Fans of girls track in the Brandon and Goodrich communities had plenty to cheer about at the May 5 Goodrich Invitational.
The Blackhawks and Martians dominated the day’s competition, combining to win all but two events. Brandon edged out Goodrich 140-134 to win the invitational, with Linden finishing a distant third with 60 points.
In the boys competition, Montrose won first place, beating out Linden 88-77. Goodrich finished fifth with 51.5, while Brandon placed seventh with 36. A total of 12 teams took part in the 49th annual competition.
Brandon coach Greg Hyde said it was the fifth time the Blackhawks won the invitational, as Brandon also won the event in the four years between 2000-03. The Blackhawks finished second last year.
The Martian girls actually won first in seven events as opposed to Brandon’s six first-place finishes, but Brandon placed second in two events and third in six others, while Goodrich placed second in one event and third in four events. Goodrich’s first-place finishes are as follows:
‘Long jump ? Kortni Elsworth (17?5?).
?3,200 relay ? Kelsey Meyers, Kelsey Krych, Mary Haiderer and Sam Minkler (9:51).
?800 relay ? Casey Tubbs, Alex Reickel, Paige Plant and Christina Sweet (1:52.6).
?400 meters ? Sweet (1:02).
?800 meters ? Krych (2:27).
?200 meters ? Sweet (27.8).
?3,200 meters ? Meyers (11:41).
?1,600 relay ? Meyers, Krych, Elsworth and Sweet (4:20).
Meanwhile, Brandon took first place in the following events:
‘High jump ? Savannah Stedman (5?4?).
‘Discus ? Sarah Bond (132?5-1/2?).
‘Shot put ? Bond (36?6?).
‘Pole vault ? Megan Ostrowski (8?6?).
?1,600 meters ? Kayla Doan (5:30).
?400 relay ? Jamilla Richardson, Alyssa Tierney, Danielle Westphall and Sarah Privette (54.2).
?300 hurdles ? Allie Sowa (50.99).
Brandon’s two second-place finishers were Stedman in the discus (120?11?) and Kelly Wilson in the 3200 meters (11:44.96), while Goodrich’s Elsworth placed second in the 100 meters (13.52).
In the boys competition, neither Goodrich nor Brandon finished first in any events. However, the two schools each notched two second-place finishes.
The Martians? Stephen Harlow finished second in the long jump (19.1), while Joe Leppek earned runner-up honors in the pole vault (12?6?). Brandon’s Nick Mackie earned both of the Blackhawks? runner-up finishes, taking second in the 110 meter high hurdles (16.62) and the 300 meter long hurdles (42.77).
Brandon’s Jawan Simpson finished third in two different events, the 100 meters (11.55) and the 200 meters (24.94), while Goodrich’s Eric Hughes took third in the long jump (18?11-1/2?).