Prep Track and Field- Washington will be the hub for the Southeast Conference (SEC) track and field meet on May 4th. The Mt. Pleasant girls’ team will enter as the defending conference champions after putting up 204 points as they were led by Abby Blint’s three first place finishes and Jadan Brumbaugh’s two first place finishes. On the boys’ side, the Panthers will look to dethrone the Demons as Washington scored 204 points with Mt. Pleasant cashing in 122. Here’s a preview of this year’s meet.
The Mt. Pleasant girls’ team still holds a strong chance at a repeat with Andi Scott holding the fastest 400-meter dash time of 1 minute and 2 seconds and is top three in every other sprint. The Panthers also have a firm hold on the throwing events with Ella Ensminger and Ava English holding on to the top two spots as they both have thrown over 36 feet on the year. Savannah Slododnik’s best throw of 111 feet 2 inches in nearly 10 feet farther than Elyse Setterstrom’s of Fairfield best throw.
Burlington could make things interesting as they hold the advantage in the 100-meter dash and the 200-meter dash with Mylee Stiefel (12.80 seconds and 26.63 seconds, respectively). The freshman for the Grayhounds also comes in with the best long jump of 16 feet 4 inches. For Washington, Iris Dahl will look to carry the Demons in the long-distance events as she ranks first in the 800-meter and 1500-meter runs and second in the 3000-meter run.
The relays can be simplified to this: Burlington holds the edge in the sprints, Washington is better at the medium distance relays, Mt. Pleasant likes long distance, and Fairfield and Washington fight over the shuttle hurdle relay.
Shifting our focus to the boys’ side of things, Washington comes into the meet as the favorite to repeat. Now, it is important to note that Washington and Mt. Pleasant did tie for first place at the most recent meet—the Brookhart-Crew Relays. However, Washington has at least one runner in the top-four in conference standings in the running events minus the 400-meter hurdles. Brayden Hartman also anchors the throwing events with a season best of 58 feet 4.5 inches in the shot put and a throw of 158 feet 4 inches in the discus. Elijah Morris is the sprinter and Micah Rees is the endurance runner for the Demons.
Will Davidson is looking to build on his strong performance last year for Mt. Pleasant as he ranks first in the 200-meter dash, the 110-meter hurdles, and the 400-meter hurdles. Avin Truong will represent the Panthers well in the long jump and the high jump as he ranks first and second, respectively, in the conference in those events. Sam Morehead for Burlington could give Washington some trouble in the long distance.
Mt. Pleasant holds the edge in relays as they have better season times in the 4×100, the 4×800, and the 4×110 meter shuttle hurdle. Burlington has better season times in the 4×200 meter relay and the 1600 medley relay. Washington will look to leverage their advantage in the 4×400 meter relay and the 800-medley relay.
All of this to say at 5 pm in Washington, the starters gun will ring out and anything can happen from the starting line to the finish line on May 4th.