In 1st home meet since the 1970s, Loyal earns 4 first-place finishes

By Valorie Brecht Since its inception, the Loyal High School track and field program has had to deal with the challenge of not having a track to run on nor the proper facilities to host track meets. However, through a collaboration between two neighboring communities, the Loyal track program hosted a “home” meet at Spencer High School last Friday. Loyal supplied the volunteers to run various events, including members of the middle school track team and their parents, coaches, and other volunteers. This was the first track meet hosted by Loyal since the grass track back in the early 1970s.

“It went well… Loyal’s AD (athletic director) Justin Stoegbauer, came up with the idea and spearheaded the project. He did an excellent job and deserves a lot of the credit for pulling it off. I want to also thank the Spencer School District for allowing us to use of their track,” wrote Loyal coach Jim Genteman in an email.

Making the day that much better was the fact that the Greyhound athletes saw success in several events, including some now-familiar names claiming the top spot in their respective events. Those placing in the top eight in their event scored points for their team. Point scorers were as follows.

On the girls side, Addysen Wolf won the 100-meter dash, finishing in 13.26 seconds. She also won the 200m dash with a time of 27.02 and the high jump with a height of 4 feet, 10 inches (4-10). The girls 4x200m relay also took first, with a time of 1:52.57. Team members were Summer Smith, Hope Peroshek, Noelle Teschner, and Wolf. Lillian Boushon took second in the 200m dash with a time of 29.61, achieving a personal record. The girls 4x100m relay team placed second with a time of 54.76. Team members were Smith, Peroshek, Teschner, and Boushon. Alexis Meyer took second in the high jump, clearing the bar at 4-6. Olivia Nikolai placed third in the 100m hurdles, completing the race in 19.5 seconds.

The 4x400m relay took fourth with a time of 4:55.63. Team members were Smith, Annika Schley, Gwen LaMarr, and Teschner. Kennedy Luchterhand took fourth in the 4kg shot put, with a distance of 30-2, which was also a personal record. Peroshek took fourth in the 1kg discus throw, with a distance of 91-10, a season best. Smith placed fourth in the triple jump with a distance of 31-11, a season best. Lesly Soto took fifth in the 100m hurdles, earning a personal record with a time of 21.26. Peroshek placed fifth in the 100m dash with a time of 14.54. Schley and LaMarr took seventh and eighth, respectively, in the 800m run, with times of 2:51.87 and 2:51.92. Teschner took seventh in the long jump, with a distance of 12-3.

The girls took fourth place out of seven teams with 103 points. Winning the meet was the MedfordArea team with 145 points. Other point totals were Phillips 121, Edgar 111, Athens 79, Spencer 52.5, and Thorp 19.5.

Boys On the boys side, Jaden Smith placed fourth in the 12-pound shot put, with a distance of 36-6.25. He also placed eighth in the discus throw, throwing the 1.6kg disc 101-11. Bryce Deegan placed fifth in the 200m dash with a time of 25.19, a season best for him.

The boys team placed eighth out of eight teams with 10 points. Winning the meet was the MedfordArea team with 177 points. Other point totals were Edgar 124, Phillips 98, Athens 61, Spencer 52, Thorp 36, and Greenwood 24.

Above: Alexis Meyer arches over the high jump bar during one of her attempts at the Loyal Invitational held at the Spencer High School track on May 2. Meyer took second in the event, reaching a height of 4’6”. At left, Addysen Wolf and Hope Peroshek sprint against each other in the 100m dash. Wolf placed first while Peroshek took fifth. Below, Lillian Boushon tosses the shot during the shot put event. She did not place in the top eight to score team points in that event, but did take second place in the 200m dash.

BRENDA LAVENGOOD/STAFF PHOTOS