GALION — On Friday, May 3, the track and field teams representing 15 area high schools gathered in Heise Park for the annual Galion Kiwanis Invitational.
When all was said and done, the boys team from Galion would claim the team title, edging the runner-ups from Watkins Memorial by the narrowest of margins; 84-83. The Colonel Crawford boys team came in 12th overall with 23.75 points while the Clear Fork Colts rounded out the field with eight points.
The Tigers would see two individuals claim event championships on the day while also garnering first-place points in the 4×400-meter relay with a winning time of 3:34.35.
Braxton Tate earned his team 10 points by finishing first in the field in the 3200-meter run on the day, claiming the crown in a time of 10:00.61. Galion’s other event win came in the high jump where Jack McElligott led the field with a cleared height of 6-feet, 4-inches.
Galion would also claim runner-up finishes in the 4×200 and 4×100-meter relays on the day.
Other placements for the hosting Tigers were: Isaiah Alsip- 110-meter hurdles, 5th; Tate- 1600-meter run, 2nd; Colbey Fox- 200-meter dash, 3rd; Evan Barker- 200, 7th; Noah Atkinson- discus, 4th; Hanif Donaldson- long jump, 2nd and Kalib Griffin- long jump, 4th.
Scoring points for the Eagles on Friday were: Alex Mutchler- pole vault, tied-2nd, high jump, 7th and 110-hurdles, 7th; Jonah Studer- discus, 3rd; Braxton James- 800-meter run, 3rd; Colton Rowland- 100-meter dash, 8th and 4×100-relay, 8th.
Clear Fork’s eight points came via a seventh-place finish in the 4×400-relay and a third-place finish by Hunter Tollison in the shot put.
In the boys portion of the invite, one new meet record was set on the day. Angelo Grose of Mansfield Senior set a new mark en route to winning the long jump with a bound of 22’10¾”.
Over on the girls side, the squad from Avon would claim the team championship with 135.5 points. The Lady Tigers came in third with 93.5 points while the Crawford Lady Eagles claimed fifth (58). Clear Fork’s Lady Colts tallied 21.5 points and would finish in ninth overall.
Four new meet records were established on Friday on the girls side of things with two of them coming from Galion’s Kerrigan Myers.
Myers set the new mark in the 100-meter hurdles with a winning time of 14.84 and would also tie the high jump record with her championship height of 5-feet, 6-inches. Myers would also earn her team 10 points by winning the 200 in a time of 25.41. Lexington set a new record in the 4×800-meter relay (9:34.59) while Andrea Kuhn of Watkins Memorial now owns the meet record in the 1600 (5:09.57).
The Lady Tigers would also run to a championship in the 4×100-relay in a time of 50.31.
Other placements for Galion were: Samantha Comer- 100-hurdles, 4th, 300-meter hurdles, 5th and high jump, 7th; Brooklyn Cosey- long jump, 3rd and 300-hurdles, 7th; Kaitlin Bailey- 100, 8th and 200, 6th; Anna Court- discus, 3rd and shot put, 6th; Sari Conner- 800, 5th; Brooklyn Gates- 3200, 7th; Jalyn Oswald- long jump, 2nd; Nicole Thomas- pole vault, tied-6th and 4×200-relay, 4th.
Colonel Crawford would end the day with one champion as Katie Ruffener paced the field in the 300-hurdles with a winning time of 47.73. Ruffener would finish as the runner-up to Myers in the 100-hurdles for eight points.
Also scoring for the Lady Eagles were: Cassidy Vogt- 100-hurdles, 3rd, 300-hurdles, 6th and long jump, 5th; Jilliane Gregg- discus, 2nd; Drew Krassow- high jump, 2nd; Liv Krassow- high jump, 3rd; 4×800-relay, 7th and 4×100-relay, 6th.
For the Lady Colts, the highest placer on the day would be Trinity Murray and Emily Hart. Murray finished third overall in the pole vault while Hart claimed third in the 200. Ellasen Robinette earned fourth-place points in the discus while Alysia Miller tied for eighth in the pole vault. Clear Fork’s 4×200-relay team snagged sixth while the 4×400-relay finished eighth to round-out the Colts’ scoring.
