The girls won both the Lansing Invitational and the Bobcat Relays in Basehor last week, while the boys took second at Lansing on April 2 and first at Basehor-Linwood on Friday. The girls’ team scored 223 points at Lansing, while the host school Lions were second with 138. At Basehor, the girls scored 142 for first, with Perry-Lecompton taking second with 124 points.

The boys had to settle for second at Lansing. The Lions took first with 227, while Tonganoxie had 198. Tonganoxie did complete the dual title at Basehor. The boys also took first, scoring 106.5 points and nudging out second-place Perry-Lecompton. The Kaws tallied 101 in the eight-team field.

Girls’ track

Tonganoxie won five of eight track meets last season.

They already have two this year.

Erin Seymour paced the Chieftains at the Bobcat Relays, winning the 1,600 meter and the 3,200 meter. Seymour grabbed gold medals in the same events in Lansing as well. THS also had first-place finishes in Basehor in the discus (Erin O’Brien), high jump (Rachel Weston) and the 4×800 relay (Laura Jeannin, Katie Jeannin, Keri Walker and Madison Weller).

Jennifer Reischman, Weston and Aimee Eisman fared well in the 100 meter hurdles finishing second, third and fourth respectively in Basehor.

Girls’ coach Bill Shaw said individual results are playing out where he thought they would be early.

“We were pleased with the girls and we hoped we’d competed well, particularly in the second meet,” Shaw said. “We knew Perry-Lecompton would be tough.”

The Kaws also finished second in the traditionally strong Baldwin Invitational.

In the field events, Walker and Kelly Breuer took third and fourth respectively in the discus at the Bobcat Relays. Walker threw 88 feet, one inch, while Breuer was at 88-0. In Lansing, the roles were reversed, and Breuer won with a throw of 97-7.

O’Brien took second in the pole vault, making the 8-6 mark and tying her personal best. Rebecca Mages and Kara Coffey took fifth and sixth respectively in the high jump, joining Weston and her first-place jump of 5-0.

Shaw has enjoyed seeing younger talent complement the upperclassmen.

“The ninth-graders have really stepped in,” Shaw said. “The kids from last year are performing the way we expected them to. It’s a nice combination.”

Laura Jeannin and Madison Weller have been two of the stronger freshmen, along with Heather Deaver in the shot and discus. Deaver was fourth in the discus and fifth in the shot put in Basehor. Heather Helm, a sophomore transfer from McLouth, has contributed in the intermediate hurdles, taking first in Lansing and second in Basehor.

Results are also coming in unfamiliar areas. Coffey registered a 15-2 distance in the long jump. The Chieftains haven’t had a 15-foot jumper in some time. Tonganoxie also had a major win in the 4×800 relay as the Chieftains defeated Lansing for the first time in 10 years.

Boys’ track

The Chieftains had 10 first-place finishes at Lansing and five top places at Basehor last week.

Tonganoxie’s most successful event was the pole vault. At Lansing, Travis Andrews took first with a 10-foot, six-inch vault, while Karl Cleavinger was second at 10 feet even. At the Bobcat Relays, THS had three placers Dustin Schultz (first, 12-0), Andrews (fourth, 10-6) and Chad Starcher (tied for sixth, 9-0). Cleavinger didn’t compete at Basehor because of a sprained knee.

The triple jump was also a strong event for the boys. Jacob Walker won the Lansing invitational with a 42-7 jump, while Billy Baska was second (41-3) and Joe Calovich finished fourth (39-9). At Basehor, Walker also took first (41-11.75) and Baska was third (39-10).

Boys’ coach Phil Williams said he was happy with how the team opened the season, but said some athletes are still below where they should be.

“We left some points on the table,” Williams said.

Tonganoxie did have some strong results in the running events. At the Bobcat Relays, Alan Davis stayed busy on the track, taking first in the 3,200, second in the 1,600 and sixth in the 800. Earlier in the day, Davis signed a letter of intent to run cross country and track at Baker in Baldwin. He also took first in the 1,600 and 3,200 at Lansing.

The 4×800 relay at Basehor (Tommy Powell, Kyle Norris, Levi Huseman and Tony Aligo), took first with a 9:02.08 time.

Shane Howard took first in both the 110 meter high hurdles and 330 meter intermediate hurdles at Lansing. At Basehor, he took second and fifth respectively.

In other field events, Andrew Miller took first in discus and javelin at Lansing and second in javelin at Basehor. Nick Stein was sixth in shot put at Basehor, while Clayton McDaniel took sixth at Lansing.

The Eudora Invitational will start at 4 p.m. Friday.

Monday’s junior varsity meet at De Soto was rescheduled for Thursday at 3:30 p.m. as well.