By FRED KRONER
fred@mahometnews.com
Mahomet-Seymour’s girls’ track and field team won the seven-team Apollo Conference championship on Friday at Mount Zion.
The boys’ track and field squad placed second, but had individual champions in four events.
Girls’ track and field
Senior Jessica Franklin was a double winner for the Bulldogs, capturing the 200-meter dash (26.20 seconds) and the 400 meters (57.02).
Her 400 time was both a meet and a school record. The previous M-S mark (57.60) was set by Jessica Melchi in 2012.
Overall, the girls’ team totaled 151 points. Runner-up Mount Zion had 125 points and Mattoon was third with 104.
Brisa McGrath was also a double winner for the Bulldogs. She was first in both the 1,600-meter (5:27.13) and the 3,200-meter (12:20.24) races.
Other individual winners for M-S were LaKeida Nichols in the 100 meters (12.94) and Amanda Franklin in the discus (95-3).
The 400-relay foursome of Stacey Irwin, Destiny Pryor, Sylvia Byron and Nichols was triumphant in a time of 50.44.
M-S had top three finishes in each of its relays, including a runner-up performance in the 1,600 (4:15.64).
The Bulldogs scored points in 16 of 18 events, only getting shut out in the high jump and the shot put.
Jessica Franklin wound up placing in four individual events. She was the runner-up in the 100 hurdles (15.65) and tied with teammate Nichols for third in the long jump (16-9 1/2).
McGrath had a fourth-place finish in the 800 (2:30.26), placing just in front of teammate Madi Balbach (2:30.68).
In eight of 14 individual events, M-S had the maximum two placers.
Irwin (13.29) ran fifth in the 100 meters. Pryor (1:02.59) placed sixth in the 400. Olivia Bunting was the fourth-place runner in the 1,600 (5:40.82). Byron took third in the 100 hurdles (16.34). Hailee McCall-Ochs was third in the discus (86-11).
In the pole vault, Bulldogs Mara Pletcher (11-7) and Kailey Bell (8-7) were third and fifth, respectively.
Byron also earned a medal in the triple jump (32-8 1/2) after a fourth-place finish.
In the 300 hurdles, Alexa Franklin (52.48) was third.
Overall, 13 Bulldogs earned at least one medal from an individual event at conference.
Boys’ track and field
M-S’ event winners were Brandon Bretz in the 400 meters (50.45 seconds), Mathias Powell in the 3,200 (9:39.10), Callan Whitehouse in the pole vault (14-1) and Hunter Hendershot in the shot put (54-8 1/2).
The Bulldogs had 11 athletes earn at least one individual medal.
Effingham won the boys’ division with 120 points. M-S had 113 1/2 and third-place Mount Zion had 94.
M-S had two placers in two running and two field events.
Hurdlers C.J. Shoaf (17.17) and Peter Slezak (17.65) were fourth and fifth, respectively, in the 100 hurdles.
In the 300 hurdles, Adam VonHoulten (42.93) was third and Slezak was fourth (43.50).
Corey Cebulski joined Whitehouse as pole vault medalists. Cebulski was fourth at 12-7.
In the triple jump, Skyler Yancy was fifth (38-11) and Noah Powell was sixth (38-7 1/2).
Individual champions Bretz, Hendershot, Powell also placed in a second event as did Shoaf and Yancy.
Bretz was third in the 100 (11.58). Hendershot was second in the discus (160-10) and Powell was second in the 2,600 (4:27.45).
Yancy ended fifth in the 200 (24.67). Shoaf tied for fifth in the high jump (5-9).
Riley Fortune ran third in the 800 (2:01.51).
All Bulldog relays ended between second and sixth.
The 400 unit was the runner-up in 45.48 and the 1,600 foursome was third (3:32.83).
Girls’ soccer
Meredith Johnson-Monfort scored the tiebreaking goal on a free kick with 15 minutes remaining as the Bulldogs rallied to edge visiting Champaign Central 3-2.
The Maroons (9-8) scored the first two goals.
M-S got on the board on an own goal and created the tie when Erin Lenschow assisted Brooke Benson with less than seven minutes remaining in the opening half.
The Bulldogs are 17-2 overall and carry an 11-match winning streak into Monday’s Senior Night match (6 p.m.) at Middletown Field against Mount Zion. Goalkeeper Sarah Hohenstein had one save.
In junior varsity play, M-S (15-0-2) blanked Central 2-0.
Softball
M-S ended the week with losses in two of three games.
Two Bulldogs — Aubrie Shore and Madi Scott — had hits in all three games.
M-S (11-10) dropped a 2-0 decision at Bloomington Central Catholic on Friday. The score was 0-0 until the bottom of the fourth inning.
Ashley Wheeler had two of M-S’ six singles. The game marked the first time the team was held scoreless this season.
On Saturday, the Bulldogs split a decision with Mattoon, to finish 5-5 in Apollo Conference play.
M-S won the opener 9-2. For the second game in a row, Shore pitched the distance and allowed two earned runs. She walked three and struck out four.
Kameryn Brotherton homered and drove in two runs. Allison Nofziger had a double among her three hits. Brotherton totaled two hits. Scott had three RBI and Wheeler had two.
In the nightcap, Mattoon scored five runs before the Bulldogs batted in the bottom of the first inning and posted a 14-3 decision.
Layne Acree had three hits and drove in two runs. Julia McNaught slugged a solo home run, the Bulldogs’ 18th of the spring.
Wheeler took the loss. Just three of the 12 runs she allowed were earned due to five errors.
Baseball
The Bulldogs’ offensive woes continued in a Saturday doubleheader loss at Mattoon.
The Green Wave won the opener 6-1 and the nightcap 4-2.
In its last four games, M-S (9-7) has totaled five runs.
Charlie Grant drove in Tanner Kirts with the first-game run for M-S.
In Game 2, Dylan Gates was 2-for-2 and Ben Greenberger had an RBI.
Gates (3-for-5) and Austin Biehl were the only Bulldogs with hits in both games.
In the opener, Cory Noe and Corbin Neef each pitched three innings and allowed five hits apiece. Between the two, they combined for five walks and one strikeout. Noe absorbed the loss.
Kyle Kinney suffered the pitching loss in Game 2. He worked three innings, yielded three hits while walking and striking out three.
