​Grain Valley boys, girls look strong in conference meet

by Michael Smith

     Although the Suburban White Conference meet isn’t officially over, the Grain Valley boys and girls track and field teams have run away from the competition.
     The girls have 241.50 points, 119 points ahead of second-place Truman; and the boys have 170 points, which is 26 ahead of second-place Raytown.
     Most of the events were completed Thursday at Moody Murray Memorial Stadium in Grain Valley but two events had to be postponed until Monday because of the rain that day that caused wet field conditions.
     The meet will continue at 4:00pm Monday at Chrisman High School, with the javelin and pole vault events taking place. The final team scores will be complete after those events are finished, but the Eagles on both the girls and boys sides are in great shape to become conference champions.
     Senior Mason McCain led the way for the boys by easily winning the 800-meter run with a time of 2:01.12 and the 1,600 at 4:33.6. He admitted he didn’t run as hard as he could as his goal was to help pace his teammates, who ended up finishing with personal records.
     “I was feeling a little sore this week and going into the 800, I was trying to get my teammates a faster time by pacing them,” McCain said. ”The mile was pretty comfortable and I got the easy win.”
     Senior Logan Pratt had a big day, winning the 100-meter dash with a time of 10.72 seconds; placing second in the 200 at 22.64 seconds, .17 seconds behind Truman’s Patrick Martin; and helping the 4x200-meter relay team, which included Jace Weems, Keagan Hart and Caleb Larson, take first with a time of 1:30.84.
     Pratt has been nursing a leg injury, but after a week of rest he said he is “feeling a lot better.”
    “The week off really helped,” Pratt said. “I rehabbed it and got it up where I wanted it to be. I always have good competition when I go against Patrick. He always pushes me, and I push him. I am proud of what I did.
     “In the 4x200, we all did better than we expected. We have all never run together. Just coming back from baseball this is (Weems’ and Hart’s) fourth meet. I am proud of where we are at.”
     Other boys to win for Grain Valley were Carson Hill in the 3,200-meter run (10:06.05); the 4x400 relay team of Nathan Allen, Weems, Hart and Chase Anderson (3:34.80); and the 4x800 team of Allen, Hill, Kendall Butler and Rylan Smith (8:25.08).
     On the girls side, Emma Ogle stood out with first-place finishes in three events and second place in another. She won the 300-meter hurdles (47.66 seconds) and took second in the long jump in her individual events (5.10 meters).
     Ogle teamed with Avery Huffman, Reagan Fisher and Yvette Torres in the 4x200 relay, in which the team took first (1:49.63); and she joined Taelor Mason, Fisher and Lexie Nicholson in 4x400 and was victorious at 4:18.80.
     “It’s really nice to run at home,” Ogle said. “Conference is exciting, and it gets me excited for the postseason.”
     “(In the 300-meter hurdles) I was thinking about getting 47 (seconds) and that’s what I did.”
      Ella Casey had a strong day, as well. She was second in the 800 (2:31.34), won the 1,600 (5:24.05) and was on the winning 4x800 team (10:43.57) with Nicholson, Kelli Stevens and Kayley Bell.
     “It was a good day I would say for my team,” Casey said. “A lot of the girls did well, and we won multiple events across the board. The mile turned out well, but I don’t think it’s going to be my focus. It’s still undecided what I will focus on for districts. I think I (got a personal record) by a second (in the 1,600).”
     Other girls to win their events were Huffman in the 400 (1:00.04); Jordan Gossage in the 3,200 (12:28.31); the 4x100 team of Huffman, Madison Rogers, Kierstin Parker and Torres (51.58 seconds); Caton Day in the high jump (1.54 meters); Alyssa Carver in the pole vault (2.92 meters); and Samantha Heinrich in the triple jump (10.68 meters).
 
 

Grain Valley's Taelor Mason hands the baton to teammate Reagan Fisher during the 4x400-meter relay during the Suburban White Conference meet Thursday at Grain Valley High School. The relay team won with a time of 4:18.80.  Photo credit: Michael Smith