Girls track ready for action after soggy meet

The Outlaws girls track team is ready to travel to Cottage Grove Friday, May 6 for the Cottage Grove Twilight Meet, following a solid second-place finish in a waterlogged La Pine Invitational late last month.

Junction City edged the Outlaws 100 to 95.5 for the team title and while the Sisters athletes showed great competitiveness, the conditions made it very difficult to achieve good marks.

“The meet was delayed time and time again due to problems with the automatic timing system, so after the second event the meet was already nearly an hour behind schedule,” said assistant coach Wayne Powell. “It made it nearly impossible for kids to be properly warmed up and ready to go.”

Sisters got off to a good start in the running events with a second place finish in the 400-meter relay (52.82) and the next race the team picked up third and fourth places by Jena Rickards (5:41) and Erin Gough (5:42) in the 1500.

Molly Van Acker nabbed seventh place in the 100 (13.77), and after being shut out in the 400, the Outlaws got their first of two victories from Jenny Boswell as she blazed to first place in the 100 hurdles (15.82). Nahtice Nield continued her strong freshman campaign with a third-place medal (17.96).

Iris Powell scored fifth in the 800 (2:39.18) and Jenny Boswell won the 300 hurdles in 47.47 to continue the scoring. In the 3,000 meters all three Sisters runners scored as Erin Gough (12:33.33), Kaitlin McAlister (12:39.68), and Chelsea Addison (13:38.82) placed fourth, fifth, and eighth respectively.

The Outlaws wrapped up the running events with a fourth-place finish in the 1,600-meter relay (4:27.63).

Freshman Kelsey Neilson (4-feet-8-inches) and Kali Ulmer (4-feet-6 inches) placed fourth and eighth in the high jump. Earlier in the week, Neilson tied the school record with a leap of five feet even at Stayton. She placed sixth in the triple jump (31-feet-6-inches), just behind teammate Van Acker (31-feet-6.75-inches).

Tara Hermens placed fifth in the javelin (91-feet-3-inches) to gain some points for the throwing corps and Cammy Jacobson (eight feet) and Anna Pepperling (7-feet-6-inches) and Brandi Palmer (six feet) placed third, fourth, and seventh in the pole vault.