By Fred Kroner
Henry McMurry was the top individual finisher for the Mahomet-Seymour eighth-grade boys’ track and field team on Saturday (April 30) at the 12-team Mount Zion Invitational.
He ran the 1,600-meter race in 5 minutes, 13.81 seconds and placed second. In the same race, Bulldog teammate Ethan Peterka was third (5:14.69).
One M-S relay also finished in the runner-up position. The 800-meter foursome of Emmett Kearns, Colin Jackson, Parker Wilkins and Wade Manuel was timed in 1:44.84.
M-S placed third in the team standings with 58 points. The Bulldogs trailed Mount Zion (126 points) and Tolono Unity (94 points).
The Bulldogs also had success with their other relays.
The 1,600-meter unit of Kearns, Henry Carpenter, Wilkins and Manuel took third in 4:06.51.
The 400-meter grouping of Jack Meyer, Raife Humes, Jackson Davis and Landen Dowers finished fourth in 56.64 seconds.
Manuel and Camden Snodsmith recorded two top-10 performances in individual events.
Snodsmith was fourth in the high jump (4 feet, 8 inches) and eighth in the 400 meters (1:06.48).
Manuel was fifth in the 100 meters (12.61 seconds) and ninth in the long jump (15 feet).
Other Bulldogs who nabbed top-10 finishes individually were: Keenan Olivero (third in the discus at 96 feet,10 inches), Davis (fourth in the pole vault at 6 feet, 6 inches), Kearns (fourth in the 200 meters in 25.43 seconds), Preston Sriver (fourth in the 800 meters in 2:28.72), Carpenter (sixth in the 400 meters in 1:04.36), Tucker Loven (sixth in the 800 meters in 2:32.75), Jackson (seventh in the 100 meters in 12.76 seconds), Meyer (eighth in the long jump at 15 feet, ½ inch), Camden Gibson (ninth in the discus at 82 feet, 7 ¼ inches) and Wilkins (tied for 10th in the high jump at 4 feet, 4 inches).
In the same meet at Mount Zion, the M-S seventh-graders wound up in ninth place with 17 points. Mount Zion won the team title with 107 points.
The best M-S placements were a fourth-place finish from shot putter Jayvon Tompkins (31 feet,1 inch) as well as a fourth-place performance from the 400-meter relay unit of Brock Evans, Cash Bryan, Wyatt Belz and Jonathan Franklin. Their collective time was 59.89 seconds.
Two other Bulldog relays secured top-10 finishes.
The 1,600-meter unit of Garrett Waisath, William Bao, Evans and Franklin ended seventh in 4:43.57.
The 800-meter contingent of Charles Richards, Bao, Evan Powell and Kiptyn Fan crossed in 10th with a time of 2:09.13.
Other M-S seventh-graders with top-10 places were: Franklin (fifth in both the shot put at 29 feet, 7 ½ inches as well as the discus at 89 feet, 2 ½ inches), Evans (fifth in the pole vault at 6 feet), Cody Moen (seventh in the 1,600 meters in 5:47.75), Tate Bode (ninth in the 1,600 meters in 5:54.65), Tompkins (ninth in the discus at 78 feet, 11 ½ inches) and Jack VanHoorn (10th in the 800 meters in 2:44.35).
On Monday (May 2), the Bulldogs competed in a three-school meet at Tolono Unity.
The seventh-grade boys ended with 15 points and trailed Mount Zion (90) and Unity (41).
Pierce Douglas copped a second-place finish in the long jump (15 feet, 1 inch) and the Bulldogs’ 400- and 1,600-meter relays also finished in the runner-up position.
The 1,600 relay runners were Busch, Waisath, Evans and Aiden Banister. They were timed in 4:3.41.
The 400 relay runners were Evans, Douglas, Belz and Franklin. They crossed the finish line in 55.93 seconds.
M-S also got points from its 800-meter relay. Helping the foursome to third place were Pearce Slocum, Jesiah Hall-Harpst, Landon Busch and Banister. Their time was 1:58.64.
Bulldog runners captured the third-, fourth- and fifth-place spots in the 1,600 meters.
Leading the way was Bode (5:42.09) followed by VanHoorn (5:43.96) and Adam Smigielski (5:50.12).
Adam Varga ran sixth in the 400 meters (1:15.65).
Teammates who placed among the top six in field events were: Evans (third in the pole vault at 6 feet, 6 inches), Micah Lewis (fourth in the shot put at 25 feet, ½ inches), Connor Harper (sixth in the shot put at 23 feet, 10 ½ inches), Isaiah Brotherton (sixth in the pole vault at 5 feet). and Nathan Lawhorn (sixth in the discus at 62 feet, 11 inches).
The M-S eighth-graders finished in a tie for second place in the team chase with Unity. Each school had 40 points. Mount Zion snagged team honors with 70 points.
M-S runners went 1-2 in the 1,600 meters.
Auggie Gaudio led the way (5:01.88) followed by McMurry (5;03.47). In the same race, Peterka placed fourth (5:08.78) and Moen ran seventh (5:25.97).
The Bulldogs had a strong pack in the 200 meters.
Kearns was first to finish (25.50 seconds), Noah Frank was third (28.06 seconds), Humes was fifth (28.49 seconds) and Elias Welch was eighth (31.78 seconds).
Carpenter (1:01.41) and Snodsmith (1:02.69) were second and third, respectively, in the 400 meters. Teammate Jael Briones was sixth (1:07.55).
In the 100 meters, Jackson (12.24 seconds) outstepped Manuel (12.65 seconds), giving M-S a second and a third the sprint race.
In the 800 meters, Sriver finished third (2:24.69), Loven was fifth (2:30.52) and Camden Wood was eighth (2:39.65).
M-S relays also fared well.
The victorious 800-meter unit included Kearns, Dowers, Wilkins and Manuel. Their time was 1:44.12.
The third-place 400-meter foursome featured Meyer, Davis, Humes and Dowers. They finished the one-lap race in 54.28 seconds.
The 1,600-meter relay also ran third. The runners were Wilkins, Carpenter, Kearns and Manuel. Their time was 4:10.18.
Camden Gibson was the top Bulldog placer in field events. He took second in the discus (87 feet,10 inches). Logan Maxson was third (85 feet, 6 inches) and C.J. Smith was eighth (69 feet, 1 inch).
In the shot put, Maxson was third (30 feet, 11 ½ inches) and Vance Clark was seventh (25 feet, 11 inches).
Davis was fourth in the pole vault (6 feet, 6 inches), Manuel was fifth in the long jump (15 feet, 2 ½ inches), Snodsmith was sixth in the high jump (4 feet, 10 inches), Wilkins was seventh in the high jump (4 feet, 8 inches) and Meyer was seventh in the long jump (14 feet, 9 ½ inches).
M-S returns to action on Saturday (May 7) in the Clinton Challenge.
