by Ashley Miller
Despite the chilly weather and hard track, the PCM girls’ track team crossed the finish line in first nine times, in second four times and third three times on March 28 at the Chariton Early Bird Meet. If team scores had been kept, the Mustangs would’ve taken the first place title.
“I couldn’t be happier with how we started things off this outdoor season,” Head Coach Bridget Martin said. “Like always there are multiple areas we need to improve on, but it is only March. We have plenty of time to make needed adjustment. It is always nice to get a starting point for the season.”
Some wins were close while others were more than a couple seconds apart. In the 400 meter dash, freshman Sierra Foster placed first with a time of 66.70. She finished only fractions of a second away from second place senior Alyssa Yahnke of Davis County, who crossed at 66.87. Another close race was sophomore Megan Cowman in the 100 hurdles. She finished at 17.77 in first with Davis County senior Jaylynn Sharp right next to her with 77.81.
“It was a close race, the first real meet of the year and I was nervous,” Cowman said. “We were neck in neck, but it all comes down to who wants it more. I felt good to claim first place, that’s for sure.”
Senior Jayci Vos won the 400 meter hurdles in 69.40, eight seconds ahead of second place. Vos would join freshman Kate McCarthy and seniors Tatum Nearmyer and Rachel Stafford in the distance medley. The team finished with a time of 4:37.58, 21 seconds ahead of second place Davis Country. This put PCM as first in class 2A as of that night.
Sophomores Kirstin Ives and Paytan Schut and freshmen Hailey Schutte and Sayde White made up the 4×800 team for PCM. They finished first in 10:56.13. The 4×400 team of Stafford, Schut, Foster and Vos finished first in 4:25.32, finishing of the winning relays for the Mustangs. Schut also won the 800 meter run in 2:39.96, and freshman Klaire Jungling got first in the 3000, crossing at 13:52.53.
Sophomore Maddie Samson won the shot put with a throw of 31 feet, 6.75 inches. She also broke 100 feet in the discus with a throw of 102 feet, four inches, landing her second place.
PCM had three other second place finishes. Ives crossed at 5:53.42 in the 1500, freshman Lexi Kuecker landed at 14 feet, five inches in the long jump, and the sprint medley team of Kuecker, junior Ashley Miller, sophomore Morgan Uhlenhopp and McCarthy finished with a time of 2:05.09.
Uhlenhopp also finished third in the 400 meter hurdles with 1:18.03. Miller crossed third in the 100 meter dash in 13.87. White ran 5:58 in the 1500, placing third.
“Our senior leaders really stepped up tonight, and our underclassmen are fitting into the program nicely. I look forward to our season ahead,” Martin said.
The girls will be heading to Eddyville tonight, Thursday, April 6 for the Girls’ Rocket Invitational. Field events begin at 4:30 p.m.
The PCM Outlook 