Junior high teams finish strong at district track meet
Albany’s junior high track teams wrapped up their seasons at the district meet in Cisco on March 29 with standout efforts from both the girls and boys.
For the Lady Cubs, both the seventh and eighth grade girls teams finished as runner-up in the overall standings.
“That was huge to see, just with our numbers and the relays,” said girls coach Lauren Peacock. “We had three relays in both divisions, and it’s been a while since we’ve been able to put those numbers on the track.”
Coach Peacock praised the team’s determination and improvement throughout the season. “They dropped time all year, and were hungry for it,” she said. “We had a lot of personal records that day. So overall, it was a success.”
According to Peacock, nearly every athlete contributed to the team’s point total. “All but a couple came home with a medal or a ribbon. Every girl that went scored us a point, at least one point in their event.”
One of the meet’s highlights came during the eighth-grade girls’ final relay. “They were in fourth place going into the mile relay, and they competed, and they beat Cisco and Stamford and they ended up second in the meet,” she said.
On the boys’ side, the eighth grade team brought home the district championship.
“The eighth grade boys won the team title,” said boys coach Ryder Peacock. “We did a good job of just going over there and setting some personal bests. Several people set personal bests, and that’s our goal during the season. You want to come out doing your best.”
Blake Britting was a standout performer, winning four gold medals and potentially setting five personal records. “He came out and won four golds individually. He won the high jump, the pole vault, the triple jump, and the 400,” Coach Peacock said. “He had a heck of a meet.”
All 13 team members scored points in Cisco. “I think everybody that competed in the eighth grade division… scored at least one point,” he said. “That’s pretty cool… I think it’s the first time I’ve ever been to a meet where just about every kid on the eighth grade team scored.”
Looking ahead, Ryder Peacock sees potential for some of these athletes to contribute at the next level. “If they continue to progress… then I think that they’re going to be some kids that are definitely going to battle to be on the varsity track team next year.”
Both teams now turn their attention to junior high tennis, with off-season strength and conditioning also beginning.
DISTRICT MEET
Eighth Grade Girls
100m – 4. Avery Gleitz 14.93, 8. Kenzee Roysdon 15.50
200m – 7. Avery Gleitz 33.28, 9. Kenzee Roysdon 34.82
400m – 1. Hattie Fikes 1:06.48, 5. Avery Gleitz 1:12.85
800m – 1. Hattie Fikes 2:41.88, 4. Kynlee Milligan 3:01.78
1600m – 6. Kynlee Milligan 7:11.07
100m hurdles – 4. Haiden Niell 19:51
300m hurdles – 3. Haiden Niell 59.89
4x100 relay – 3. Albany (Hailey Gleitz, Keeley Britting, Kenzee Roysdon, Tinley Hefner) 56.83
4x200 relay – 3. Albany (Hailey Gleitz, Keeley Britting, Kynlee Milligan, Tinley Hefner) 1:59.42
4x400 relay – 1. Albany (Hattie Fikes, Hailey Gleitz, Keeley Britting, Tinley Hefner) 4:27.71
Shot put – 2. Sawyer Shoaf 35-4.5, 4. Kenzee Roysdon 30-6.25
Discus – 2. Sawyer Shoaf 77-3, 3. Kenzee Roysdon 72-2, 7. Hailey Gleitz 62-0
High jump – 3. Hattie Fikes 4-6, 7. Haiden Niell 3-10
Pole Vault – 1. Tinley Hefner 7-6
Long jump – 9. Keeley Britting 12-10, 10. Haiden Niell 12-8, 13. Avery Gleitz 10-9
Triple jump – 2. Keeley Britting 29-7.5, 8. Hattie Fikes 27-7.75
Seventh Grade Girls
100m – 6. Kealey Rogers 15.70, 9. Gibson Ware 16.07, 10. Artie Bell 16.23
200m – 6. Willa Early 34.49
8. Lilli Ford 35.73, 12. Artie Bell 37.21
400m – 1. Gibson Ware 1:14.31, 4. Lilli Ford 1:15.78, 10. Kealey Rogers 1:21.03
800m – 2. Paxton Pipes 2:55.27
100m hurdles – 2. Kalison Oliver 20.68
300m hurdles – 2. Kalison Oliver 1:01.38
4x100 relay – 2. Albany (Willa Early, Burkley Yeates, Presley Rosales, Karter Thompson) 57.14
4x200 relay – 2. Albany (Paxton Pipes, Burkley Yeates, Gibson Ware, Karter Thompson) 2:04.70
4x400 relay – 2. Albany (Burkley Yeates, Paxton Pipes, Presley Rosales, Karter Thompson) 4:40.19
Shot put – 2. Loralie Balliew 30-11.25, 4. Burkley Yeates 29-3.25, 6. Willa Early 27-0.5
Discus – 5. Loralie Balliew 57-6, 6. Willa Early 52-3, 8. Burkley Yeates 51-2
High jump – 2. Artie Bell 4-2, 8. Presley Rosales 3-10, 9. Karter Thompson 3-10
Pole vault – 2. Kalison Oliver 5-6, 3. Gibson Ware 5-6
Long jump – 5. Presley Rosales 11-9.75, 10. Gibson Ware 10-9.25, 11. Kealey Rogers 10-5
Triple jump – 1. Karter Thompson 30-1.75, 7. Paxton Pipes 26-2.25, 10. Lilli Ford 22-7.25
Eighth Grade Boys
100m – 3. Levi Murphy 12.60, 6. Colby Barnes 13.38
200m – 3. Lyle Wheeler 26.80, 5. Jacob Thurman 27.35
400m – 1. Blake Britting 55.97, 4. Ben Russell 1:03.01
800m – 5. Ben Russell 2:33.22
110m hurdles – 2. Bentley Boyett 19.20
300m hurdles – 2. Bentley Boyett 50.65
4x100 relay – 4. Albany (Levi Murphy, Jacob Thurman, Trevor Bellah, Jathan Perez) 51.57
4x200 relay – 3. Albany (Levi Murphy, Trevor Bellah, Jacob Thurman, Lyle Wheeler) 1:42.91
4x400 relay – 2. Albany (Lyle Wheeler, Trevor Bellah, Bentley Boyett, Blake Britting) 3:54.64
Shot put – 2. Joshua Thurman 36-10.25, 3. Jacob Thurman 35-2.5, 5. Jamie Barrera 34-2.5
Discus – 2. Jacob Thurman 103-9, 3. Sam Tidwell 99-5
High jump – 1. Blake Britting 5-6, 2. Lyle Wheeler 5-2, 4. Trevor Bellah 4-6
Pole vault – 1. Blake Britting 9-9, 2. Levi Murphy 9-6
Long jump – 4. Lyle Wheeler 16-5.25, 10. Levi Murphy 15-1
Triple jump – 1. Blake Britting 38-1, 7. Bentley Boyett 31-5, 8. Ben Russell 31-3
Seventh Grade Boys
100m – 5. Iathan Torres 14.18
200m – 6. Paxton Slaughter 29.84, 8. McCoy Vaughn 30.85
400m – 3. Adrian Salazar 1:02.46, 10. Creed Spencer 1:12.62
110m hurdles – 10. Sammy Holson 31.49
300m hurdles – 8. Cooper Roysdon 1:03.23
4x100m relay – 4. Albany (Parker Rose, Iathan Torres, McCoy Vaughn, Adrian Salazar) 54.91
4x200 relay – 4. Albany (Paxton Slaughter, McCoy Vaughn, Iathan Torres, Patton Smith) 1:58.63
4x400 relay – 4. Albany (Parker Rose, Creed Spencer, Patton Smith, Adrian Salazar) 4:38.83
Discus – 7. Mason Cradduck 77-1
High jump – 9. Creed Spencer 4-2
Pole vault – 1. Parker Rose 8-0, 2. Iathan Torres 7-6
Long jump – 9. Adrian Salazar 13-4, 11. Paxton Slaughter 12-1.5, 15. McCoy Vaughn 10-11
Triple jump – 7. Paxton Slaughter 26-8.5, 8. Sammy Holson 26-6
