Warrior girls track finishes home meets with team title against area opponents
The Tonganoxie Junior high eighth-grade girls team turned in a first-place team finish Thursday at one of two Tonganoxie meets last week.
The Warriors finished first with 62 points, while Basehor-Linwood finished second (56), Lexington Trails was third (53) and Kansas City Christian placed fourth (31).
The Warriors claimed five gold medals on the day.
Christy Weller set a new school record in the 800 meters with a time of 2 minutes, 36.36 seconds. Tracie Hileman won the 75-meter hurdles with a 12.8 time. She also took first in the high jump with a 4-8 height.
In relay events, the Warriors won the 4×200 with a 2:10.6 time and the 4×100 with a 58.9 time. Ashli Koch, Terri Downs, Sami Franiuk and Laurie Chenoweth were on the 4×200 team; Jessica Whitledge, Weller, Chenoweth and Hileman were on the 4×100 team.
TJHS had second-place finishes in the long jump, shot put, discus and 4×400. Katie Chenoweth won a silver medal with a 12-9 mark in the long jump, while Hannah Herrstrom set a new school record with a 34-5 heave in the shot put. The team of Elizabeth Baska, Katie Chenoweth, Lindsey Himpel and Weller finished second with a 4:58.61 time. And in the discus, Elise Drennen won a silver with a 69-2 1/2 throw.
Taking home bronze medals Thursday were Baska in the 400 (1:11.91) and Katie Chenoweth in the 200 (30.87). Sarah Flaherty placed third in the 75-meter hurdles with a 14.06 time.
In the field events, the Warriors also picked up additional points. Flaherty finished fourth in the shot put with a 28-2 throw and Lindsay Gonser was fifth with a 28-0 toss.
Flaherty also placed third in the discus with a 66-4 1/2 throw, while Jordan Pettengill finished fifth with a 59-5 1/2 throw.
On April 6, the eighth-grade team finished second with 59 points behind Monticello Trails, which tallied 80. Basehor-Linwood took third (43) and Perry finished fourth (23).
As she did Thursday, Hileman won the high jump (4-10) and the 75-meter hurdles (13.3). Weller won the 800 with a 2:37.3 time and Herrstrom won the shot put with a 32-11 throw.
In the hurdles, Flaherty (second, 14.4) and Whitledge (third, 14.6) also placed for Tonganoxie.
Downs placed fourth in the 100 meters with a 14.8 time, while Katie Chenoweth placed fourth (30.49) and Ashli Koch fifth (31.1) in the 200.
In field events, Flaherty placed second in the shot put (28-0) and Drennen was second in the discus with a 66-2 1/2 throw. Pettengill finished fifth in the event with a 56-10 throw.
The 4×100 relay team placed second with a 57.97 time, while the 4×200 team finished third with a 2:09.6 time. The 4×400 also took third with a 5:07 time.
The Warriors’ seventh-grade team finished second Thursday behind Lexington Trails. The Warriors finished just a point behind Lexington with 62, while Basehor-Linwood finished third with 51 and KC Christian fourth with 12.
TJHS earned six gold medals at the meet — Leslie Rickey in the 75-meter hurdles (15.49), Chrissi Jeannin in the 800 (2:56.29), Jordan Gagne in the long jump (11-9 1/2) and the 4×100, 4×200 and 4×400 teams. The 4×100 team of Gagne, Hannah Mayse, Megan Puhr and Lauren Himpel recorded a 1:02 time. In the 4×200, Jessica Freeman, Colby Bennett, Megan Puhr and Jeannin combined for a 2:18.21 time, and in the 4×400, Himpel, Gagne, Jeannin and Leah McCaffrey won with a 5:08.2 time.
The hurdle event was the team’s overall best.
Along with Rickey, McCaffrey finished second (15.67), Nikki Kanan third (15.9) and Kayla Leffert fifth (16.31).
In the 100, Himpel placed second (13.78) and Megan Puhr fifth with a 15.3 time.
Tonganoxie’s only 1,600-meter placer was Crystal Sheaffer, who finished second with a 6:48 time.
In the 400, Ashley Dent placed third with a 1:21 time, while Melissa Hughes finished a very close fourth with a 1:21.3 time.
Bailey Dunning placed third in the high jump (4-1) and Mayse placed fifth in the long jump with a 10-5 leap.
The Warriors’ fortunes weren’t as favorable April 6. TJHS finished fourth out of four teams with 31 points. Monticello Trails won the meet with 68, Perry-Lecompton finished second with 50 and Basehor-Linwood placed third with 45.
Jeannin again won the 800 (2:53.28) and the 4×400 captured a gold with a 508.9 time, but the Warriors had no other first-place finishes.
Himpel finished second in the 100 (14.4), as did the 4×100 (1:01) and the 4×200 (2:18). Chelsea Calovich finished second in the high jump after clearing 4-1. Gagne finished fourth in the long jump (11-9 1/2) and Traci Papa was fifth in the discus with a 57-10 1/2 throw.