Falcons track teams are finally back
Abbotsford opens 2021 at Colby Invite
The Abbotsford track and field program finally returned to action after their COVID-19 imposted hiatus with a meet on Tuesday, April 27, and then one on Monday, May 3. The Falcons have proved that the numbers may be down, but the talent is undeniably there.
Colby Invite
Abbotsford opened its 2021 campaign with a two mile jaunt down the road for the 2021 Colby Invitational. The skies were gray, winds were gusting, and temps hovered near the low 50’s, but that did nothing to dampen Abby’s speed.
The boys were seventh out of 10 teams with 35 points, and the girls placed fourth with 78. Marathon took the top spot for both boys and girls teams.
With the top eight finishers in each event scoring points, the Abbotsford girls scored points in six events on April 27.
The Falcons notched their first points in the third event, the 100-meter hurdles. Freshman Sydney Falteisek took fourth in a time of 19.34 seconds, while Bridgett Pogodzinski was right behind in fifth in 20.62 seconds.
The Falcons recorded their best result in the ninth event of the invite, the 4x200-meter relay. Falteisek, Mya Ruesch, Olivia Hammel and Briseida Escalara edged out Marathon with their time of 2:00.53 for first and ten points.
Maricruz Ochoa posted another top eight finish, placing fourth in the 400-meter dash in 1:14.00 for five points. The Abby girls had another fantastic result when the 4x100-meter relay team of Brodhagen, Escalara, Ruesch and Hammel placed second in 56.94 seconds.
Falteisek and Pogodzinski picked up more points in the 300-meter hurdles. Falteisek was fourth in 56.30 and Pogodzinski was sixth in 1:01.06.
The Falcons got more points from the 200-meter dash, with Hammel scoring three points with her sixth place result in 29.68. Hammel continued to score for Abby, earning five points by taking fourth in the high jump with her leap of 4-08.00.
Escalera secured another podium finish for Abby, taking fourth in the triple jump in 29-02.00. Falteisek and Brodhagen were right behind, taking fifth and sixth in 28-05.00 and 26-05.50.
Abby had three top eight results in the discus. Joselyn Chacon was third with a throw of 77-05, Isabella Aguilera was fifth in 77-01, and Dana Bloch was eighth with her throw of 70-01.
The Falcons had another strong showing in the shot put. Dana Bloch put the shot 29-07.00 for fourth place and five points. Aguilera was eighth with her throw of 26-08.25.
The boys team is much smaller in years past, with only a dozen out for the sport, but last week Abby proved they could have a few conference champions by season’s end.
Junior Ty Falteisek is back in a big way. After suffering a broken leg during football, Falteisek is off to a fast start, nabbing second place in the 100-meter dash in 11.82 seconds.
The boys 4x100-meter relay team of Falteisek, Hawkey, Hirsch and Hunter Davis added six points with a third place showing in 50.56 seconds.
Falteisek garnered Abby’s best result of the night, taking top honors over 34 other runners when he won the 200-meter dash in 23.74 seconds.
Hunter Davis earned a point for Abby when he tied for seventh place in the high jump with a height of 4-10.00.
Marcus Bohl added another podium placement in the discus with his heave of 106-03 for third. Brandon Hawkey had an eight place throw of 92-02.
Bohl scored more points when he placed sixth overall in the shot put with a throw of 36-00.25.
Marathon Invite
The Red Raiders once again swept all challengers on Monday, winning both the boys and girls meets at their home invitational. Meanwhile, the Abby boys and Abby girls placed sixth. The boys team had 36 points, and the girls finished with 53.5 points.
Ty Falteisek blazed the trail for the Abby boys, picking up the 200-meter dash title with his winning time of 23.68, a new personal best. Ty added a runnerup result in the 100-meter dash, breaking the twelve second barrier for a time of 11.94 seconds - a new PR.
The Abby boys grabbed more points when the 4x100-meter relay team of Evan Schunk, Falteisek, Jake Hirsch and Brandon Hawkey took fourth in 49.74.
Marcus Bohl scored points with a seventh place heave of 35-3.50 in the shot put and a sixth place throw of 103-08 in the discus - both personal bests.
Two Falcons were in the top eight in the pole vault. Evan Schunk was fourth in 8-06.00 and Jake Hirsch was eighth in 7-00.00. Each were new PRs.
Olivia Hammel had a new PR in the 100-meter dash in 14.15 seconds for sixth place. Stephany Espino ran a new personal best in the 400-meter dash in 1:16.03 for eighth place, and had a top eight result in the 800-meter run, finishing in seventh in a new best of 3:11.17.
Freshman Sydney Falteisek continues to shine in the early goings of the 2021 season. Falteisek captured the 100-meter hurdles with a new PR in 18.31 seconds. Bridgette Pogodzinski followed soon after, taking fifth in 19.23 seconds.
Two Falcons scored points in the hurdles once more when Falteisek took third in the 300-meter hurdles in 54.94 seconds. Fellow freshman Iris Cruz was seventh in 1:02.25. Both were personal records.
The Abby girls dominated the relay events, scoring points in three relays. The 4x100-meter relay team of Sommer Brodhagen, Briseida Escalara, Mya Ruesch and Olivia Hammel placed third in 56.28 seconds.
This was followed by the 4x200-meter relay of Pogodzinski, Ana Flores, Cruz and Calley Ruesch in third place in 2:11.89. The 4x400 relay team of Maricruz Ochoa, Mya Ruesch, Falteisek and Hammel finished fourth in 4:34.61.
Jocelyn Chacon represented Abby in the discus, taking sixth place in 85-06. The Falcons added more points in the jumps, with Hammel taking fifth in the high jump in 4-06.00. Pogodzinski was seventh in the pole vault in 5-06.00, and Escalara was eighth in the triple jump in 28-04.00 - another personal best for the talented freshman.
The Falcons next meet will be Friday in Stanley-Boyd. Events will start at 4:15 p.m.
WE HAVE LIFT OFF -Abby’s Conrad Flink goes airborne during the long jump last week. Flink is one of several returning Falcons in 2021.STAFF PHOTOS/ROSS PATTERMANN
BURNING RUBBER -Ty Falteisek sprints down the runway during the long-jump portion of the Colby Invite. Falteisek is off to a fast start in 2021, winning a race in each invite so far.
