The Varsity Girls Track team said adios to the Flint Metro League as they thumped the competition and won the league meet on Wednesday, May 26.
Oxford dominated the event, capturing 165 points on the day and finishing 40 points ahead of second place Holly. Brandon finished in third place with 81.5 points.
With the win, the Wildcats have won the league meet the past three seasons.
“It was a huge win for us. It’s nice to have three championships in a row and I am glad I could be a part of it,” said Varsity Track Coach Jeff Zoli.
That hard work paid off as Jessica Howell established a school record in the long jump with her effort of 17 feet four inches and the 1,600 meter relay team of Megan and Shannon Seeley, Brittany Johnson and Kate Wolanin established a FML record.
The foursome ran a 4:06.65 in the relay, breaking the previous record of 4:07.5 that Holly set back in 1981.
“We knew we had a great team going in and the girls just worked really hard and we had some nice performances,” Zoli said.
The Wildcats took first place in 10 of the 17 events on the day.
Wolanin won the high jump for the Wildcats, clearing the bar at five feet two inches. The Wildcats finished in the top two positions in the pole vault, with Sarah Hillebrand coming in first at nine feet 10.25 inches and Molly Bonfiglio finishing second at nine feet six inches.
Other first place first place triumphs include the 3,200 relay team of Shannon Seeley, Ashley Burr, Chelsea Johnson and Brittany Johnson; the 800 relay of Shannon and Megan Seeley, Keeona Ives and Howell; Brittany Johnson in the 800 meter run; Howell in the 200 meter dash and Brooke Kovacic in the 3,200 meter run.
On the boys side, they finished third at the league meet with 116 points.
Swartz Creek won the event with 148 points and Holly finished second with 122. Swartz Creek were the boys FML champions.
Chris Rolle had a big day for Oxford at the meet, finishing first four times for the Wildcats. He won the 100 meter and the 200 meter dash, as well as coming in first in the 800 meter relay with teammates Darren Lumpkin, Mike Cynowa and Anthony McDugald and the 400 meter relay with McDugald, Aaron Stuk and Cynowa.
Other top performers include Stuk, who won the 110 meter hurdles and was second in the 300 meter hurdles and Austin Westmoreland, who finished second in the pole vault.
Heading into the league meet, the boys were fourth in the overall standings. With their finish, they moved into a tie with undefeated Kearsley, who finished sixth at the league meet.
‘Coming from where they were 3-6 last year to 6-3 this year, it was a tremendous turnaround for them and it looks promising next year when they go into the OAA,? Zoli said.
CORRECTION: It was noted in last week’s article that Jessica Howell had qualified for the state championships in the long jump. It should have read in the 100 meter dash and the long jump.