Hart romped to West Michigan Conference Rivers championships Friday
at the finals meet at Mason County Central, as both teams easily
outscored runner-up MCC.
The Pirate boys racked up 192 points to the Spartans' 99.5, and the girls' team had 162 points to MCC's 99.
Shelby's boys placed fifth with Hesperia in sixth, and the Panther girls were fifth, with Shelby seventh.
It
as another big day for Hart's Chase Lorenz, who won all three sprint
events. He posted times of 11.15 seconds in the 100-meter dash, 22.59 in
the 200 and 51.93 in the 400. Lorenz also anchored the 1,600 relay team
that won in a time of 3:45.1, joining Jack Slotman, Luke VanderWilk and
Grant Ackley.
The 3,200 featured a 1-2-3-4 finish for Hart.
Carson Ackley won the race with a time of 10:24.2, followed by Silas
Ackley, Julian Lopez and Timothy Wolff.
Other event winners
for the Hart boys were Caleb Ackley in the shot put (41-7.5) and Jagger
Lenon in the pole vault (12-0). The Pirates also won the 3,200 relay
with the team of Mason Opalewski, Trevor Vander Kodde, Grant Ackley and
Slotman (8:54.9).
Runners-up for the Pirates were VanderWilk
in the high jump (5-6), Carson Ackley in the 1,600 (a personal best
4:42.4) and Slotman in the 300 hurdles (46.08). Hart was also second in
the 400 relay with the team of Elon Babbin, Bryce Vander Kodde, Julian
Tejada and Pablo Ortega-Rubio (46.42).
The Hart girls got a
lot of points from the field events, winning three of them. Shelbie
Choponis won the discus (123-1.5), Joselyn Flores took the high jump
(5-4) and Lauren Hopkins won the pole vault (8-6). Choponis was also
second in the shot put (32-0.5).
Addison Hain earned the
Pirates' lone individual win on the track, taking first in the 100
(13.08). Hain was also second in the 200 (28.52). Hart won three relays;
the 400 team was Flores, Natalie Rosema, Ellie Gross and Hain (53.39),
the 800 team was Lilianna Camacho, Ashlyn Smith, Emery Velat and Gross
(1:56.5) and the 3,200 team was Bryn Riley, Martina Saenz, Emma Miller
and Luisa VanderZwaag (10:36.8).
Rosema took a pair of
second-place finishes, setting a personal best in the 1,600 (5:25.8) and
also taking second in the 800 (2:34.9). Alaina Schaner was second in
the 3,200 (12:47.6) and Gross took second in the 100 hurdles (18.40).
Shelby
won one event in the league finals, as the Tiger boys were first in the
400 relay. The team of Isaac Garcia, Brody Fessenden, Elijah Dashiell
and Jaylin Henderson had a time of 45.80 seconds. Henderson added a
runner-up finish in the shot put (39-9).
Raya Clark led the Tiger girls with a second-place finish in the long jump (14-0.5).
Emily
McCallum scored Hesperia's lone win in the league finals, winning the
girls' shot put (33-3). McKenna Fraser placed second in the high jump
(5-0), and Sophia Fraser set a personal best to finish second in the 300
hurdles (53.32). The Panthers' 800 relay team of Chloe Rickard, Sophia
Fraser, Jolie Kraus and McCallum was also second (2:01.1).
For the Hesperia boys, Nate Ruhstorfer was second in the 110 hurdles (17.47).
