Marion boys finish third; girls fifth at Marion Relays
By Eric Clark
Sports Editor
The Marion track team got out of the blocks in a hurry Friday afternoon as the boys' team finished third and the girls' team finished fifth at the Marion Relays track event held in Marion.
The Warriors also broke 41 personal records in the process and came away with a strong showing according to head coach Grant Thierolf.
"Our athletes performed quite well on this day," Thierolf said. "We had 25 personal records (broken) for the boys during the meet and 16 personal records for the girls, so it was a good day for us."
For the boys, Joel Versch and Calvin Riggs led the way in the hurdle events. Versch finished second with a time of 44.08 seconds and Riggs third, with a time of 44.3 seconds in the boys' 300-meter hurdles.
The duo had a near repeat performance in the 110-meter hurdles as they nabbed second and third for a second time on the afternoon. Versch finished second with a time of 16.87 seconds, while Riggs finished in a time of 17.03 seconds.
Long-distance specialist Zac Ewert grabbed a second-place finish in the boys' 3200-meter run with a time of 11:04.67. Torey Hett added a fifth-place finish in the same event with a time of 11:13.08.
James Davis sailed 12'6" to soar to a second-place finish in the boys' pole vault, 39'3" in the triple jump for a fourth-place finish, and 5'10" in the high jump for a fifth-place finish.
"James Davis had a fantastic day for us in the (field events,) placing in three out of four," Thierolf said.
Throwers Alan Vogel and Steven Boone finished fourth and fifth in the shot put respectively. Vogel's toss of 43' 5 1/4" netted the senior a fourth-place finish while Boone added a fifth-place finish with a throw of 42'4."
Boone added a third-place finish with a 149' javelin toss and a fifth-place finish with a throw of 128' 1 1/2." Vogel added fourth-place finish with throw of 138'11" in the javelin event.
"Our throwers competed very well and we look for great things out of Alan Vogel, Steven Boone, Tyler Smith."
In the relay events, Marion finished fifth in the boys' 4 X 800-meter relay and sixth in both the 4 X 100-meter relay and the 4 X 400-meter relay.
The Warrior women also faired well at Friday's competition according to Thierolf.
Warrior high-flyer Shawn Hett sailed eight feet to capture a first-place finish in the girls' pole vault. Hett, hindered by back problems this past season, showed signs of returning to state-track-like material Thierolf said.
"It was great to have Shawn Hett vault for us again this year," Thierolf said. "Once she cleared eight feet, we shut her down for the night, but she could have gone much higher."
Chelsea Arnhold finished fourth with a vault of seven feet for the Warrior girls' team.
Brandi Shipman jumped her way to a first-place finish in the girls' high jump, sailing 4'8." She also finished fifth in the triple jump with a jump of 30' 4 3/4."
Marion's Allison Maddox finished first in the girls' 110-meter hurdles with a time of 19.58 seconds and third in the 300-meter hurdles with a time of 56.82 seconds.
Toni Gordon and Sarah Regier finished third and firth respectively in the girls' discuss. Gordon recorded a 94'2" throw, while Regier added an 89'4" throw.
Warriors Savannah Killough and Jenna Parli added a second and fifth-place finish in the girls' javelin event. Killough's throw of 93'5" and Parli's 80'8" throw netted the second and fifth-place finishes.
In the relay events, Marion took home a fifth-place finish in the girls' 4 X 800-meter relay event with a time of 11:20.53.
The Warriors competed in Hesston on Tuesday and will travel to Lindsborg on Thursday to compete at the Smoky Valley track meet. Events are scheduled to begin at 4:30 p.m.
