Ruzich a top placer in four events at Normal West Indoor Track Meet
By FRED KRONER
Mahomet-Seymour had top 25 placers in all 14 events in Wednesday’s 29-school Normal West girls’ indoor track and field meet at Illinois Wesleyan University’s Shirk Center.
Shaelin Ruzich was a top placer in four events. Individually, she was second in the pole vault (11 feet) and added an eighth in the 60-meter hurdles (10.35 seconds).
She was part of the sixth-place 1,600-meter relay which also included Chloe Allen, Grace Rodebaugh and Mallory Carr. They were timed in 4:29.99.
The 800-meter relay, which featured Karlie Fuoss, Ruzich, Ariana Lingard and Ireland Walsh, was seventh in 1:57.72.
Another top M-S individual finisher was high jumper Rodebaugh. She cleared 5 feet, 1 ¾ inches and placed third, based on misses. She made the same height at the winner.
The leading Bulldog relay was the junior varsity 1,600-meter foursome, which captured third. The runners included Ella Scott, Klein Powell, Emily Bednar and Karlie Fuoss.
Their collective time was 4 minutes, 46.28 seconds.
Cece Abramson was seventh in the pole vault (10 feet) and two other Bulldog relays secured top 10 finishes.
The 3,200-meter varsity relay of Allen, Scott, Powell and Elizabeth Sims took seventh in 10:41.70.
An M-S junior varsity entry in the 800-meter relay was eighth. The runners were Chloe Merkle, Ema Shinker, Lainie Shoaf and Riley Watson. Their time was 2:04.53.
Watson also ended 20th in the triple jump (27 feet, 6 inches).
The Bulldogs had three other field-event placers. Fuoss was 13th in the long jump (14-9 ½), Payton Turk was 16th in the shot put (30-4 ½) and Carr ended 20th in the long jump (13-11 ¼).
Runners accounted for the school’s other places in the non-scored meet.
Bednar was 14th in the 800 meters (2:40.01), Katie Stonehouse was 14th in the 400 meters (1:11.15), Olivia Bunting was 21st in the 1,600 meters (6:09.14), Lingard was 22nd in the 60 meters (8.63), and Hannah Hofbauer was 22nd in the 200 meters (32.63).
M-S was scheduled to return to action on Saturday in the Eastern Illinois University Invitational, but that meet in Charleston has been canceled.
Pending more changes, the Bulldogs’ next meet is scheduled for March 28 at the unofficial indoor state meet at Illinois Wesleyan University, in Bloomington.
