Local throwers Teion Stammen (above) of Triad and Ethan Young of North Union (below) compete respectively in the shot put and discus. The athletes were a part of North Union’s annual Virg Rankin Invitational.
(Journal-Tribune photos by Aleksei Pavloff)
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Weather conditions were not the best for the Virg Rankin Invitational at North Union.
Blustery winds and cold temperatures were the order of the day, but six teams fought through the barriers to compete in the annual event that honors a long-time North Union teacher and track coach.
At the conclusion, it was Allen East and Pleasant that hoisted championship trophies.
Allen East scored double digits in 11 of the 17 events as it tallied 156 points to win the boys title. Upper Sandusky was second with 106 points followed by Pleasant (86), Elgin (83.5), North Union (70) and Triad (18.5).
Pleasant used a strong performance in the distance events on its way to a final total of 140 points in capturing the girls crown. Upper Sandusky placed second with 118 points and North Union was third with 89 points.
Those teams were followed by Elgin (69), Triad (45) and Allen East (40).
Triad’s Cayla Eaton was one of five athletes to win two individual events.
Eaton won the girls 100 hurdles and 300 hurdles.
Rilynn Jones of Seneca East (100 and 200) and Sydney Ham of Upper Sandusky (shot put and discus) also led the field in two events.
In the boys meet, Cy Starcher of Elgin won the 100 and 200 with Owen Mawer of Upper Sandusky capturing the 110 hurdles and 300 hurdles.
The North Union girls team placed in every event but one and Hannah Carney took first place in the 400.
The Lady Cats placed second in four events, the 4×800 (Lauren Hall, Ashley Hayward, Kendall Music and Savannah Amstutz), 4×100 (Audrey Benedict, Corajayne DeBoer, Riley Heminger, Lindsay Willis), 3200 (Music) and shot put (Kaylee Brestle).
Triad’s Ellie Johnson won the pole vault.
The Lady Cardinals’ 4×400 team of Eaton, Smiles, Overfield and Gaier) placed second.
North Union’s Lincoln Harrah had a pair of second-place finishes, the 100 and long jump, in the boys meet.
He teamed with Ricky Weigand, Cayden Lassiter and Ethan Young to finish second in the 4×100.
The Virg Rankin Invitational is North Union’s lone home meet of the year and was also Senior Night.
NU seniors honored before the meet were Hayward. Lacetyn Riffle, Brennan Burke, Young and Weigand.
“Running at our home meet is always a great experience because it feels comfortable after all our practices are here,” said Hayward. “At my last home meet, I wanted to perform well for myself, my teammates and my coaches, so I could do a good job of representing my school.”
Weigand reflected back on past memories.
“It meant a lot to run at home for the last time,” he said. “It is a weird feeling knowing that I am almost done with all high school sports.”
NU coach Cole Krawczyk appreciated the effort made by his teams.
“I’m very proud of how my teams came out and battled against tough competition,” he said. “They deserve a lot of credit for all of their hard work and dedication.”
JA team wins
Jonathan Alder took first place in the girls meet of last week’s North Union Middle School Invitational, scoring 161 points. The Pioneers were second in the boys meet with 109 points.
North Union earned a third-place slot (85 points) in the girls meet and was fifth (66) in the boys meet.
First-place individual finishers for Jonathan Alder and North Union girls:
Kailey Miller (JA) 100 hurdles; 200 hurdles; long jump, Gabriella Lindsey (NU) 1600, Kennedy Ludwig (NU) 800, Nora Aurin (JA) 200 and Molly Krummery (JA) discus.
Jonathan Alder won the 4×200 and the 4×400.
Walker Martini of Jonathan won the boys 1600 and the North Union 4×100 team also took a first place.