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Oak Park boys 3,200 relay team lowers time
By Bill Knust
What had been a frustrating season for Oak Park High’s boys 3,200-meter relay team got a little better at the Class 4 District 8 meet Saturday, May 10 at Blue Springs.
The Northmen ran a season-best time of 8 minutes, 9.76 seconds, and did not need Will Hansen to do it. Chase Schaben stepped in for Hansen and performed well, allowing Hansen to focus on the 1,600 and 3,200 runs.
Oak Park boys coach Todd Warner was happy to see his team rise to the occasion.
“We have been running 8:18s and 8:17s, and it seems like someone has been running really poor,” Warner said. “The three main runners and Chase ran a great leg. Chase ran a 2:06, and he is not a half-miler, he is more of a distance runner. Hans (Pitia), James (Schnieder) and Eric (Sloss) just did a nice job.”
Warner said the race had been more of a source of frustration for the competitors than a joy.
“Kids want to see the times come down,” Warner said. “When you run the same time from the Blue Valley Spring Classic as you did at conference it gets discouraging. We walk out of this meet with our best time in the 3,200 relay. So we can go back to practice this week with a little lighter step.”
Also advancing to the sectional meet at Lee’s Summit North on Saturday, May 17, are Pitia in the 800, Hansen in the 1,600 and 3,200, Logan Holleran in the 300 hurdles and the Northmen’s 1,600 relay.
On the girls side, the Lady Oakies also advanced their 3,200 relay, but not without some drama. The handoff between the first two runners resulted in a wipeout and a loose baton. The team rebounded to finish third and advance to sectionals.
The Lady Oakies got individual wins from Mirijam Albrecht in the 400 and Braylen Bivens in the 800. Hurdler Brynn Williamson finished third in the 100, and second in the 300 and long jump. Shot putter Rachel Hay finished second. High jumpers Ashley Taylor and Albrecht each qualified in the high jump with a height of 5 feet, 2 inches. In the triple jump, Michelle Kingsbury finished fourth to qualify for sectionals.
Panthers have nice day at districts
Park Hill South middle distance runner Logan Tucker-Nelson put together two quality performances at districts to advance in the 800 and help the Panthers’ 3,200 relay to a second-place finish.
In the 800, Tucker-Nelson was only two-hundredths of a second away from a second-place finish. In the 3,200 relay, the Panthers led after the first lap, then took advantage of an Oak Park error on a handoff to take over second. The Panthers almost caught Liberty on the final lap, but the Blue Jays were able to hang on and win the event.
Also qualifying for the Panther girls were Katie Talley in the discus, Courtney McDaniel in the pole vault and Hannah Churchman in the long jump.
On the boys side, the Panthers got several standout performances. Despite starting in lane eight, Josh Scott finished second in the 400 with a time of 49.65. Jay Froude finished second as well, with his time of 2:00.22 good enough to qualify for sectionals in the 800. After finishing fifth in the 110 hurdles, Cory Beenken bounced back to win the 300 hurdles despite a bruised ankle and bloody knee.
The boys also qualified each relay team ranging from second place (400 and 1,600 relays) to third (800 and 3,200 relays).
North Kansas City girls perform well in field events
The Northtown girls scored 55 team points at the district meet. Twenty-eight of those points came from strong performances in field events.
Jumpers Jakyra Shelton and Morgan Reid won the long jump and triple jump, respectively, while Ruth McQuerry took second in the high jump. No girl is older than a sophomore. Shelton also finished fourth in the 100.
In distance events, Northtown finished fourth in the 3,200 relay, comfortably ahead of Blue Springs. Relay member Angela Adams also qualified for sectionals in the 800.
On the boys side, the number of athletes who qualified for sectionals was smaller. The surprise of the day for the Hornets came in the 110 hurdles. Freshman B.J. Nelson finished fourth overall to sneak into sectionals. Joining him will be teammate Jon Bailey in the shot put.
Pius athletes moving on
Paul Prather has been a leader all year for the St. Pius X track team. Nothing changed Saturday, May 10, at the Class 3 District 8 track meet at Excelsior Springs High.
Prather won the 800 and anchored the 3,200 relay to a second-place finish. Pius finished far behind event winner Lincoln Prep, but Prather said he is not worried.
"We weren't worried about our time today," Prather said. "We just wanted to qualify today and get through to sectionals."
Also moving on to sectionals Saturday, May 17, at Kearney High is hurdler Johnny Vitatoe in the 300 hurdles. Vitatoe finished second behind Platte County’s Dustin Menk.
"No pun intended, but this wasn't the biggest hurdle to get over," Vitatoe said. "To make sectionals is nice, but I have bigger goals than that. If I can get through next week and make state, then it's a big deal."
On the girls side, the lone qualifier was Mary Westerman in the 800. Westerman beat out Kearney’s Ashley Self for the final spot.
Sports writer Chris Geinosky contributed to this report
Sports writer Bill Knust can be reached at 389-6605 or billknust@npgco.com.
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The Northmen ran a season-best time of 8 minutes, 9.76 seconds, and did not need Will Hansen to do it. Chase Schaben stepped in for Hansen and performed well, allowing Hansen to focus on the 1,600 and 3,200 runs.
Oak Park boys coach Todd Warner was happy to see his team rise to the occasion.
“We have been running 8:18s and 8:17s, and it seems like someone has been running really poor,” Warner said. “The three main runners and Chase ran a great leg. Chase ran a 2:06, and he is not a half-miler, he is more of a distance runner. Hans (Pitia), James (Schnieder) and Eric (Sloss) just did a nice job.”
Warner said the race had been more of a source of frustration for the competitors than a joy.
“Kids want to see the times come down,” Warner said. “When you run the same time from the Blue Valley Spring Classic as you did at conference it gets discouraging. We walk out of this meet with our best time in the 3,200 relay. So we can go back to practice this week with a little lighter step.”
Also advancing to the sectional meet at Lee’s Summit North on Saturday, May 17, are Pitia in the 800, Hansen in the 1,600 and 3,200, Logan Holleran in the 300 hurdles and the Northmen’s 1,600 relay.
On the girls side, the Lady Oakies also advanced their 3,200 relay, but not without some drama. The handoff between the first two runners resulted in a wipeout and a loose baton. The team rebounded to finish third and advance to sectionals.
The Lady Oakies got individual wins from Mirijam Albrecht in the 400 and Braylen Bivens in the 800. Hurdler Brynn Williamson finished third in the 100, and second in the 300 and long jump. Shot putter Rachel Hay finished second. High jumpers Ashley Taylor and Albrecht each qualified in the high jump with a height of 5 feet, 2 inches. In the triple jump, Michelle Kingsbury finished fourth to qualify for sectionals.
Panthers have nice day at districts
Park Hill South middle distance runner Logan Tucker-Nelson put together two quality performances at districts to advance in the 800 and help the Panthers’ 3,200 relay to a second-place finish.
In the 800, Tucker-Nelson was only two-hundredths of a second away from a second-place finish. In the 3,200 relay, the Panthers led after the first lap, then took advantage of an Oak Park error on a handoff to take over second. The Panthers almost caught Liberty on the final lap, but the Blue Jays were able to hang on and win the event.
Also qualifying for the Panther girls were Katie Talley in the discus, Courtney McDaniel in the pole vault and Hannah Churchman in the long jump.
On the boys side, the Panthers got several standout performances. Despite starting in lane eight, Josh Scott finished second in the 400 with a time of 49.65. Jay Froude finished second as well, with his time of 2:00.22 good enough to qualify for sectionals in the 800. After finishing fifth in the 110 hurdles, Cory Beenken bounced back to win the 300 hurdles despite a bruised ankle and bloody knee.
The boys also qualified each relay team ranging from second place (400 and 1,600 relays) to third (800 and 3,200 relays).
North Kansas City girls perform well in field events
The Northtown girls scored 55 team points at the district meet. Twenty-eight of those points came from strong performances in field events.
Jumpers Jakyra Shelton and Morgan Reid won the long jump and triple jump, respectively, while Ruth McQuerry took second in the high jump. No girl is older than a sophomore. Shelton also finished fourth in the 100.
In distance events, Northtown finished fourth in the 3,200 relay, comfortably ahead of Blue Springs. Relay member Angela Adams also qualified for sectionals in the 800.
On the boys side, the number of athletes who qualified for sectionals was smaller. The surprise of the day for the Hornets came in the 110 hurdles. Freshman B.J. Nelson finished fourth overall to sneak into sectionals. Joining him will be teammate Jon Bailey in the shot put.
Pius athletes moving on
Paul Prather has been a leader all year for the St. Pius X track team. Nothing changed Saturday, May 10, at the Class 3 District 8 track meet at Excelsior Springs High.
Prather won the 800 and anchored the 3,200 relay to a second-place finish. Pius finished far behind event winner Lincoln Prep, but Prather said he is not worried.
"We weren't worried about our time today," Prather said. "We just wanted to qualify today and get through to sectionals."
Also moving on to sectionals Saturday, May 17, at Kearney High is hurdler Johnny Vitatoe in the 300 hurdles. Vitatoe finished second behind Platte County’s Dustin Menk.
"No pun intended, but this wasn't the biggest hurdle to get over," Vitatoe said. "To make sectionals is nice, but I have bigger goals than that. If I can get through next week and make state, then it's a big deal."
On the girls side, the lone qualifier was Mary Westerman in the 800. Westerman beat out Kearney’s Ashley Self for the final spot.
Sports writer Chris Geinosky contributed to this report
Sports writer Bill Knust can be reached at 389-6605 or billknust@npgco.com.