Woodward golf wins a pair, Hawks track continues to climb
The Hawks have started to find their footing as a few standouts continue to climb the ladder. (Note: Events covered April 10 - April 16)
Boys Track
Taking on a crew of seven teams at Knoxville on Thursday, the Hawks landed square in the middle with a fifth place finish with 88.5 points, finishing just within earshot of second place Van Meter (106).
And while the number of Hawks that recorded their new best times or distances didn’t reach the same apex as their previous meet, conditions were keeping most teams grounded. Woodward had a total of seven PRs while Van Meter also struggled to get a leg up in most events with six PRs in total. Third place Pella Christian logged only four records. With 10 new marks, home team Knoxville was about the only school able to overcome Thursday's gusty conditions.
But for the Hawks, Brayden Simons made some strides in the 110-meter hurdles where he set his fastest time of 17.02 seconds to claim third place — notably finishing ahead of two Van Meter runners to keep an eye on in the conference ranks.
Sprinter Dylan McCaulley was the only other Hawk to medal. Though it’s not a PR, his 12.34 seconds in the 100-meter dash also pulled a bronze time.
Over in the sandpits, the Cael Leighton took fourth place with his longest jump measured at 18-foot-5. Sawyer Genkinger was further down the chart but also PR’d with a 14-11 jump. And in the throwers’ circle, Brock Tiernan’s 32-foot shot put also extended the tape measure further than before.
Girls Track
Finishing in fourth place for the third straight meet certainly gives the Hawks points for consistency. That’s exactly where the team placed both on April 10 in Carroll in a 10-team slate, and on April 13 among seven teams at Ogden.
A few meets into the season, the team’s consistent scorers have established themselves. One of those constant contributors has been the team’s high-jumping duo of Alaysia McCord and Aubri Bartelson. On any given day, it seems they can both be counted on to get at least one podium finish.
McCord was finally able to clear five-feet at Carroll which landed her in second place. Bartelson was four inches behind her in fourth, but the two were knotted at 4-foot-10 three days later for second place. Both making new records, the Hawks are the only WCAC school with two jumpers to clear 4-10 so far this season.
Bartelson was also a top performer on Monday in Carroll where she set a PR in the 100-meter dash with 13.71 seconds to propel her into the top 10 among the conference’s times.
Also sitting near the top of the conference ranks, Eva Fleshner’s week in the 1,500-meter run had some variance. Her 5 minute 7 seconds at Carroll was just a fraction behind her season-best time at the start of the indoor season. That placed her in second place just beats behind Ballard’s Annika Larson. Fleshner grabbed gold in Ogden but was two seconds slower.
Girls Golf
The Hawks started their season off with two-straight wins after besting three of their conference rivals on April 10 hanging out at the ACGC course. Three days later, however, they’d experience their first loss of the year, falling 19 strokes behind the Tigers at ADM.
So far this year, Lindsay Mescher has had the team’s most consistent swing. After winning April 10’s meet with a new low of 48 strokes, she now leads the team with a combined-adjusted average o 50.4 for the season. Molly Cue was the next in with a score of 56.4 after taking fifth place at the ACGC meet.
Boys Golf
Hitting the links on April 10, 11 and 13, the Hawks’ stock held steady by staying in the top three at each meet.
While the third place finish at their home invitational might look like a down performance, it was on a windy Thursday against seven teams they were hosting. At 335 strokes, they team tied its first place win from their home meet two days earlier in their first 18-round outing.
Nick Bermel found himself playing one of his best rounds at that first meet, writing in a score of 77 for first place. That was five strokes better than second place Landon Chambers.
Bermel lagged a bit two days later tied for eith place with 81 strokes, but the Hawks gained some reinforcement with Dane Polich right behind him with an 82 for 13th place.
This article originally appeared on Perry Chief: Woodward golf wins a pair, Hawks track continues to climb
