For the fourth straight year, the Switzerland County girls track team captured the championship of the Vevay Media Group Invitational last Thursday night, powered by a balanced attack over all aspects of the meet.
Senior Natalie Newman continued her strong season, posting wins in the shot put with a throw of 34’4″ and the discus with a distance of 102’2″.
Also earning first place points for the Lady Pacers was Aleiah Thomas in the high jump with a height of 4’8″; Moriah Northcutt in the 100-meter hurdles with a time of :17.40; Allison Furnish in the 300-meter intermediate hurdles in a time of :49.62; and Leah Anders in the 800-meter run in a time of 2:28.
The 3,200-meter relay team of Anders, Calleigh Powell, Maggie Clayton, and MacKenzie Covington won their event 4:26; and the 1,600-meter relay team of Clayton, Northcutt, Anders, and Furnish also earned first place, clocking a time of .
Second places were earned by Furnish in the 100-meter hurdles and Northcutt in the 300-meter intermediate hurdles; while Jody Breeck was third in the shot put and the discus; Thomas was third in the 100-meter dash; and Clayton was third in the 400-meter dash.
Cameron Ray was fourth in the 3,200-meter run; Emma Giglio was fourth in the high jump and sixth in the long jump; and Powell was sixth in the 800-meter run.
Team scores saw the Lady Pacers with 130 points; followed by Rising Sun with 102; Jac-Cen-Del with 84; South Ripley with 76; Southwestern with 50; Shawe Memorial with 40; and Lawrenceburg with 27.
Individually, Taylor Cole of Southwestern was the Most Valuable female performer on the night, winning the long jump, the 100-meter dash, the 400-meter dash, and the 200-meter dash.
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In the boys event, Switzerland County would finish second as a team, but the night was marked by yet another school record, as the 400-meter relay team of Joe Hemingway, Brody Splain, Hunter Hayes, and Keegan Morris once again lowered their record, this time to a time of :45.0.
Hayes also won the long jump with a distance of 18’6 1/4″ and Morris won the 100-meter dash in a time of :11.14.
Second place points were earned by Brian Watson in the high jump; Will Pike in the 400-meter dash; Hayes in the 200-meter dash; and the 1,600-meter relay team of Hemingway, Pike, Tre Batchelor, and Cameron Niswander also finished second.
Finishing in third place was Maxwell Anders in the high jump; Cameron Shaw in the discus; Niswander in the 300-meter intermediate hurdles; and the 3,200-meter relay team of Jordan Lay, Iago Del Rio, Cameron Papucci, and Landon Wilks came home in third place.
Splain was fourth in the 100-meter dash; Damian Woodward was fourth in the long jump; Zach Howlett was fourth in the discus and fifth in the shot put; Justin Green was fourth in the shot put; Wilks was fourth in the 3,200-meter run; Del Rio was fifth in the 1,600-meter run; Cory Taulbee was fifth in the 300-meter intermediate hurdles; Niswander was fifth in the 110-meter hurdles; and Papucci was sixth in the 1,600-meter run.
Lawrenceburg won the meet with a team score of 123; followed by the Pacers with 111. Southwestern was third with 67; followed by South Ripley with 60; Rising Sun with 55; Shawe Memorial with 26; and Jac-Cen-Del with 22.
Mason Paris of Lawrenceburg earned the Most Valuable male performer on the night, winning the 110-meter hurdles; the shot put; and the 300-meter intermediate hurdles.