By Stephen Buus (For OzarksSportsZone.com)
Stockton—Skies were overcast and winds were blowing hard out of the south, but the competition was still hot and heavy Tuesday as the seven Mid-Lakes Conference schools vied for team and individual titles in the league track meet at Price Stadium in Stockton.
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Lady Indians outlast Ash Grove
Led by the one-two punch of jumper Madison Bowles and hurdler Emma Reed, Strafford won the girls’ team trophy with 150 points, 19 more than defending champion Ash Grove.
Bowles kick-started the Strafford effort early by jumping 4’ 10” to win the high jump and 31’ 4.75” for gold in the triple jump. Her second-place finish in the long jump (15’ 5.5”) added eight valuable points to the team total. Meanwhile, Reed swept the two hurdle races, posting a 16.3 at 100 meters and 54.6 in the 300. The Indians also took first in the 3200 meters as Madalynn Ward ran 13:34.7.
Strafford coach Missy Devlin said, “Some girls did things they had never done before and they came through. All the girls did what they were expected to do and still a little bit more. Like, I had a girl [Ward] run the two-mile after she ran the mile and 800. We just tried to get as many points as we could. We have a good little hurdler [Reed], good triple jumper and high jumper [Bowles], good distance.”
Looking ahead to the Class 3 District meet at Mt. Vernon, Devlin said, “We’re going to have to regroup a little bit. Districts is still gonna be tough, but I feel better about it.”
Elsewhere, Ashley Rolewicz of Ash Grove was the only triple winner of the day, taking first in the long jump (15′ 7″), 400 (1:03.8), and 800 meters (2:33.9). Autumn Garrett of Skyline won both the 100 meters (12.8) and the pole vault (8’ 6”). Fair Grove swept all three relays they entered.
Final team scores: Strafford 150, Ash Grove 131, Skyline 87, Stockton 75, Fair Grove 63, Pleasant Hope 56, Marionville 32.
Stockton boys lap the field
To say the hometown Tigers ran away with the boys’ competition would be an understatement. The senior-heavy Stockton contingent repeated as champions by racking up ten gold medals and 204 total points, twice as many as runner-up Marionville.
Joseph Dearman won twice with a high jump of 6’ 2” and a 41.9 clocking in the 300 hurdles. Kendall Roberts added two firsts at 400 (53.0) and 800 meters (2:12.6). Bryson Coulter kept the hit parade going for Stockton with wins at 1600 (4:52.1) and 3200 meters (11:07.1).
Adding to Stockton’s gold haul were the likes of Morgan Thomas in the pole vault (13’ 0”) and Sam McGuire in the shot put (44’ 8”)
The Tigers also won the 4×800 (9:12.1) and 4×400 (3:43.9) relays.
Stockton coach T. Jay Sanderson said, “We’re very senior-strong, so our depth this year is great. We’re gonna definitely feel the lacking of the seniors next year, but for now the seniors bring a great depth. On the track especially is where they really shine; but we’ve definitely done things in the field events as well. Throwers got points tonight and jumpers gave us points.
“At the state level our 4×8 and 4×4 teams are top notch. I think they both have the No. 1 times in the state right now. And obviously they can do things individually as well.”
The Tigers, who head north to Holden for the Class 3 District 7 meet, figure to have a large group to advance to sectionals.
“I know event-wise, we could have more than usual,” Sanderson said. “The last four or five years, we’ve adapted to getting into Class 3, being a smaller fish in the pond. We’ve just been struggling to get anything out, and so our relays have been our strong point. But this year we should have four or five individuals as well on top of that.”
Meanwhile, Skyline had two double victors with Caleb Crawford in the discus (145’ 0”) and javelin (130’ 8”) and Tanner Swearingin in the 100 meters (10.8) and long jump (20’ 8”).
Final team scores: Stockton 204, Marionville 102, Fair Grove 84, Skyline 81, Strafford 67, Ash Grove 56, Pleasant Hope 24.
