The Goodrich boys and girls track teams are having a season to remember, both locally and nationally.
The host Martians handily defeated Genesee in a May 18 matchup also involving Bendle. The boys team defeated Genesee 113-23, while the girls team routed the Wolves 126-8.
Both the Goodrich boys and girls squads are 11-0 in the GAC, and have clinched at least a tie for the league title. The Martians can clinch the title outright at the league meet May 26 at Mt. Morris.
Three days earlier at the Mott Invitational in Flint, the 3,200 meter relay team of Samantha Minkler, Kaitlin and Kayla O’Mara, and Janee Jones earned a spot among the best in the country.
The quartet’s time of 9:31.85 placed them among the top 50 in the country, according to dyestat.com, a website that lists the best high school track performances in the country.
Their performance at the relays breaks down as follows: Minkler, 2:23.64 (her best time ever, Goodrich coach John Shaw said); Kaitlin O’Mara, 2:25.07; Kayla O’Mara, 2:25.8; and Jones, 2;18.05.
Shaw said the quartet, by virtue of their May 15 performance, will be competing in the Adidas Outdoor Track Meet June 17 in Raleigh, North Carolina.
‘In order to get there, you have to have a qualifying time in a certain event,? he said. ‘The time for the 3,200 relay is 9:39. If you take our time (at the Mott Invite) and look at the outdoor nationals from last year, we’d have been in the top 15.?
At the May 18 league meet, the boys team won 14 events at the meet ? three field events and 11 distance events.
The following Martians won in field events: discus (Barrett Johnson, 123?6?); shot put (Johnson, 43?5?); and pole vault (Lance Keene, 12?).
Goodrich also took first in the following distance events: 110 hurdles (Charlie Richards, 15.7); 100 yard dash (Matt Hill, 11.44); 800 relay (Hill, Wayne Coulman, Jeff Decator, Chris Roelandt, 1:34.47); 400 relay (Hill, Andrew Benson, Keene, Roelandt, 45.86); 400 meters (Coulman, 52.3); 300 hurdles (Benson, 43.85); 800 meters (Ben Richards, 2;06.38); 200 meters (Decator, 23.45); 3,200 meters (Jeremy Phan, 11:17.9); 1,600 relay (Richards, Coulman, Roelandt, Decator, 3:41.17).
Meanwhile, the Martian girls squad captured 16 of 18 events at the May 18 meet.
In field events, Goodrich took four of five events: discus (Jacqui Cornwell, 105?); long jump (Nykole Pfaff, 13?9?); high jump (Melissa Luttrell, 4?6?); and pole vault (Andrea Howell and Casey Tubbs, 8?6?).
The Martians also earned wins in the following distance events: 3,200 relay (Kelsey Meyers, Kaitlin O’Mara, Jones, Kayla O’Mara, 10:11.7); 100 hurdles (Michelle Elliott, 16.46); 100 meters (Amber Beard, 13.92); 800 relay (Elliott, Beard, Paige Plant, Tubbs, 1:56.07); 1,600 meters (Jones, 5:46); 400 relay (Luttrell, Pfaff, Plant, Tubbs, 57.29); 400 meters (Jones, 1:02.08); 300 hurdles (Elliott, 51.33); 800 meters (Minkler, 2:43.23); 3,200 meters (Kayla O’Mara, 11:35.11); and 1,600 relay (Elliott, Meyers, Minkler, Jones, 4:29.74)
Goodrich held their own against several larger schools at the Mott Invitational Saturday, May 15.
The Martian girls squad finished sixth out of 16 teams at the invite with 59.5 points, earning two first-place finishes. Detroit Mumford won the event with 98 points, followed by Grand Blanc (93.5) and Clarkston (92).
Meanwhile, the boys team finished ninth out of 17 teams with 28 points, earning one first-place finish. The top three boys teams were Lake Orion (98), Mumford (94), and Grand Blanc (93).
In addition to the 3,200 meter relay, the Martian girls? other victory came in the 1,600 meter run, where Jones captured first place with a time of 5:09.81.
Meanwhile, Keene earned the boys team’s lone first place finish, winning the pole vault with a jump of 11?6?.
Goodrich turned its attention to the regional meet Saturday, May 22 in Bad Axe. Shaw said his ‘gut feeling? is the girls? toughest competition will come from Essexville-Garber, while the boys will face a stiff challenge from Frankenmuth.
The top two individuals in each event at regionals, plus anyone that exceeds a state standard for that event, will qualify for the state meet June 5.