Lady Vikings runners-up in 20-team Allegan Invitational

The Hopkins girls’ track team was runner-up Friday in the 20-team Allegan Invitational.

The Lady Vikings, who this week moved up to No. 7 in the state-wide Division 3 rankings by the Michigan High School Coaches Association (MITCA), had 76 points. Hamilton won it with 76 and Otsego was third with 64.

The Hopkins boys finished 16^th with 7 points. The Wayland boys’ team was tied for sixth with Bangor with 34 points. The Wildcat girls were 19^th with 8 points.

“The Lady Vikings had a really fantastic night of competing to take runner-up,” coach Molly Klumpp said. “This was a particularly strong showing for the ladies because they were one of only a handful of Division 3 schools in attendance.”

Indeed, Berrien Springs, Battle Creek Pennfield and Kalamazoo Hackett were the only other schools at the meet that weren’t Division 2.

Earning medals for the day were:

• Laura Velderman, 400-meter dash, 1:03.4.
• Julia Forbes, second, 100m dash, 13:33; second, 200m dash, 26:97; third, long jump, 15-7.25.

• Bailey Ballard, second, discus, 114-10.
• The 4×400 Relay (Maddie Krcatovich, Emma Helder, Josie Freybler, Laura Velderman), second, 4:25.4.
• The 4×200 Relay (Julia Forbes, Josie Freybler, Laura Velderman, Lexi Merren), third, 1:52.26.
• The 4×100 Relay (Bailey Ballard, Savannah Emaus, Laura Velderman, Lexi Merren), fourth, 53.79.
• Merren in the 200m dash, 28.39.
• Bailey Ballard, 300 low hurdles, 53.68.

It was a big day for thrower Maccarty Carpenter of Wayland, who won the shot put at 47-6 was second in the discus at 138-8.

Owen Glass was the other Wayland boys’ top individual performer with a fourth place in the open 800 at 2:03.13 and a third in the pole vault at 11-9.

Lauryn Spencer also took a fourth, in the 100-meter high hurdles, at 16.94 for the Lady Wildcats. The 4 x 800 team of Maggie Whitney, Zoe Antel, Haley Bilger, and Mickala Kohtz finished sixth to medal with a time of 10:34.64.

“Our score in this big meet does not reflect the tenacity and willingness for many of our athletes to max-out with four events,” said coach Raymond Antel., noting that one-third of his team members are in New York City with the Wayland High School Orchestra.

PHOTOS: Two Allegan Invitational individual champions, Macarty Carpenter of Wayland and Laura Velderman of Hopkins.