The four Wayland and Hopkins track teams all placed in the top five among 14 competing Saturday in the Hopkins Invitational.
To no one’s surprise, the Hopkins girls, ranked No. 7 this week in the Michigan Coaches Association (MITCA) state-wide survey, won with 154 team points The Wayland girls took fifth with 55.
The Wayland boys finished second to Sparta with 102.5 points and Hopkins checked in fifth with 56.5.
It was the usual su
spects that powered the Lady Vikings to their second invitational title of the season.
Senior sprinter Julia Forbes won both the 100- and 200-meter dashes, in 12.94 and 26.76 seconds, respectively. She also took first in the long jump at 16-11, outdistancing everyone else by more than a foot.
Also taking firsts were throwers Shelby Henshaw at 30-10.5 in the shot put and Bailey Ballard at 118-0 in the discus. Meghan Schulz was runner-up in the shot and Henshaw and Schultz went 2-3 in the discus to give the Lady Vikings all top three slots.
Freshmen Emma Helder, Laura Velderman and Jasmine Fisher contributed a lot of extra points. Helder set the school freshman record in the 800 with a time of 2:28.67, good for third place. Fisher was runner-up in the 3200 with a time of 12:40.3 and Velderman finished third in the 400-meter run at 1:04.11. Fisher also was fourth in the 1600 and Velderman fifth in the 200.
Ballard also was runner-up in the 300-meter low hurdles at 52.
6 seconds and was third in the 100-meter high hurdles at 17.91 seconds.
In the relays, Savannah Emaus, Ballard, Brittney Houseman and Lexi Merren took second in the 400 at 55.6 seconds; Forbes, Josie Freybler, Velderman and Lexi Merren were runners-up in the 800 at 1:53.28; Madeline Krcatovich, Helder, Freybler and Velderman were second in the 1600 at 4:28.76, and Fisher, Freybler, Helder and Madison Snoeyink were fourth in the 3200 at 10:38.64.
Perhaps the most pleasant surprise for the Lady Wildcats was the stellar first-place performance by junior Lauryn Spencer, wh
o crossed the finish line at 17.16 seconds.
Wayland sophomore Maggie Whiney took third in the open 1600 at 5:46.64 and was fifth in the 800.
Best of the Lady Wildcat relays was in the 3200, where Whitney, Zoe Antel, Haley Bilger and Mickala Kohtz finished third at 10:33.59
The 400-meter relay was fifth with Bilger, Spencer, Brittany Ludwig and Jazmyn Santos. The 1600 relay was sixth with Whitney, Antel, Bilger and Brooke Mulder.
The Wayland boys had outstanding performances from Owen Glass, first in the 800-meter run at 2:06.39; Lee Anderson in the 300-meter hurdles, first with a time of 43.41 second; the 1600 rela, first, with Seth Sevenski-Popma, Anderson, Owen Glass and Anthony Muscarella in 3:39.95; Mccarty Carpenter, first in both shot put (46-06.75) and the discus (142-09) and Perry Carter, first in the pole vault at 12-6.
Seth Sevenski-Popma. only a freshman, finished second in the 400 at 53.71 seconds. Devin Jakey, also only a freshman, was third in the long jump at 18-08.5.
The 3200 relay team was third with Carter, Owen Glass, Caleb Pletcher and Jeremy Pletcher. The 400 relay quartet of Devin Jakey, Anderson, Coby Dressler and Caleb Wolf took fourth.
Anderson finished fifth in the 110-meter high hurdles. Carter was sixth in the 1600 at 10:47.8 and Jonathan Zuiderveen was seventh.
Hopkins boys did not have a champion, but had several second- and third-place performances.
Chad Tenbroeke was runner-up in the discus with a toss of 127-08. Clayton Frank was sixth.
Jacob Sytsma cleared 5-10 to take second in the high jump.
Logan Blank was second in the long jump with a leap of 19-01.5.
Logan Blank was third in the 110-meter high hurdles at 16.42 seconds. Blank was sixth and Frank fifth in the shot put.
Blank, Hunter Lewellyn, Carson Timm and Hayden Graczyk took fifth in the 800 relay. Zach Reitman, John Parmeter, Nick Belka and Dan Rausch were sixth in 1600 relay.
PHOTOS: Julia Forbes was a three-time champion Saturday at the Hopkins Invitational.
Owen Glass (left) and Perry Carter both won firsts, in the 800-meter run and the pole vault.
Lauryn Spencer was individual champion in the 100-meter high hurdles.
