~courtesy of The Scranton Journal
The Greene County High School track and field team sent 10 events to the Class 2A state meet and came home with medals in four of them.
Girls Coach Derek Merk had these comments: “Overall, we were incredibly pleased with how the weekend went. Early in the season, we knew we had a special group of girls. Many had been working in the weight room and speed/conditioning sessions from the time track ended last season.
“It was nice to see Kamryn Sanders get one of those at-large spots to compete in the long jump at the state meet. As a junior, the furthest she jumped was 14-05. This season, she jumped a PR (15-11) when it mattered most – at districts. We were pleased that she was able to get a mark for all jumps at the state meet (19th – 15’4.25”) and ended up bumping up a few spots from where she came in seeded at.
“Kaycee Pittman proved she is going to be a pillar of the program for the next several years. It may surprise some to know she only started running 800s midway through the season. Each time she ran that race, she shaved off time from her previous best. We had high hopes for what she would accomplish at the state meet and she did not disappoint! She really did a great job of listening to Coach Gerhardt’s coaching cues related to race strategy and was able to knock off 2.5 seconds from her previous best (23rd ~ 2:26.62). That experience is going to be invaluable moving into next year.
“Olivia Shannon capped off an incredible T&F career by qualifying in four events. This was the second year of her qualifying in the 200 meters (23rd ~ 27.26).
“Natalie Heupel ended her T&F career with some incredible performances. Perhaps most impressive was her seventh place finish in the 400 meters. Natalie had an incredible span of four weeks where she was continuously bettering her time in this event. She continued this at the state meet. Her time of 59.19 was a school record, besting the time previously set by Olivia Hansen in 2014 (59.88). It was also faster than the Jefferson-Scranton record set by Kris Hagedorn in 1975 (60.14).
“Coming into the state meet, the 4×100 (Olivia Shannon, Kamryn Sanders, Natalie Heupel, Katrina Heupel) had already set the school record (50.94). These girls had gotten to the point where their handoffs were nearly seamless every time they ran this race. We figured they would have a shot at qualifying for finals if we could run a time similar to our SB. Although they fell a bit short (missed finals by one spot – ninth ~ 51.12), they finished with their second best time of the year.
“From the first time the 4×200 quartet (Olivia, Kamryn, Natalie and Katrina) ran the relay at UNI this season, I knew it could be pretty special. Throughout the regular season the girls were never 100 percent fresh – most of them had events prior to that race. As we progressed through the season, we began thinking Natalie would have a shot at qualifying for the 400 meters (which is RIGHT before the 4×200 in a regular meet lineup). So, she started running those two events back to back the last few meets to train for that quick turnaround. We were running 1:49 most meets and knew that was a time that could qualify for the state meet. Fortunately, none of the girls had any events prior to the 4×200 on Friday and it couldn’t have worked out better for us. They ran 1:46.90 (7 hundredths off the school record) and placed seventh.
“The 4×400 (Olivia, Kaycee, Natalie, Katrina) was another relay we knew had so much potential from the first meet of the season. That is another race where we normally had three of our four girls who had an event immediately before it at most meets (4×100). Coming into the state meet, we were seeded 13th. We told the girls that seeding was irrelevant. We knew we would have about 40 minutes of rest between the 4×100 and 4×400 on Friday (they normally get five minutes). That rest proved incredibly valuable as they ended up running a season best and improving on their school record. In addition, their time qualified them for finals.
“The finals of the 4×400 will go down as one of the most memorable of my coaching career. The girls did everything they could to prepare mentally and physically for that race. All four ran their fastest splits ever. They showed a lot of guts competing against some of the fastest 400 runners in the state. Their time of 4:04.17 (sixth place) is the best ever for a Greene County team (Greene County, Jefferson – Scranton, etc). They bested the time of 4:06.96 set by Allison Drewery, Jackie Coyne, Kristi Blanshan and Kristi Kinne back in 1991. It is one of those records that could be untouchable for decades. It couldn’t have been done by a more deserving group of young girls (Natalie Heupel, Olivia Shannon, Kaycee Pittman, and Katrina Heupel).
“I think the results of this weekend’s performances are a testament to what our kids can accomplish through hard work, being coachable, and being committed to pushing oneself outside her comfort zone.”
Van Meter won the Class 2A State Championship with 71 points. Panorama’s Jaidyn Sellers scored 30 points to place the Panthers in fifth. The Rams placed 32nd with seven points.
Ram Boys – The Rams boys team scored a point when Jesse Miller tossed the shot put 50 feet to place eighth. He also competed in the discus, placing 11th with a throw of 148’3”.
The distance medley relay team of Camden Strennen, Richard Daugherty, Nick Stream and Drew Wolterman finished in 21st place in a time of 3:45.48.
“I am very happy with the boys efforts at state track. Happy for Jesse to place in the shot put his senior year. Also happy with the distance medley relay. Came in at 25th place and left in 21st,” said coach Chad Morton. “It was a great experience for a young team.
“A big thank you to Jesse and Richard (Daugherty), our two seniors who went out for track for four years. They will be missed next year,” concluded Morton.
