Plymouth Rules Rochester Sectional

ROCHESTER -ÊAnd then the rains came.

Although storms raced through much of the area Tuesday afternoon, Rochester remained untouched before and during the girls track sectional. However, the meet ended just in time to miss the first raindrops of the evening storm that moved in.

Spectators at the sectional watched cautiously as lightning flashed in the distance during the finals of the 200 mater dash. The slow-moving storms inched closer as competitors took to the starting line of the 3200 meter run, the next-to-last event of the night.

Just as the last runners crossed the line in the final event, the 1600 relay, large raindrops began to pelt the track.

Plymouth ran away with the team title, scoring 111.5 points. The Pilgrims' nearest competitor, Culver Military Academy, scored 88. Triton was the third-place team with 57 points, while Tippecanoe Valley checked in at the fourth position with 49.5 points. Manchester and Northfield tied for fifth with 48 points, and Whitko placed 10th with 10 points.

Triton had the highest area finisher of the night as the Trojans cleaned up in field events. Rachel Speicher won the high jump event with a leap of 5 feet, 2 inches. Betsy Salyer placed second in the shot put with a toss of 35-10 3/4, while Amber Feldman was second in the discus competition with a throw of 112-7.

Terrin Meister placed second in the 300 hurdles, and Triton's 3200 relay team of Emily Fephart, Carrie kauffman, Jamie Kreiter and Shelly Miller advanced to the regional by placing fourth.

"We were shooting for the top three," said Triton coach Jason Hunter. "We did well in the field events. Rachel placed first in the high jump, and Betsy and Amber placed second. Terrin Meister did well for us, and our 3200 relay team got out as well."

While Triton's team placed the highest of the four area schools, Tippecanoe Valley advanced the most competitors. Viking Lynette Wilcox led the squad by placing third in the 200 and the long jump to advance to the regional in both events. Valley's 1600 relay team of Emily Weaver, Wilcox, Beth Leckrone and Sarah Kindig placed fourth, and the 400 relay team of Holly Green, Leckrone, Wilcox and Weaver placed third to advance as well.

Amber Drudge (high jump), Rebekah Parker (high jump) and Weaver (100 hurdles) will compete for Valley in the regional as well.

"We chose to put people in events to advance rather than just to score points," said Valley coach Jeff Shriver. "We wanted to advance as many people as possible."

Valley's Laura Lash and Rochester's Micole DuBois provided excitement in the longest race of the evening, the 3200. Lash led most of the race, but DuBois chipped away at her lead throughout the race. The last 50 meters of the contest were an all-out sprint, and DuBois and Lash crossed the line so close the judges had to look at the videotape to determine the winner. In the end, DuBois was the winner with a time of 12:26.10, while Lash's official time was 12:26.20.

"That 3200 race was so close," said Shriver. "They had to look at the tape to decide the winner. Both girls ran with a lot of heart, and it was neat to see the 3200 come down to a 50-yard sprint and a photo finish."

Manchester had runners advance in eight events. Lydia Flora placed third in the 3200 and the 1600 to move on to the regional. She also teamed up with Jill Kambs, Katie Purdy and Amber Volk in the 3200 relay to place third and advance in that event as well.

Ann Harms also advanced in two individual events for Manchester. In another close race, Harms and Sarah Eiler of Rochester battled for first place in the 100 hurdles. Eiler's official time was 15.56 seconds, while Harms finished the race in 15.62. Harms also advanced to the regional with a fourth-place finish in the 300 hurdles and teamed up with Heather Terflinger, Asiah Bradford and Tina French in the 400 relay to place fourth as well.

French also placed fourth in the 100 to move on for Manchester.

Whitko's Loranna Sparks was the only Wildcat to advance to the regional with a third-place finish in the 100 hurdles.

All competitors who advanced will compete in the regional Tuesday in Bremen.

ROCHESTER GIRLS TRACK SECTIONAL

Team scores -Ê1. Plymouth 111.5, 2. Culver Military Academy 88, 3. Triton 57, 4. Tippecanoe Valley 48.5, 5. Northfield 48, 6. Manchester 48, 7. Oregon-Davis 46, 8. Rochester 26, 9. Caston 15, 10. Whitko 10, 11. Culver Community 7

*The top four finishers in each event advance to Tuesday's Bremen Regional.

Shot put -Ê1. Molly Engstrom (CMA) 36-1 1/2; 2. Betsy Salyer (Triton); 3. Vanessa Jackson (CMA); 4. Genie Powlen (Caston); 5. Jenelle Palmer (Plymouth); 6. Kim Melzoni (Northfield); 7. Jenny VanVactor (Plymouth); 8. Jessica Fox (Valley)

1600 Relay -Ê1. Plymouth (Kourtney Beckham, Carin Benge, Sarah Craig, Jenny Lewis) 4:10.34; 2. Oregon-Davis; 3. Northfield; 4. Tippecanoe Valley; 5. Triton; 6. Culver Military Academy; 7. Caston; 8. Whitko

200 -Ê1. Mary Whitehead (CMA) 26.30; 2. Jessica West (CMA); 3. Lynette Wilcox (Valley); 4. Amanda Harris (Oregon-Davis); 5. Tina French (Manchester); 6. Ali Burroughs (Plymouth); 7. Ashli Senff (Triton); 8. Sarah Craig (Plymouth)

300 Hurdles -Ê1. Laura Kensinger (Oregon-Davis) 48.24; 2. Terrin Meister (Triton); 3. Sarah Eiler (Rochester); 4. Ann Harms (Manchester); 5. Jenny Lewis (Plymouth); 6. Theresa Everett (CMA); 7. Ruth Wojkowiak (Northfield); 8. Emily Weaver (Valley)

400 Relay -Ê1. Culver Military Academy (Heather Montgomery, Brooke Osborne, Ebony Tillmon, Jessica West) 51.44; 2. Plymouth; 3. Tippecanoe Valley; 4. Manchester; 5. Oregon-Davis; 6. Whitko; 7. Triton; 8. Culver Community

3200 -Ê1. Micole DuBois (Rochester) 12:26.10; 2. Laura Lash (Valley); 3. Lydia Flora (Manchester); 4. Andrea Leland (Northfield); 5. Ashley Howard (Plymouth); 6. Stephanie Slemp (Plymouth); 7. Carrie Kauffman (Triton); 8. Jessica Holiday (Northfield)

800 -Ê1. Carin Benge (Plymouth) 2:25.40; 2. Lindsey Guenin (Northfield); 3. Kourtney Beckham (Plymouth); 4. Emily Schenkel (Northfield); 5. Shari Kensinger (Oregon-Davis); 6. Billie Jo Rosenstiel (Valley); 7. Katie Purdy (Manchester); 8. Gina Westafer (Triton)

Long jump - 1. Mary Whitehead (CMA) 16-9 3/4; 2. Laura Kensinger (Oregon-Davis); 3. Lynette Wilcox (Valley); 4. Morgan Uceny (Plymouth); 5. Jamie Ayers (Caston); 6. Sarah Kindig (Valley); 7. Shari Kensinger (Oregon-Davis); 8. Terrin Meister (Triton)

400 -Ê1. Morgan Uceny (Plymouth)1:00.49; 2. Kristen VanBuskirk (Northfield); 3. Tara Kensinger (Oregon-Davis); 4. Mackenzie Horn (Rochester); 5. Amber Neff (Triton); 6. Sarah Kindig (Valley); 7. Alicia Tam (Caston); 8. Jolene Reed (Whitko)

100 -Ê1. Jessica West (CMA) 12.84; 2. Mary Whitehead (CMA); 3. Ali Burroughs (Plymouth); 4. Tina French (Manchester); 5. Sarah Craig (Plymouth); 6. Kristen VanBuskirk (Northfield); 7. Amanda Harris (Oregon-Davis); 8. Mary Lee (Culver Community)

100 Hurdles -Ê1. Sarah Eiler (Rochester) 15.56; 2. Ann Harms (Manchester); 3. Loranna Sparks (Whitko) 4. Emily Weaver (Valley); 5. Terrin Meister (Triton); 6. Alysa Faulkner (Plymouth); 7. Candi Rust (Oregon-Davis); 8. Kylie Kreft (Triton)

Discus - 1. Molly Engstrom (CMA) 133-5; 2. Amber Feldman (Triton); 3. Jenelle Palmer (Plymouth); 4. Jenny VanVactor (Plymouth); 5. Genie Powlen (Caston); 6. Monica Minnix (Manchester); 7. Betsy Salyer (Triton); 8. Kathy Prater (Valley)

3200 relay -Ê1. Plymouth (Katherine Adams, Kourtney Beckham, Carin Benge, Rebecca Martin) 10:08.10; 2. Northfield; 3. Manchester; 4. Triton; 5. Tippecanoe Valley; 6. Oregon-Davis; 7. Culver Community

1600 -Ê1. Kourtney Beckham (Plymouth) 5:35.92; 2. Andrea Leland (Northfield); 3. Lydia Flora (Manchester); 4. Micole DuBois (Rochester); 5. Jill Kambs (Manchester); 6. Brooke Epley (CMA); 7. Stephanie Slemp (Plymouth); 8. Carrie Kauffman (Triton)

High Jump - 1. Rachel Speicher (Triton) 5-2; 2. Nickie Rash (Plymouth); 3. Amber Drudge (Valley); 4.(tie)Rebekah Parker (Valley) and Alysa Faulkner (Plymouth); 6. Trisha Penner (Northfield); 7. Dale Lynn Heiser (Culver Community); 8. Emily Wentzel (Oregon-Davis)