Boyd and Bundren win events at Urbana Invitational
By Fred Kroner
Junior Ava Boyd and sophomore Chloe Bundren won individual events on Friday (April 27) for the Mahomet-Seymour girls’ track and field team in the 45th Urbana Invitational.
Boyd stepped off a personal-best time of 2 minutes, 22.59 seconds in the 1,600 meters. Her closest pursuer in the 25-runner race was 2.03 seconds behind.
Bundren dominated in the 1,600, clocking her personal-best of 5:39.79. She was victorious by 13.65 seconds in a race with 22 competitors.
Teammate Madalyn Marx was a top-five placer in three sprint races and helped a relay to fourth place.
Marx was the runner-up in the 400 meters (57.91 seconds), took third in the 200 meters (26.00) and ended fifth in the 100 meters (12.80 seconds).
She teamed up with Lauren Burr, Karlie Fuoss and Meah Beacham for a fourth-place time of 50.64 in the 400-meter relay.
Beacham and Burr secured fourth-place finishes in their specialties, Beacham in the triple jump at 34 feet, 1 inch and Burr in the 400 meters (1:01.30).
Also taking fourth was high jumper Grace Rodebaugh (4 feet, 10 inches).
Kara Carney, in the 300-meter hurdles, was seventh in 55.35 seconds.
M-S’ other top-10 individuals were in field events, including Kendyl Petro in two events.
Petro was fifth in the discus (92 feet, 6 inches) and seventh in the shot put (personal-best 32 feet, 10 inches).
Pole vaulters Kelsie Fuoss (9 feet, 6 inches) and Hannah Hofbauer (personal-best 6 feet, 7 inches) finished fifth and sixth, respectively.
In the long jump, Burr was eighth (personal-best 15 feet, 8 inches) and Karlie Fuoss was 10th (15 feet, 5 inches).
The Bulldogs’ 1,600-relay grabbed third place. Handling the baton were Carney, Boyd, Kira Smith and Burr. Their combined time was 4:21.52.
The 3,200-meter unit of Emma Frazier, Morgan Waisath, Callie Jansen and Jinan Abdo teamed up for a time of 11:23.49 and a fifth-place finish.
The other M-S relay, the 800-meter unit, was 10th in 1:55.57. The runners were Holly Hawes, Smith, Chloe Merkle and Karlie Fuoss.
M-S will return to action on Thursday (May 4) in the Apollo Conference Meet at Charleston.
