Panorama girls track starting to enforce their will

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The Panorama girls are all smiles after winning the AC/GC Invitational Thursday. Photo courtesy Greg Thompson.

GUTHRIE CENTER — Expectations for the Panorama girls track team were quietly kept under wraps before the season, but recent results are revealing the hoped-for strength throughout the lineup is beginning to show itself.

For the second time in three days the Panther girls won a meet in comfortable fashion, winning the AC/GC Charger Invite Thursday after running off with the Earlham Invite title Tuesday.

The Panthers scored 144 points to win Thursday, with PCM second at 128 and host AC/GC third at 122 in the 12-team field, a result that had Panorama head coach Greg Thompson more than pleased.

“This was another meet where the performances of the girls surprised me,” he said. “There was no school today, so I was expecting some lethargic, sluggish performances, but the girls gave us just the opposite. They were energetic, enthusiastic and competed very well.”

“Devyn Kemble, Morgan Johnk and Brianna Hoffman looked very good, and Carson Fisher and Bailey Beckman continue to run well,” Thompson added. “Also worth noting is Lydia Knapp, who cleared 4 feet, 8 inches in her first-ever high jump competition.”

Thompson revealed that 14 of the 22 girls in action set at least one new personal record, that another two or three came close to doing so and that four girls were competing in new events. Meet MVP honors went to Kennedy Andersen, who placed in both throwing events, with new personal marks in each.

“This team is performing so well right now that I could give special recognition to each member of the team,” Thompson said.

The Panthers were strong in the two jumping events, with Johnk first and Knapp tying for fifth in the high jump with clearances of 5’3 and 4’8 while Kassidy Bremer and Beckman were 1-2 in the long jump with flights of 15’9-3/4 and 15’2-1/4, respectively.

Knapp was second in the discus with a spin of 108’4, with Andersen sixth at 92’10. Andersen tied for seventh in the shot put with a heave of 31’5.

Fisher, Bremer, Beckman and Kemble won the 4×100 in 52.83 seconds, with Beckman, Bremer, Johnk and Payton Douglass claiming the 4×400 in 4 minutes, 19.9 seconds while Fisher, Kemble, Hoffman and Brooke Halterman finished first in the sprint medley in 1:55.7.

The distance medley unit of Beckman, Bremer, Halterman and Hoffman were second (4:42.1), as was the shuttle hurdle relay (1:12.6) of Beckman, Johnk, Maddie Knapp and Maggie Woodvine. Placing third, in 1:53.9, was the 4×200 foursome of Douglass, Fisher, Maddie Knapp and Hope Arganbright, with Emily Smith, Brooklyn Behrends, Taylor Rishel and Vallerie Storesund crossing fourth in the 4×800 in 11:05.76.

Fisher was fourth (13.88) in the 100, Kemble second (28.15) and Halterman tying for sixth (28.7) in the 200 while Kemble won the 400 (1:01.36) with Lydia Knapp eighth (1:09.61).

Smith was seventh in the 800, in 2:48.4, with Johnk second (16.00) and Woodvine eighth (18.25) in the 100 high hurdles while Hoffman used a clocking of 5:20.62 to score second-place points in the 1500.

The Panther girls and their boys team counterparts will each compete just once next week, with the single meet happening Monday when they visit the Van Meter Invitational.

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