Jr. High Competes In NWKL Meet
The Northwest Kansas League Junior High Track and Field Meet was held on Thursday, May 9, in Oberlin. The meet began at 9 a.m. in damp, near freezing wind chill conditions. Though the weather was very poor, the young track athletes turned in many outstanding performances. The meet was competed in four divisions: 8th girls, 8th boys, 6-7 girls, and 6-7 boys. St. Francis' highest team finish was 4th place.
St. Francis athletes won several events at the meet. Cris Espino was the 6-7 boys 200 meter hurdles champion. Colton Raile won the 6-7 boys shot put. Connor Wachsman won the 6-7 boys discus. The 4 X 100 meter relay team of Shane Todd, Cris Espino, Colton Raile, and Rhonald Neitzel also won first place. The only individual event winner for the girls was Ellee Krien in the 800 meter run.
8th Grade Boys
Quinter won the team championship in the 8th grade boys division narrowing edging Hoxie 124 to 121. Rawlins County placed third with 92. The remainder of the teams placed in the following order: 4th - Dighton 58, 5th - St. Francis 38, 6th (tie) - Greeley County 26, 6th (tie) - Decatur Community 26, and 8th -Wallace County 10.
St. Francis athletes placing in the 8th boys division are listed below.
Ben Busse - 2nd in 800 meters ( 2:35.19), 4th in 400 meters (1:06.55)
Garrett Helton - 5th in 100 meters (14.22)
Preston Witzel - 2nd in high jump (4' 6"), 3rd in 200 meters (28.43), 3rd in long jump (14' 3.5"), 4th in 100 meters (13.60)
6-7 Grade Boys
Quinter also won the 6-7 boys division with 152 team points. Wallace County was a distant second with 82. Rawlins County placed third with 81. St. Francis placed 4th with 75 points. The rest of the team teams finished in the following order: 5th - Hoxie 54, 6th - Greeley County 39, 7th - Decatur Community 22, and 8th - Dighton 21.
St. Francis athletes placing in the 6-7 boys division are listed below.
Cris Espino - 1st in 200 meter hurdles (32.42)
Aiden Fernandez - 4th in pole vault (6' 6")
Rhonald Neitzel - 2nd in 400 meters (1:04.01)
Colton Raile - 1st in shot put (37' 9"); 2nd in discus (88' 4"), 4th in 100 meters (14.12)
Dawson Rose - 6th in 100 meter hurdles (24.73)
Jordan Smull - 5th is discus (75' 3")
Seth Tumbelson - 6th in triple jump (22' 11")
Connor Wachsman - 1st in discus (103' 1"), 5th in shot put (26' 6")
4 X 100 meter relay - 1st (59.20) - Shane Todd, Cris Espino, Colton Raile, Rhonald Neitzel
4 X 200 meter relay - 4th (2:19.22) - Aiden Fernandez, Shane Todd, Dawson Rose, and Ashton McAtee
4 X 400 meter relay - 5th (4:49.79) - Dallas Laten, Alex Rodriguez, Francisco Palasio, and Dodge Fromholtz
8th Grade Girls
Rawlins County won the 8th girls division earning 116 team points. Quinter placed second with 100. The other girls teams placed in the following order: 3rd - Hoxie 71, 4th - Decatur Community 67, 5th - St. Francis 48, 6th - Greeley County 33, 7th - Wallace County 29, and 8th - Dighton 20.
St. Francis athletes placing in the 8th girls division are listed below.
Molly Gilliland - 3rd in discus (68' 9.5")
Ellee Krien - 1st in 800 meters (2:45.24); 2nd in pole vault (7' 0")
Jesslynn Houtman - 2nd in triple jump (28' 0.5"); 6th in 100 meters (15.02)
Rian Zimbal - 4th in 100 meters (14.84); 4th in shot put (28' 11.5"); 6th in long jump (12' 6.75")
4 X 100 meter relay - 3rd (1:02.70) - October Tumbelson, Jesslynn Houtman, Rian Zimbal, and Ellee Krien
6-7 Grade Girls
Wallace County, with 127 points, earned the championship in the 6-7 girls division. Quinter placed second with 114, and Decatur Community 3rd with 86. The remaining teams placed as follows: 4th - Greeley County 67, 5th - Rawlins County 45, 6th - Hoxie 36, 7th - Dighton 29, and 8th - St. Francis 23.
St. Francis athletes placing in the 6-7 girls division are listed below.
Deija Kabureck - 6th in shot put (26' 5")
Makaila Matthies - 2nd in 3200 meters (16:05.87)
Jacki Milliken - 6th in 800 meters (3:06.57)
Kaylee Moberly - 6th in high jump (3' 6")
Matilynn Smull - 4th in pole vault (5' 6")
4 X 100 meter relay - 3rd (1:04.17) - Aspen Tiegs, Matillynn Smull, Michelle Palasio, and Jacki Milliken
4 X 200 meter relay - 6th (2:30. 39) - Deija Kabureck, Kaylee Moberly, Mika Killingsworth, Makaila Matthies
4 X 400 meter relay - 6th (5:42.47) - Aspen Tiegs, Michelle Palasio, Makaila Matthies, Jacki Milliken
Click here to view complete meet results.
The track season is now concluded for the junior high teams.
