jump) and Luelle Schoch (tie for second in the high jump). Kapri Bixler led the Starfires in points with 16, earned with third-place finishes in the long jump and 100 hurdles and a fourth place in the 300 hurdles.
Heritage, led by double winner Alexa Walters (shot put and discus), finished just one point behind South Adams in sixth. Bellmont made a strong showing to take seventh with 40.75 points. Adams Central was a distant 12th with two points.
Walter, who had just set a new PR Saturday at the Bluffton Thrower Showcase, focused on her throwing this week and the junior had the top two discus throws of the night, both breaking her mark from Saturday. She won the event with a throw of 107 feet and also had one at 106-06. Either one would have won the event.
Equally as dominant in the shot, Walter had four throws that weren’t wiped away by fouls. All four would have won the event.
Conditions weren’t all that much better Wednesday than they were Tuesday for field events. Intermittent rain and cool temperatures prevented most athletes from setting personal bests.
“The weather conditions were pretty brutal, maybe as bad as I’ve seen for this late in the year,” said veteran Bellmont coach Carl Risch. “All the competitors had to overcome the conditions as well as their opponents. I was proud of the way our girls fought through all those difficulties and hardships and did about the best we could out of it.”
Several Z-Landers turned in clutch performances to finish higher than their seedings. Bellmont discus throwers Braelyn Radecki and Kinleigh Coffey, seeded eighth and tenth, respectively, each beat their seed by four places, Radecki taking fourth with a toss of 90-7, Coffey sixth with 88-3.
“That was awesome to watch,” said Bellmont throws coach Tony Ordway. “They are both coming off pretty significant injuries. Braelyn had an ACL tear over the winter, and Kinleigh had surgery on her labrum on her dominant shoulder, so seeing both of them make finals and then place at sectional for the first time is something special.”
The story was similar for Lehman and Bixler in the long jump. Runner-up Lehman (15-0) was seeded fourth, third-placer Bixler (15-0) sixth. (Lehman got second by virtue of a better second-best jump.)
Perhaps the biggest upset in the field events came from Bellmont sophomore Maya Schlemmer and South Adams freshman Luelle Schoch. Both were seeded sixth in the high jump but tied for second with two other athletes at 4-6. That was two inches below their season bests, but on a night when most jumpers were far from their PRs because of the treacherous conditions, their performances were good enough to get them to next week’s regional. (The top three finishers advance automatically.)
Besides double champ Walter, Heritage will advance Ava Johnson (tied for second in the high jump at 4-6) and DiNestee Williams-White (third in the 400 in 1:03.21).
Individuals and relay teams that finish lower than third can still get to the regional by a callback if their time or distance is among the best non-automatic qualifiers among the four sectionals that feed into the Carroll Regional next Tuesday. Coach Risch has been notified that Bellmont’s fourth-place 4X400 relay has been issued a callback.
Winners and Z-Land placers:
4X800 relay: 1. Homestead—9:55.55 6. Bellmont (Lilly Franz, Sydney Angel, Quinn Buchan, Kaitlyn Barton) 11:07.11 8. Heritage (Audrey Meyer, Addison Smith, Cortney Moake, Elise Hissong) 13:07.06
100 Meters: 1. Gabrielle Carlisle (B.Luers) 12.50
100 Hurdles: 1. Analise Smartt (Hom) 14.76 3. Kapri Bixler (SA) 16.05
200 Meters: 1. Jada Dale (Nor) 26.84
1600 Meters: 1. Alice Friesen (HN) 5:11.60 5. Adalynn Watson (SA) 5:48.28 6. Kaitlyn Barton (Bel) 5:54.52
4X100 Relay: 1. Huntington North 52.16 6. Bellmont (Lanie French, Madyson Snyder, Khia Cannon, Adi Knipstein) 54.37
400 Meters: 1. Jada Dale (Nor) 1:00.28 3. DiNestee Williams-White (Her) 1:03.21. 5. Ashley Bleke (Bel) 1:05.06. 6. Olivia Lybarger (Her) 1:05.27
300 Hurdles: 1. Carly Richison (Hom) 48.35 4. Kapri Bixler (SA) 49.48 8. Rosalinda Medina (Her) 52.91
800 Meters: Ella Anitbus (Hom) 2:25.28 4. Adalyn Watson (SA) 2:34.35 5. Quinn Buchan (Bel) 2:43.32
3200 Meters: 1. Alice Friesen (HN) 11:21.94
4X400 Relay: 1. Homestead 4:13.97 4. Bellmont (Ashley Bleke, Quinn Buchan, Khia Cannon, Lilly Franz) 4:24.94 6. Heritage (Rosalinda Medina, DiNestee Williams-White, Olivia Lybarger, Ava Smith) 4:29.10
High Jump: 1. Samantha Stetzel (B.Luers) 4-8 2. (Tie) Maya Schlemmer (Bel), Luelle Schoch (SA), Haley Williamson (Nor), Ava Johnson (Her) 4-6 8. Ava Billman (Bel) 4-6
Pole Vault: 1. Emerson Meredith (Nor) 9-6 4. Stella McIntire (SA) 8-6 5. Chloe Post (Bel) 8-0 8. McKinsey Amstein (Her) 7-0
Long Jump: 1. Analise Smartt (Hom) 16-2.50 2. Ana Lehman (SA) 15-0 3. Kapri Bixler (SA) 15-0
Shot Put: 1. Alexa Walter (Her) 38-2 7. Alyssa Garwood (AC) 30-1
Discus: 1. Alexa Walter (Her) 107-0 4. Braelyn Radecki (Bel) 90-7. 6. Kinleigh Coffey (Bel) 88-3. 7. Riley Roy (Her) 87-7
Team Scores: 1. Homestead 166.50 2. Norwell 91.75. 3. Huntington North 88 4. Bishop Luers 53. 5. South Adams 48.75 6. Heritage 47.75 7. Bellmont 40.75. 8. South Side 26. 9. Wayne 25. 10. Canterbury 20. 11. New Haven 14.50 12. Adams Central 2
Other Notes & Times:
-Emily High ran a season best for Heritage in the 1600, finishing in 6:29.
-Hailey Brune’s (AC) time in the 3200 was her best of the season. She finished in ninth.
-Riley Roy (Heritage) set a new PR in the discus and finished seventh.
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