Both Wolves track teams were off and running this past week hosting Southfield on April 12 and racing around the Troy track on April 14.
On the girls side, Clarkston was able to defeat Southfield 66-62, but lost a close race to Troy 69-59.
‘We ran okay, the Troy meet came down to the 400 relay. We ran a good time. (Troy) was just a little better,? said Clarkston Coach John Yorke.
The Wolves time of 4:09 lagged just two seconds behind that of Troy in the 400 relay.
So far on the season, the girls team is 2-1 on the year and despite losing to a league opponent so early on, Yorke still feels the Wolves control their destiny in the OAA I.
‘If we win the rest of our dual meets and the league meet, we can have a share of the title even if Troy wins the rest of their meets,? said Yorke.
At the beginning of the season Yorke felt the distance runners would be the crux of the program this year, and so far they have been.
‘We have not lost any of the distance running events yet this year,? said Yorke.
At the Ann Arbor Pioneer Invitational on April 9, Clarkston’s Jenny Morgan was only three seconds off the state record in the two mile run.
‘We are still weak in the sprints and we are young in the field events,? said Yorke.
One unexpected performance this past week came from freshman Stephanie Thorstad whose long jump of 16?7? helped the Wolves triumph over Southfield; and according to Yorke is one of the longest jumps in the county all year.
The boys team did not fare as well as the girls this past week dropping both their meets. On April 12, Southfield defeated Clarkston 90-38 and on April 14, Troy was triumphant with a final of 73-55.
‘Our times are getting better. We want to win, that is important, but so is the team concept and improving every meet,? said Clarkston Coach Walt Wyniemko.
Standing out for Wyniemko this week was senior Jake Meissnest, who won the shot put event against Troy with throw of 49 feet.
?(The meet) against Troy was a lot closer than the scores indicated,? said Wyniemko.
After a win against Rochester Adams to start the season, the boys team record stands at 1-2 on the season. While Wyniemko is not worried, as his team is young and inexperienced, there may be some tweaking of the lineup for future meets.
‘If we feel that people are not doing a good job, we’ll put them somewhere else so that they can have some success,? said Wyniemko.
The boys and girls track teams? meet against Lake Orion finished too late for this edition of The Clarkston News. On April 23, the girls team will compete in the West Bloomfield Invitational which according to Yorke, will feature some of the best teams in the state.