The Hopkins girls’ vars
ity track team successfully defended its O-K Silver Conference championship Friday by winning the league meet in surprisingly easy fashion.
The Lady Vikings, still ranked No. 7 in the state-wide Michigan High School Track Coaches Association (MITCA) power ratings, amassed 222 points, about twice as many as nearest competitor Calvin Christian.
It wasn’t quite as good a day for the boys, who had to settle for fourth place after recording a 3-2 record for dual meets. The Vikings had 90 points, three fewer than Godwin, while Calvin Christian had 165.
Senior sprinter Julia Forbes turned in yet another stellar performance, taking three individual firsts. She won the 100-meter dash in 13.28 seconds and won the long jump in 15-4.5. She had the best time in the prelims of the 200, but had to scratch the finals.
Lexi Merren and Brittney Houseman went 2-3 in the 100 and Merren and Laura Velderman went 2-3 in the 200.
The fantastic freshmen shined again for the Lady Vikings.
Velderman won the open 400 with her best time yet, at 63.01 seconds, with a terrific supporting cast of Josie Freybler and Madeline Krcatovich in second and third. Fellow frosh Emma Helder took the 800 in 2:30. Frosh Jasmine Fisher was third in the 1600 and second in the 3200.
Bailey Ballard won the prelims in the 100-meter high hurdles, but was touched out in the finals by a little more than half a second. She came back to take all the marbles in the 300 lows in 52.05 and in the discus at 120-10.5. Once again, Hopkins went 1-2-3 in the discus with the supporting cast of Shelby Henshaw and Megan Schulz. Schulz won the shot in 31-05 and Henshaw was runner-up.
Making another 1-2-3 possible were Houseman and frosh Savannah Emaus, who were second and third in the long jump behind Forbes.
The Lady Vikings won three of the four relays, finishing second to Calvin Christian in the 3200.
Emaus, Ballard, Houseman and Merren hooked to win the 400 in 53.01 seconds. Forbes, Freybler, Merren and Velderman took the 800 in 1:54.77. Krcatovich. Helder, Freybler and Velderman turned the trick in the 1600, winning the event by almost nine seconds over Calvin Christian.
The heaviest scoring for the Viking boys came from discus throwers Zack Blank, first with 138-01 and Chad Tenbroeke, second.
Senior Jacob Sytsma was conference champion in the high jump with a leap of 6-0.
Michael Heppe was runner-up in the 300-meter low hurdles, Clayton Frank took third in the shot put and Blank was fourth. Blank also was second in the 110-meter high hurdles. Dan Rausch was third in the 400 and fifth in the 800. Jacob Pastoor was fifth in the 1600.
The 800-meter relay team finished third with Blank, Carson Timm, Hunter Lewellyn and Hayden Graczyk, as did the 3200-meter relay team of Dan Rausch, Zack Rietman, Nick Belka and John Parmeter.
Awesome, and thank you,! But the ladies 400 relay was Emaus, Ballard, Merren, and Housman…sorry had to pull the Dad card on that one.
I will make the change toute de suite, French for right away.
Merci Beaucoup! That’s French for……I Googled it. Thank you sir, I and Mrs. Ballard are grateful for all the kind words you have penned on Bailey during her time as a Viking.
Such kind words were earned.