Colby takes second, fourth at conference

The Hornets track and field team faced off against the eight other Cloverbelt-East programs at the conference meet at Gilman on Tuesday. The girls’ took second overall with a final score of 157 points while the boys’ team placed fourth, ending the day with 109 points.

The Colby girls were bolstered by dominant performances in the long distance events. They came away with the top-three spots in both the 800-meter and 1600-meter competitions and took first, second and fourth in the 3200-meter run.

MaKenna Herrmann came away with three individual first place finishes for the Hornets, winning the 800-meter, 1600-meter and 3200-meter events. She posted times of 2:41.40, 6:07.96 and 13:37.68 in the respective events to complete the long distance hat trick.

Pearl Feiten came in just tenths of a second later than Herrmann in the 800-meter run, posting a time of 2:41.80. Teammate Casey Reynolds placed third in the event with a time of 2:48.10.

Reynolds also took second in the 1600-meter run, finishing in a time of 6:11.48. Annamarie Schmitt was not far behind, placing third for the Hornets by recording a time of 6:15.83.

Schmitt’s time of 13:39.10 earned her second place in the longest race of the night and Reagan Schraufnagel added a fourth place finish in the event by posting a time of 13:55.22.

On top of the success in the individual long distance events, the 4x800-meter relay took first place on Tuesday. The team of Feiten, Reynolds, Schmitt and Schraufnagel added to their list of conference accolades by winning the event with a time of 11:06.51.

The 4x100-meter relay team of Jazmyn Heeg, Tori Underwood, Daelyn Rieck and Cali Sloop also found themselves on the podium at the end of the evening, their time of 58.81 seconds earning them third place.

The girls’ successes on the track did not end there. Hayden Willner claimed first place in both the 100 and 300-meter hurdles, posting times of 17.08 and 49.92 seconds to capture the two conference titles. She also placed fifth for the Hornets in the 400-meter dash, coming in with a time of 1:07.28. Feiten finished just behind her in the event, her time of 1:07.50 earning her sixth place.

Heeg picked up two sixth place finishes for the Hornets in the sprints, posting times of 13.58 and 28.51 seconds in the finals for the 100 and 200-meter dashes.

For all their success on the track, the girls also picked up some solid performances in the field events.

Rieck carried the Hornets in this regard, taking first place in the discus by posting a new personal best distance of 115 feet, six inches, which was 10 feet further than her next closest competitor.

She also took second in the shot put. Rieck nearly reached the 36 foot mark, with her furthest throw measuring a distance of 35 feet, 11.5 inches.

Meanwhile, Veronica Mateer added a fifth place finish for Colby in the triple jump. The sophomore set a new PR of 29 feet, five-and-a-half inches during Tuesday’s competition.

The boys’ team also found success in the leaping events, notching two of the team’s three first place finishes in the long jump and the triple jump.

Ivan Haemer broke his own personal record multiple times in Gilman, ultimately coming away with the victory in the triple jump with his final leap of 40 feet, fourand- three-quarters inches. He also placed sixth in the long jump by recording a distance of 18 feet, four-anda- half inches.

Caden Healy also placed in the long jump, claiming the conference title in the event after his longest leap measured a distance of 19 feet, 11 inches.

The senior picked up three individual second place finishes for Colby. After not competing in high jump for much of the outdoor season, Healy stepped into the conference competition and took second by clearing a height of five feet, six inches. His times of 11.62 and 23.76 seconds in the 100 and 200-meter dashes also earned him runner-up honors in those events.

Teammate Nathaniel Robida also found himself a top spot in the 100-meter dash. His time of 11.93 seconds in the finals earned him fifth place in the event.

Lucas Baumann snatched a pair of individual fifth place finishes in the 400-meter dash and the 800-meter run, putting up times of 57.47 seconds and 2:24.62 in the two events respectively. Max Adams added a sixth place finish for the team on the track in the 1600-meter run, putting up a time of 5:15.04.

The Hornets had four other top-six performances in the field events. Seth Hopperdietzel took third in the pole vault with a height of 11 feet, six inches and Haemer picked up a fourth place finish in the shot put with a throw of 40 feet, three-and-a-quarter inches. Erik Martinez had a fifth and sixth place finish in Gilman. His throw of 111 feet, six inches was a new PR and earned him fifth in the discus. He also took sixth in the shot put by recording a throw of 38 feet, two-and-a-half inches.

The boys’ third win of the evening came courtesy of their 4x100-relay team. The combination of Haemer, Martinez, Robida and Caden Kleparski claimed the top spot on the podium by finishing the relay in 47.06 seconds.

The 4x200-meter relay team of Kleparski, Hopperdietzel, Tyler Timmers and Caine Maldonis grabbed a second place finish for the Hornets, narrowly defeating the relay from Spencer to claim the runner-up spot.

CLOVERBELT’S BEST - Casey Reynolds does her part during the 4x800-meter relay, which her team won at the Cloverbelt-East conference meet.STAFF PHOTO/MATT FREY