SPSL Championships - Day One
The Jaguars kicked off the SPSL Championships with a great afternoon at Sumner! The meet will continue on Saturday in the heat and promises to be an exciting day.
First on the track was the Girls 4x200 meter relay – after a few hiccups, the girls stood in sixth place on the podium and earned our first birth to the West Central District Championships. This same team, made up of freshman Jazmyne McGirt, sophomores Hailey Savage and Jasmine Beebe, and senior Sydney Kuhlman, earned a second trip to the WCD meet with another six place finish, this time in the 4x100 meter relay.
The next qualifier came in the men’s 110 hurdles, where freshman Asher Ogden ran a lifetime best of 15.12 to finish in second place and earn his first trip to the district meet. Ogden’s time makes him the fifth fastest freshmen in state history, while his freshman teammate, Nick Pachta, also ran a lifetime best of 17.81.
On the women’s side, freshman Alondra Lopez ran a huge personal best of 17.81 and moved up from the first alternate in the field of 16 to finish in 10th place. Lopez was joined by senior Gabriela Cintron, who ran a season best of 16.60 to finish in third place in her return to the SPSL Championships after a year off mending a ruptured Achilles tendon, and she will return to the WCD Championships for the third time in her career.
Sophomore Roz Slichko was our next qualifier, finishing in third place in a talented women’s 1600 field (5:07). Just short of her lifetime best, Roz made a strong move in the race, despite the heat, and looked strong throughout. Fellow sophomore Emily Wells finished in eighth place and looks to qualify in the 3200 on Saturday.
The women’s 4x100 team will be joined by their male counterparts at West Central Districts, as freshmen Cantrell Thomas and Asher Ogden were joined by sophomores Niccalis Cruz and Yahir Gonzalez to finish in fifth place and punch their ticket to next week.
Thomas, Ogden, and Gonzalez returned to the track twenty minutes later to test their strength and speed in the men’s 400 meter dash. Ogden (51.77) narrowly edged out Thomas (51.95) as the pair finished in 8th and 9th place – their times rank them as the 3rd and 5th fastest freshmen in the state in that event and both are huge personal bests.
In the women’s one-lapper, the Jaguars had four athletes competing and one of them earned a bid to the WCD meet. Junior Sophia Brown emerged from the slower of the two heats to finish in sixth place in a lifetime best of 1:01.59.
While the runners circled the track, the Jaguars were plenty busy on the field as well. Jonah Mains finished in third place, scoring 6 points toward the team total with his toss of 132’ in the men’s discus, while sophomore Gavin Allen earned a lifetime best of 106’1 after being promoted from meet helper/first alternate to competitor with four minutes to spare before the event. Junior Savannah Fickle missed out on a district qualifier by three-quarters of an inch, and will be the first alternate heading into next weekend. Fickle’s fellow three-sport teammate Sammie McGinty narrowly missed out on a birth, matching Fickle with a seventh place finish.
As athletes round into shape and hope to peak at the end of the season, it was a treat to watch a number of athletes earn lifetime bests, season bests, and district qualifying places. We are looking forward to another great day on Saturday!
Best,
ER Track & Field Staff