Carthage girls take first with fast start and finish
Carthage head girls coach Nikki Sipes said the Tigers always try to start strong in the 4x800 and finish strong in the 4x400 and her squad did just that on Wednesday.
The Tigers earned a second-place finish in the 4x800 and won the 4x400 while totaling 163 points to top Webb City (134.50) for first place in the team standings. Carthage finished with six event winners and earned 16 medals.
"We're competing really well right now, the girls are working extra hard for us," Sipes said. "They're working every day in practice and they're giving us their best effort. We're getting better with every meet and that's our goal is to get better by the end of the year, championship season, and we're really headed in the right direction right now."
"We had a lot of PR's tonight and a lot of girls placed," she said. "We did well in the jumps, our field events. Our throwers are doing an outstanding job this year and keeping us in these meets. I'm very proud of the girls."
Lexa Youngblood took first in the 400 with a time of 1:03.80 and Maggie Boyd won the 800 in 2:34.84. The 4x400 relay won in 4:27.51 with Ashleigh Rowden, Evelyn Carrol, Boyd and Youngblood running.
Joey Hettinger won the high jump at 1.52 meters and added another win in the long jump at 5.05 meters, a new PR. And Chasity Straw won the discus with a PR of 29.33 meters.
"We've got an older group that's doing a great job," Sipes said. "They're meeting their expectations and we've got some younger girls in that freshman/sophomore group that are really surprising us and coming along. Everybody is just working hard as a group."
Carl Junction (five winners), Webb City (three) and Joplin (three) dominated the rest of the action.
The Bulldogs were led by Sydney Ward, who won the 100 in 12.23 seconds and the 200 in 25.01 seconds, a new PR. Carl Junction won the 4x200 relay in 1:53.23.
In the field events, Carl Junction's Acadia Badgley won the pole vault at 2.75 meters and Bella Montez won the javelin throw at 33 meters, a new PR.
Webb City's winners were Brooke Hedger, who PR'd in the 1600 with a time of 5:48.39; Emily Countryman, who won the 3200 in 12:46.35; and Dawsyn Decker, who won the shot put with a distance of 10.28 meters.
Joplin won the 100 hurdles with Aubrey Strickland finishing in a PR of 16.80 seconds, the 4x100 with Phia Vogel, Abigayle Lowery, Abigail Eckert and Brylee Strickland posting a PR of 50.83 seconds, and the 300 hurdles, with Kirsten Thom posting a PR of 49.96 seconds.
Pittsburg (Kan.) High School's Dessie Gorley won the triple jump at 10.31 meters.