JEFFERSON — The delay of one day did not keep the Perry track teams from competing in the Greene County Coed Relays Tuesday, but the switch did cost the Jayettes the participation of several members, all of whom also compete in soccer and take to the pitch, and not the track, on dates in which there is a conflict.
“It was the first meet we have had that conflicted with a soccer game, so we shuffled around the lineup a little and had a few girls compete in some events that they normally do not run in,” Perry girls head coach Matt Hardy revealed. “I was pleased with the overall effort and felt we had a lot of good performances. There is still a lot of work to be done technique and strategy-wise in a few events, but we are improving.”
Perry was missing Mariah Duffy, Mariah McNamara, Chelsea Krueger and Adrian Thompson, but still managed to score 75 points and record six individual season-bests and season-best times in three relays.
Boone won the girls side with 192 points, with Greene County a distant second with 111 points. Carroll (97), Perry (75), East Sac County (67) and Kuemper Catholic (35) completed the field.
Carroll edged Boone, 115-114, to win the boys meet in thrilling fashion, with Perry (57), Greene County (53) and Kuemper Catholic (33) also competing.
The Tigers won by a point by edging the Toreadors in the final event — the boys 4×400 — by one one-hundreth of a second as Carroll crossed in 3 minutes, 36.93 seconds and Boone in 3:36.94. Perry was a sliver back, placing third in 3:36.99, with Reece Dunlap, Brandon Kenyon, Jacob Thompson and Adan Medina running for the Jays.
Medina and Kaleb Olejniczak were 1-4 in the 400 in times of 52.6 and 56.43 seconds, respectively, with Dunlap second in the 200 (22.89) while Kenyon crossed fourth in the 400 low hurdles (59.01).
Juma Bushiri was second in the 1600 in 4:53.8 and was third, in 2:14.24, in the 800 as teammate Zach Thompson crossed fifth in 2:15.91. Quinten Torres added points for fifth place by running the 3200 in 12:45.41.
Perry won the 4×800 (8:53.66) thanks to the efforts of Olejniczak, Alex Long and both Thompson brothers, with the 1600 medley foursome of Eli Saemisch, Dunlap, Medina and Jacob Thompson winning in 3:56.3.
Donald Chavez, Gage Welch, Nic Fellom and Saemisch were fifth in the 4×100 (47.33), Chavez, Fellom, Saemisch and Dunlap were third in the 4×200 (1:35.18) and Alexis Garrido, Beau Briles, Malachi Meri and Kenyon placed fourth in the shuttle hurdle (1:11.63) to complete the Perry boys scoring sheet.
The Jayettes had a season-best time while winning the 4×800 in 10:40.42, with Sidney Vancil, Emma Olejniczak, Breanna Penenger and Haileigh Kenyon handling the duties. The sprint medley unit of Emma Humpal, Taylor Lathrum, Vancil and Kenyon had a season-best 2:10.49 clocking in placing fourth, with the 4×200 team of Penenger, Vancil, Kenyon and Isabel Saemisch fifth in a season-best 2:02.79.
Penenger, Saemisch, Lathrum and Vancil teamed for third in the 4×400 (4:39.08), with Star Love, Damaris Robles, Maddie West and Gaby Chavez sixth in the 4×100 (1:03.13) while Robles, West, Love and Alejandra Rivera placed sixth in the distance medley (5:32.93).
Lathrum had season-best throws in the shot put (34 feet, 2-1/2 inches) and the discus (100’6) while placing third and fourth, respectively.
Grace Stewart won the 1500 (5:37.55) and 3000 (12:08.3), with Olejniczak fourth in the former in a season-best 5:45.72 while McKinley Thompson was sixth in the latter in a season-best 15:31.94.
Olejniczak was fourth (1:06.18) and Stewart fifth (season-best 1:09.28) in the 400, with Penenger using a season-best 2:41.58 to place fourth in the 800.
Perry collected a point for sixth place in both the 100 and 200 dashes, with Humpal (15.91) running the former and Saemisch (30.76) the latter.
Both Perry teams will take part in the Newton Relays today, with the Bluejays visiting Carlisle Tuesday while the Jayettes will compete in the ADM Relays Tuesday, an event to be hosted by Van Meter, as the ADM track is undergoing construction.
