St. Joseph County track and field teams dominated Thursday’s Dale Shook Invitational at Colon, with Centreville winning on the girls side and Mendon taking first overall in the boys competition.
The Bulldogs scored 162 points to finish ahead of Mendon (156.33) and Colon (132). Decatur (47.33), Litchfield (8.33) and Tekonsha (8) rounded out the girls field.
The Mendon boys piled up 183 points, followed by Colon (120), Centreville (106), Decatur (57), Litchfield (42) and Tekonsha (8).
Winning only four events, the Centreville girls found ways to score points in bunches. Nellie Pence won the long jump at 14 feet, 6.5 inches before Paige Kindig and Demiaha Taylor finished 1-2 in the 100-meter dash with times of 13.91 and 14.21 seconds, respectively.
The Bulldogs also took the top spot in the 400 relay, with Jenna Beeker, Pence, Kindig and Taylor crossing the line in 54.72. Hunter, Pence and Jasmine Long took second-fourth in the 400, and Hunter went on to win the 200 in 29.46.
Mendon’s trio of Grace Leighton, Mary Leighton and Emma Eberstein swept the 100 hurdles, with Grace Leighton winning in 16.21. The Leightons, along with Jenna Gales and Samantha Griffith, were victorious in the 800 relay (1:56.99), and Gales took first in the 400 with a time of 1:04.31.
The Hornets again dominated the 300 hurdles. Grace Leighton won in 52.18, followed by Mary Leighton and Eberstein. Lauren Samson took first in the 800 (2:44.12) and the Leightons, Samson and Gales closed out the day with a victory in the mile relay (4:38.12).
Colon’s Taya Bower cruised in the shot put (31-3), and Tallison Wilson won both the pole vault (8-6) and high jump (5-0). Isabel Vigil gave the Magi another victory in the discus (96-7). The quartet of Anessa Broker, Megan Martin, Abigail Stoll and Skyler Harvey clocked in at 11:20.87 in the 3200 relay for a win, and Skyler Harvey won the 3200 in 13:22.37.
The Mendon boys team won 10 events Thursday. Austin Yunker went 10 feet in pole vault, and the 3200 relay squad of Michael Campbell, Alex Heckman, Ruben Vorster and Jacob Hagenbuch turned in a time of 9:21.93. Hunter Stienbarger won the 110 hurdles by a second in 16.55, Nathan Dedes was first in the 100 (11.68) and the 800 relay team of Parker Cupp, Dedes, Stienbarger and Elijah Klepper nabbed the top spot in 1:37.43.
Michael Campbell won by five seconds in the mile (5:09.83) , Cupp was first in the 400 (53.68) and the 200 (23.71) and Campbell finished first in the 3200 (11:23.22). the Hornets took home a title in the mile relay to end the meet, finishing in 3:54.47.
Colon’s Spencer Smolarz cleared 5-8 for a win in high jump and Kale Schumacher’s heave of 124-9 was good for a victory in discus. Kyle Poortenga also came away with a win after a 46.09-second performance in the 300 hurdles.
Centreville’s Demarco Taylor and Zach Teadt swept the long jump with leaps of 19-9 and 18-5, respectively. Anthony Ruth, Alex Stafford, Chase LeBarre and Teadt joined forces for a win in the 400 relay (47.81), and Nolan Troyer took the top spot in the 800 (2:21.68).