Panther girls dominate field; Tiger boys scrap out a win

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The western half of Howard County dominated the east on May 15 as the four "county" schools gathered at Northwestern for a co-ed track meet. Northwestern scratched out a win in the boys' events, while Western steamrolled the competition on the girls' side.

BOYS

The Northwestern Tigers' Declan Aaron dominated the short-distance sprints, taking the 100m and 200m dashes and providing 12 points for his team. Western's Brett Kallio won the 400m by more than two seconds, while Obadiah Green of Eastern prevailed in the 800M.

Western's Camden Raab showed his knack for long distance running, taking the 1600m title and finishing second in the 3200m to his teammate Maddox Carver.

Samuel Martin of Northwestern showed a similar proficiency on the track by leaping to a win in the 100m hurdles and finishing second in the 300m hurdles to his teammate Peyton Tarrh.

Northwestern truly built its victory around the relays. The Tigers swept the 4x100m, 4x400m, and 4x800m with a combination of Michael Groves, Tarrh, La'Ron Johnson, Aaron, Bryan Burkhalter, DeWayne Perrigen, Ryland Barnes, Mason Broeker, and Isaac Everson.

In the field events, Northwestern's Braxton Schieffer took the blue ribbon in the high jump by clearing the bar at 6'1". Western's Milan Bennett showed his prowess by clearing 12'6" in the pole vault. The Tigers took the long jump with Groves' 19'2" leap.

When it came to throwing things, Eastern's Andrew Cavazos showed remarkable dominance. He put the shot 56'8.25", outdistancing his county rivals by nearly 13 feet. His discus throw was similarly impressive, as he won the event easily with a toss of 128'2".

The final score of the boys' meet was:

1. Northwestern, 93
2. Western, 89
3. Eastern, 43
4. Taylor, 19

GIRLS

In the girls' meet, Western's Norah Ewing was fast. Really fast. The freshman sprinter scratched out a win in the 100m with a 12.60 finish that just edged Northwestern's Emma Baker at 12.69. That finish was good enough to set a school record for Western.

Ewing repeated the feat in the 200m, setting a Western record with a 25.81 finish, more than a second ahead of Eastern's Allie Hueston.

Western's Ashlyn Pownall came out on top in the 400m with a 1:04.88 finish, while Eastern's Ava Kantz prevailed in the 800m with a 2:39.33 mark.

Western was nearly destined to take the long-distance runs with three of six competitors in the 1600m and three of four runners in the 3200m race. Indeed, Kendall DePoy (5:55.63) and Hattie Harlow (13:56.27) brought home the ribbons for the Western Panthers in those races, respectively.

The Panthers continued to dominate in the hurdles. Allison McKitrick was a winner in the 100m hurdles with a 15.37 finish -- a school record. And Ewing took the 300m title for good measure with a 50.77 finish.

With that much speed on display in the individual races, it was no surprise to see Western blaze around the track in the relays. The Panthers took all three relays with a combination of Pownall, Ewing, Kenzie Moore, McKitrick, Joy Marley, Gracie Shade, DePoy, Harlow, Madelynn Shoaff, and Mary Claire DiPaola.

In the field events, Northwestern proved it has hops. Zoie Scheiffer cleared the high jump with a 4'6" leap. Baker punished her competition, clearing 11'0" in the pole vault while the next closest jump was four feet shorter. And Bryella Lefforge proved to be a force in the long jump with a 15'6.5" finish that cleared the competition by more than a foot.

Western has a hurler destined for the IHSAA Sectionals. Eliyse Walden place first with a 41'5.5" throw in the shot put that outdistanced the competition by nearly four feet. She repeated that dominance in the discus by tossing it 131'4", more than 25 feet longer than the rest of the field.

The final score of the meet was:

1. Western, 125
2. Northwestern, 58
3. Eastern, 50
4. Taylor, 7

See additional photos from both of these track meets, courtesy of Adam Hartsough, on the Lantern’s Facebook page or group.