By Wendi Reardon Price
Clarkston News Sports Writer
Oxford — Both Clarkston Track and Field teams won their last OAA Red League dual meets against Oxford on May 3, 66-62.
“Oxford is obviously a tough team,” said Kevin Breen, head coach. “The score was really tight. Both teams made some consolations with where they put athletes moving into the final days of the season. I was really happy to come out with the win even with moving some athletes around, holding an athlete or two out so they will be healthy as we go into the championship part of the season.”
Breen added it came down to the relays which helped the Wolves out for the boys including the 3,200-meter relay team winning a tight race against Oxford and the 1,600-meter relay.
“On the boys side we won the meet in the 4×400,” he said. “Hats off to Gabe Van Goor making up a large deficit in the second leg and getting us back in the race.”
Finishing in the top three places to score points for the boys team in the track events were: in the 100-meter dash, junior Keehan LaVell, second, 11.60; 200-meter dash, senior Mark Palmeter, first, 22.95; sophomore Micah Chaney, third, 23.06; 400-meter dash, Palmeter, first, 52.23; sophomore Gabe Van Goor, third, 55.66; 1,600-meter run, junior Andrew Floros, second, 4:44.01; sophomore Sam King, third, 4:44.67; 3,200-meter run, sophomore Cayden DeGrendel, second, 10:25.98; 110-meter hurdles, senior Colin Bastuba, first, 15.73; and 300-meter hurdles, Bastuba, first, 43.06.
For relay events, in the 400-meter relay, the team of LaVell, sophomore Leon-Fountain Rence, sophomore Cooper Collins and senior Dominic Collins finished in second place in the time of 48.05.
The 800-meter relay team with Chaney, LaVell, Van Goor and Palmeter finished in first place in the time of 1:32.89 and the team of freshmen Mason Sidaway, Mason Miller, Daniel Hein and sophomore Pierce Peruski, third, 1:43.14.
The Wolves also took first and third place in the 1,600-meter relay event. The team of Bastuba, Van Goor, Chaney and Palmeter finished in first place in the time of 3:35; and the team of Floros, freshman Ryan Barnes, junior Bryce Nowik and senior Frank Schuster finished in third, 3:49.84.
The boys finished in first and second in the 3,200-meter relay. The team of Schuster, Floros, Nowik and sophomore Joshua Ellingsworth finished in first place in the time of 8:25.65. The team of junior Matthew Taverna, junior Matthew Anderson, sophomore Jack Tultz and junior Zac Montgomery finished in second, 8:26.52.
Finishing in the top three places to score points for the Wolves in the field events were: in the shot put, junior Nick Waszczenko in second place with the distance of 37-07; discus, Waszczenko, first, 137-03, for a personal best; sophomore Benjamin Ankrom, third, 121-08; high jump, sophomore Thomas Schafer, second, 5-06; and long jump, Chaney, third, 19-01.
Student athletes in the pole vault finished on Thursday with sophomore Cole Hedstrom with a height of 7-06 and junior Gannon Shaw, 7-0. The girls team ruled in sprint events taking the first three places in the 100-meter and 200-meter dashes to score points for the Wolves.
Breen added sophomore Keira Zorski had a good day and set a new personal best in the 400-meter dash.
“Keira as always did a nice job on the girls side getting her points in,” he said.
But to win the meet it came down to the last couple of races.
“Rebekah Wilson won the meet in the 2-mile beating out the Oxford runner by three-tenths of a second which is what won the meet for us,” said Breen.
Finishing in the top three places to score points for the girls team in the track events were: in the 100-meter dash, sophomore Scarlett Keenan finished in first place in the time of 13.16; senior Jurney Harris, second, 13.18; sophomore Brooke Ratliff, third, 13.47; 200-meter dash, Ratliff, first, 28.13; Keenan, second, 28.15; Zorski, third, 28.45; 400-meter dash, Zorski, second, 1:01.93; junior Emily Valencia, third, 2:33.05; 1,600-meter run, junior Alexandra Brigham, second, 5:42.57; senior Rebekah Wilson, third, 5:59.40; 3,200-meter run, Wilson, second, 12:26; 100-meter hurdles, junior Sammie Carpentier, third, 17.45; 300-meter hurdles, Carpentier, second, 53.11; and sophomore Athena Tedder, third, 53.83.
For relay events, the girls finished in first place in the 400-meter relay in the time of 52.33. The team of Harris, Keenan, Zorski and freshman Skylar Drinkard finished in first place in the 800-meter relay, 1:53.29; and the team of junior Cassandra King, freshmen Emma Garner, Mathea Marcale and Marlayna Dropps, third, 1:58.73.
The team of Zorski, Valencia, Drinkard and Brigham finished in second place in the 1,600-meter relay, 4:24.50. The team of Valencia, Wilson, Brigham and senior Cate Cotter finished in second place in the 3,200-meter relay, 10:36.66.
Finishing in the top three places to score points for the Wolves in the field events were: in the shot put, senior Emma Larkins in second place with the distance of 27-10; junior Abby Hasenfratz, third, 27-03; discus, senior Nicole McCowey, first, 93-02; high jump, sophomore Collins, first, 4-08; Carpentier, second, 4-06; and long jump, junior Genna Golab, first, 15-05.5.
Student-athletes in the pole vault finished the next day with sophomore Audrey Morgan had a personal best with 10-0. Golab finished with 9-06.
The Wolves head to the OAA Red-White Championship this Friday at Rochester Adams. The girls team is 3-1 and in second place behind Rochester, their only loss. The boys are 2-2 going in and in the middle of the pack.
“Our sprints have been really strong,” Breen said looking ahead to the meet. “I foresee them carrying us on the girls side. On the boys side, it will be a close race. Rochester Adams has a really strong boys team, and Rochester has a really strong girls team. They have a couple of standout runners who are going to score ten points in the races they are in.”
He added the relay teams will bring them back in.
“With our relays we should get back into it with ten points,” Breen said. “We are going to go to league championships and we are going to put up a good fight. Whoever scratches out those two second or one second victories here and there is going to do pretty well. Otherwise it’s going to be closely matched between a lot of teams this year in our league.”
The Wolves have the Bill Breen JV Relays on May 17 before heading to the MHSAA Division 1 Track and Field Region 9 meet at Milford High School on Friday, May 19.
“As the weather gets better and gets nicer as long as the weather holds off for next weekend it gives us an opportunity to get better seed times and allows us the opportunity just to be prepared for regionals,” Breen said, adding they will see some of the same athletes at the league championship.