Girls track preview: Eagles seek to gain an edge before districts

Published 12:24 pm Monday, May 6, 2024

BAKER — With just a few days left to practice, the Joseph girls track and field team will make last-minute adjustments before boarding the bus to Baker High School to take part in the 1A Special District 4 Championship on Friday, May 10. Field events begin at 10 a.m. with running starting at 1:30 p.m.

The top two finishers in each individual and relay event will automatically qualify for the upcoming state meet. Those finishing third will need to watch results from other district championships as four additional spots will be assigned from the next fastest time/marks from around the state.

Eagle fans in Baker will see sophomore Annie Rose Miller enter district competition with the top pole vault mark in the district. Miller’s 9 feet, 6 inches eclipses the second-place vault by 1 foot. Miller also will compete in the 300-meter hurdles, an event in which the Eagle holds the second quickest time in the district with a time of 49.93 seconds.

Freshman Livia DeMelo will join Miller at the pole vault mat; her best mark of 7 feet, 6 inches ranks sixth in the district standings. DeMelo also holds down sixth best in the high jump with an effort of 4 feet, 6 inches.

Sophomore Emmerson Hook will look for a few additional inches to claim a district title in the javelin as the Eagle is second in the district standings with a measurement of 109 feet, 11 inches. This event could be strong for Joseph as sophomore Caleigh Johnson is just 6 inches behind Hook in third with a throw of 109 feet, 5 inches. Also among the top 10 throwers in the district, junior Basey Dawson sits eighth with a season best of 97 feet, 6 inches.

Dawson will see a busy meet as the junior is ranked fourth in the high jump after clearing 4 feet, 10 inches and sits fifth in the triple jump with a season best set on May 3 with a measurement of 32 feet, 8.75 inches.

The district triple jump competition will also feature freshman Hayden Kissinger, seventh in the district at 27 feet, 11 inches.

The 100-meter hurdles will feature one Joseph runner looking to make the trip to state. Senior Iona McDonald is ranked ninth in the district with a season-best time of 18.27 seconds.

The distance events find sophomore Opal McDonald sixth in the standings in the 800 meters with a time of 2 minutes, 34.25 seconds and sophomore Mary Hellinger sixth in the standings in the 3,000 meters after posting a best time of 13 minutes, 11.01 seconds.

In the throwing events, senior Lakotah Steel currently ranks seventh in the discus event with a throw of 89 feet, 11 inches and ninth in the shot put with a measurement of 29 feet, 8 inches.

The top two finishers at the district meet in the relay events qualify for the state meet and Joseph sits just outside the top two in both events.

Addy Page joins with Kissinger, Miller and Johnson in the 4-by-100 for a best time of 52.91 seconds, just slightly behind Imbler’s 52.86 seconds, currently the second-best time in the district. The Joseph team of Harley Wanner, McDonald, Miller and Johnson also has the third quickest time in the 4-by-400 relay event, posting a best of 4 minutes, 18.82 seconds.