Valle 4×800 relay girls earn state medal
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. – Valle Catholic earned its first trip to the podium at the MSHSAA Class 2 state track and field meet on Friday, courtesy of a strong effort from its girls 4×800 relay squad.
Brooke Viox, Camryn Basler, Mary Roth and Rachel Valle improved on their original seed, and posted a mark of 10:23.16 to claim sixth place.
Viox and Valle are poised for another state medal on Saturday after advancing through the preliminary round with Bryna Blum and Sam Loida in the 4×400.
The Lady Warriors landed just outside of the awards cut in two other events. Blum was ninth in the 100-meter hurdles, and javelin specialist Erin Mueller placed ninth while topping out on her fifth throw.
Valle Catholic senior standout Ryan Grein will challenge for three state medals in boys action Saturday after collecting four at last year’s Class 1 meet.
Grein finished fourth in the preliminary heats of both hurdles events to reach the finals, and is seeded 12th among 16 athletes entering the triple jump.
Cory Stoll posted 10th place in the boys’ 100-meter dash, and Mary Roth ended up 15th in the girls’ 3200 for Valle Catholic.
Timothy Kuenzel missed his three attempts at 10 feet, 6 inches in the pole vault. Katie Kertz did likewise at 8 feet, 3 inches for the Lady Warriors.
West County was agonizingly close to producing a state medalist on two occasions during its inaugural track and field season.
Sprinter Hannah Myers placed ninth in 100 and 200 qualifying, missing the final of the shorter race by 0.01 seconds as Madelyn Vonderfec of Lathrop edged her time of 26.62.
Sydney Cash, Madelyn Whitter and Kara Hovick participated in multiple girls relays for West County with Mikayla Sherrill and Myers running one leg each. Their best result was 12th in the 4×400.
Cody Moore represented the Bulldogs in the boys’ 1600, and crossed the line at 4:53.52 for 14th overall.
Friday Event Results:
Girls Javelin – 9. Erin Mueller, VC, 106-06
Girls 100 (Prelim) – 9. Hannah Myers, WC, 13.04
Girls 200 (Prelim) – 9. Hannah Myers, WC, 26.62
Girls 3200 – 15. Mary Roth, VC, 13:43.65
Girls 100 Hurdles (Prelim) – 9. Bryna Blum, VC, 17.13
Girls 4×400 (Prelim) – 7. Valle Catholic (Sam Loida, Brooke Viox, Bryna Blum, Rachel Valle), 4:20.76; 12. West County (Sydney Cash, Madelyn Whitter, Kara Hovick, Hannah Myers), 4:24.16
Girls 4×800 – 6. Valle Catholic (Brooke Viox, Camryn Basler, Mary Roth, Rachel Valle), 10:23.16; 14. West County (Sydney Cash, Mikayla Sherrill, Madelyn Whitter, Kara Hovick), 10:58.91
Boys 100 (Prelim) – 10. Cory Stoll, VC, 11.47
Boys 1600 – 14. Cody Moore, WC, 4:53.52
Boys 110 Hurdles (Prelim) – 4. Ryan Grein, VC, 15.46
Boys 300 Hurdles (Prelim) – 4. Ryan Grein, VC, 41.42
Valle Catholic junior Brooke Viox, pictured sprinting at the Class 2 sectional meet last weekend, helped the Lady Warriors’ 4×800 squad place sixth in the state on Friday in Jefferson City, Mo.
