Marley Guy and Alicia Schmidtendorff each won three events to boost the Three Rivers girls track and field team to a runaway victory Saturday at Niles Brandywine. The Wildcats scored 99 points, Cassopolis-Ross Beatty had 51 and Brandywine tallied 19.
“The girls team really stepped up yesterday; this was the first time we all got to compete together as a team and see where girls could fit into roles on the team since we had a lot of new people on the team this year,” Schmidtendorff said.
The quartet of Guy, Schmidtendorff, Rachel Wilcox and Ally Pobanz blistered the competition in the 3200-meter relay, clocking in at 11 minutes, 22 seconds — nearly two minutes ahead of Cassopolis. Alexis Thornton, Schmidtendorff, Alexis Herbert and Alexandria Mayer teamed up for a victory in the mile relay with a time of 4:32.64.
“Alexis Thorton was one of the girls to step up,” Schmidtendorff said.
Cara Smith was first in the 100 hurdles (21.38), Guy cruised in the mile (6:14.92), Alexis Herbert won the 400 (1:03.34) by nearly six seconds and Schmidtendorff turned in a 2:42.44 for a victory in the 800.
Alyssa Sussdorf got a win at the line with a 28.50-second performance in the 200 and Guy followed with a crushing effort in the 3200, finishing in 14:06.53 with no other runners within a quarter mile. Tracey Bennett cleared six feet to win pole vault
Placing second individually for the Wildcats were Erye Richmond (14.38 in the 100-meter dash), Diana Herrera-Cortez (6:42.95 in the mile), Smith (1:01.48 in the 300 hurdles), Pobanz (2:58.02 in the 800) and Carolyn Kirchner (15:19.01 in the 3200).
Smith also was runner-up in the high jump (4-feet, 2-inches), Cassidee Sinkler finished second in pole vault (6-0), Sussdorf claimed second in long jump (13-2), Kian Bennett was second in discus (77-1.5) and Dasia Morton finished second in the shot put (26-5).
Boys
Brandywine 97, Three Rivers 68, Cassopolis 9
Sophomore Nate Eldridge had himself a productive day, playing a part in snagging first-place points for the Wildcats in four races — matching a feat he accomplished once last season.
Starting the day with a leap of 5-feet, 8-inches for a victory in the high jump, Eldridge went on to claim first in the 400 (52.78) and 200 (23.88).
Eldridge, Isaiah Smith, Johnel Stewart and David McCriston took the top spot in the mile relay with a time of 3:38.55.
Despite being an underclassman, Eldridge understands his teammates look up to him for his commitment to the sport.
“This was the first meet of the year and I’ve had a lot of time to get in shape since last year, so I’ve learned how to push through most of the pain that comes with running a lot of events,” he said.
Colby Brundige, Zak Zagon, Stewart and Todd Vidmar won the 800 relay in 1:36.55. The quartet of Brundige, Bailey Miholer-Wortinger, Vidmar and Ray King finished first in the 400 relay.
Brundige was runner-up in the 100 (11.88) and long jump (18-9) , McCriston placed second in the 800 (2:12.04), Zagon was a second behind Eldridge in the 200 (24.94), Javier Sandoval cleared 10 feet for second place in pole vault and Antonio Hunter’s toss of 39-5 in the shot put was good for second.