For the week of May 1 - 7, 2002

One gold for track team at Buhl Rotary meet

Wolverine relays place in a tough field

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The competition was very tough but the spirit was willing for the Wood River High School track and field teams during Thursday’s fourth annual Buhl Rotary Invitational meet.

And there was even one surprise gold medal performance for Wood River at the 15-school meet which featured boys’ and girls’ team winner Jerome plus other track powers like Twin Falls, Spring Creek (Nev.) and Filer.

Senior Kipp Mills pulled off what coach J.C. Nemecek called "a huge surprise" by winning the 1600-meter run in a personal-best 5:59.75.

Continuing his climb up the all-time Wolverine charts in the tough 300m intermediate hurdles, senior Cole Everman (41.48 seconds) placed second to Jerome’s Nathan Capps, who set a meet record in 40.73.

Everman is drawing close to the top five all-time Wood River runners in the intermediates.

Another outstanding effort was sophomore Matt Pruett and his third-place 22.7-second time in the 200m dash. And senior Ashley Howe was fourth in the 400m dash (1:01.7) plus sixth with a 26.2-second personal best in the 200m dash.

The Wolverine boys made a major impression in the relays with a third place at the 800m distance, fourth in the medley and fifth in the 400m relay.

And Chad Hayward logged an eighth-place finish in the 110m high hurdles.

Wood River’s girls also had a promising day in the relays. In three of the four relays the Wolverine girls finished only behind bigger schools, Nemecek said.

The medley relay of Erin Elgee, Robin Kearns, Caitlin Blanton and Howe (1:53.9) was third, Jerome winning in 1:52.6.

In fifth place were the 800m relay (Elgee, Blanton, Rebecca Schwartzenberger, Howe in 1:52.9) and the 400m relay (Elgee, Blanton, Kearns, Schwartzenberger in 53.1).

Natalie Safran ended up sixth in the high jump and Rachel Richards finished eighth in the 1600m run.

Personal bests were achieved by Maddie Thies high hurdles, Jessica King shotput, Syringa Stark discus, Natalie Safran high jump and 1600m plus all four 800m runners—Mills, Ashley McQueen, Rachel Richards and Jenni Borda.

Next, Wood River competes in the Bob Shay Invitational meet on the same Buhl track Thursday, May 2.

 

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