The Greene County track and field teams opened the outdoor season at home with the Ram Early Bird meet March 26. Colby Kafer and Brooklyn Olson set new school records as the teams collected many first place finishes.
Boys coach Chad Morton was pleased with his team’s first outdoor event. “The boys really stepped up and ran well for our first meet out. It should be an exciting season,” he said.
The Ram boys had first place finishes in four events. Colby Kafer won the long jump and set a new school record with a leap of 20’ 9”, and Tyler Miller won the shot put with a throw of 47’.
The 4 X 200m relay placed first in 1:36.83, and the 4 X 100m relay placed first in 46.12 seconds.
Second place finished came from Joe Patterson in the shot put at 40’ 1”, Miller in the discus at 128’ 4”, and freshman Nathan Black in the high jump at 5’ 8”. (State high jumper Carter Morton was again unable to compete.) Kafer finished second in the 200m with a time of 23.55 seconds. The 4 X 400 relay team placed second in 3:50.69.
Ram finishes in other events were:
• Third place – sprint medley relay, 1:47.46; and 100m dash, Tyler Teeples, 11.79 seconds
• Fourth place – discus, Bryce Hoyle, 123’ 8”; 4 X 800m relay, 9:55.79; shuttle hurdle relay, 1:10.66; and 1600m, Luis Velazco, 5:10.26
• Fifth place – distance medley relay, 4:16.61
• Sixth place – high jump, Bryce Stalder, 18’ 5”; and 110m hurdles, Jaxon Warnke, 18.02 seconds
Paton-Churdan competed also. The Rockets’ highest finish was third place in the 4 X 800 relay with a time of 9:47.67. Connor Brus finished the 1600m in 5:27.76, good for fifth place, and Eric Thompson placed sixth in the 800m with a time of 2:23.37.
In girls competition, the Rams’ Brooklyn Olson placed first in the discus with a throw of 122’ 9”. Coach Derek Merk called her performance “stellar,” and noted that Olson added more than 20 feet to her personal record. He also credited volunteer coach Andy Carman “for the time he has invested in our program to help our athletes better themselves.”
Olson also placed second in the shot put with a throw of 33’ 5-1/2”.
Brianna Osterson won the long jump with a distance of 15’ 11-3/4”. The Rams won the 4 X 100m relay (Melanie Doran, Paige Heaning, Makala Kafer, Osterson) in 53.92 seconds. They placed second in the shuttle hurdle relay (Melanie Doran, Maddie Van Pelt, Izzy Bravard, Lily Muir) with a time of 1:15.50 and they placed third in the 4 X 200m relay (Osterson, Heaning, Maddy Sigler, Van Pelt) with a time of 1:56.35.
Makala Kafer placed second in the 200m dash in 28.16 seconds in what Merk described as a “well-run race.” Izzy Bravard placed third in the 400m hurdles with a time of 1:20.18.
Ram finishes in other events were:
• Fourth place – 100m dash, Maddy Sigler, 13.99 seconds
• Fifth place – long jump, Janelle Brophy, 14’ 11-1/2”, and 200m dash, 29.65 seconds; sprint medley relay (Megan Doran, Sophia Ausberger, Tieryn Tucker, Kafer), 2:07.41 ; distance medley relay, 5:23.85; and 4 X 400m relay, (Heaning, Sigler, Van Pelt, Osterson) 4:45.63
• Sixth place – 110m hurdles, Izzy Bravard, 18.38
