The Perry boys and girls track teams will travel to Gilbert tonight (weather permitting) to participate in the Tiger Relays.
A shortened roster from both squads will visit the Cavanaugh Relays in Woodward Thursday, with the Carroll Relays on tap for Monday.
The teams hosted the 8th Davis Relays April 2, with both head coaches pleased with the efforts of their respective squads.
“We had a lot of guys set personal bests, which is always good to see,” Bluejay head coach Ben Coy said. “I thought we showed some determination and competed well.”
Bryce Bucklew set new PB’s (personal best) marks in both throwing events. He was second in the discus with a spin of 110 feet and third in the shot put with a push of 39 feet, 3 inches.
Reece Dunlap dashed to second place in the 100 in 11.9 seconds, with Marcus Meri fourth in the 200 in 24.35 ticks while just missing placing with a clocking of 54.79 in the 400.
The other Bluejay PB came from senior Scott James, who tied his own individual record by clearing 6’1 in the high jump.
Jayette head coach Matt Hardy was also pleased with the mental response of the Perry girls.
“We competed as a team,” Hardy remarked. “I think the team atmosphere really came through during the finish of the 4 x 400.”
Perry won the final event of the meet in 4:28.9, with Emma Olejniczak, Haileigh Kenyon, Mariah Duffy and Maggie Lowe — in that order — carrying the baton around Kaufman Track.
Coy and Hardy noted that their squads had several areas in which improvements are needed, but that almost all of those were sloppy errors that are normal for early in a season.
“We need our stamina to improve and for the guys to be able to handle three races apiece,”” Coy said. “Our handoffs need to improve, but both of those things will come around — it is still very early in our year.”
Hardy had similar concerns.
“Some of our handoffs were not as clean as I would like them to be,” he noted. “We need to have more consistent 200 splits by some of the 800 runners and need to make sure we are pushing out of the blocks with a drive phase and not just standing up and stepping out of the blocks.”
While the season is just beginning for both the Bluejays and Jayettes, each team will compete at home only once more in 2015. The Perry girls will host the Jayette Relays April 16, with the Bluejay Relays slated for May 7.
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