Written and Media by Dylon Niswonger.
Countless miles, jumps, and throws have been routinely delivered throughout indoor track season. The season wound down at the Principia Invitational, which served as the final indoor meet for the majority of our track and field athletes. Greenville has done exceptionally well at this invitational in years past, competing against all teams in the SLIAC. The ladies successfully repeated these efforts on February 24, for a powerful conclusion to their indoor season.
The sprints squad checked in some top finishes. Jessica Staley, a junior, dropped an impressive time in the 60-meter dash, winning the meet with a time of 8.26 seconds. Junior Jayda Fowler competed in both the 200-meter dash, finishing fourth, and the 400-meter race, finishing third. In the 60-meter hurdles, junior Rachel Hanna ran a lifetime best of 10.14 seconds, picking up third. Hanna additionally took second in pole vault and won the triple jump, racking up several more points for the Panthers.
In the distance races, seniors Lia Kruse and Megan McKee delivered dominating races in the mile run. McKee finished third and Kruse won the event in 5:28, both building on the team score. The ladies also had four runners within the top eight in the 800-meter race. Points were scored by Brooke Goodyear in seventh, Brianna Anello in sixth, Sheridan Noll in fifth, and Kruse with a second place finish. The 800 was clearly dominated by orange.
Greenville Panthers were also dominant in the weight throw, placing four competitors in the top six. Carly Abbott finished sixth, Victoria Papez was third, and Deb Cunningham finished second. Senior Marideth Tate won the event with a throw of 46’10.” This was Greenville’s best event of the day. Another notable performance was made in shot put by Savannah Maloney, a freshman, who threw a lifetime best of 36’9.5″ for second place.
Finally, our relays, the 4×400 meter and the Distance Medley Relay (DMR), had significant efforts, both landing a second place finish behind Webster. The 4×400 was spontaneously put together because of a shortage of fresh athletes at the end of the meet. The race was run by Anello, Kori Nesbit, McKee, and Kruse. The DMR was a compelling relay to watch as well, with Goodyear running the 1200 meter leg of the race, Anello for the 400, Nesbit in the 800, and a strong mile by McKee.
As a team, these ladies scored 152.5 points for second place. It was an outstanding finish to the indoor season. Rachel Hanna stated, “The meet was fun and had a lot of good events. We will see what outdoor brings.” Athletes now look to work harder than ever to prepare for the outdoor season. I encourage fans to follow these ladies through their upcoming meets as I predict they will continue to have an excellent year.
The outdoor season opens at Washington University in St. Louis on Saturday, March 24, for their annual Mini Meet.
