BOWLING GREEN – There is cold. There is bitter cold. And there is the level of cold at Friday’s BG Bobcat Invitational.
With temperatures hovering near the freezing mark and winds howling, the meet was halted after just five running events could be completed. All the field events, except the boys pole vault, were finished, however.
When the meet was finally halted, nobody was sorry to return to the warmth of the buses.
The Lady Giants also returned with the meet championship trophy, though it’ll have to be exchanged for the runner-up. Ross’ girls were initially declared the winner of the meet and hastily handed the trophy as the meet came to its sudden, and welcome, finish. Afterwards, however, it turned out Liberty-Benton’s 58.5 points were one more than Ross had totaled, 57.5, putting the Lady Giants into second place.
“It doesn’t surprise me, the way the meet ended,” Ross boys track coach John Elder said of the trophy snafu. “They said ‘We’re shutting down the meet,’ and it was like cockroaches when you turn the light on. People were running for the exits because it was so cold.”
The boys team also finished second place, though returned home with the proper hardware, with a total of 44 points, coming in second to Liberty-Benton’s 57.
Janna Sutton
The Lady Giants were led by a pair of first-place finishes. The 4×200 relay team of AnneMarie Moses, Kimora Rapp, Ashanti Elkins and Jazzele Lindsey clocked a time of 1:57.49 to win its event while Olivia DeRodes won the high jump by clearing 5 feet, two inches higher than second place.
Janna Sutton turned in a second-place performance in the 100 hurdles with a time of 17.51 seconds.
“She ended up being second in her hurdle race, she ran great,” Elder said. “I’m sure she was excited and proud that they won because she had a huge part in that.”
McKela Elder also finished second in the 1600, crossing the finish line in 5:44.05, just half a second behind of first place. Moses picked up the Lady Giants’ third second-place finish of the day, clearing 11 feet in the pole vault.
Olivia Baptista (third place) and Emma Jahns (fourth) finished just 0.25 inches apart in the shot put, with Baptista reaching a distance of 32 feet-3.75 inches while Jahns threw 32-03.50. Marissa Overmyer was fifth in the discus at 92 feet.
Oliver Ellis had the fastest time in the 200 dash, leading the field with a time of 23.54 seconds in the preliminary round. While the finals were not held due to cold, Elder said neither he nor Ellis were sorry to see it cancelled.
Oliver Ellis
“He looked really good,” Elder said. “But he had hamstring issues last year and we were talking at the meet and I said, ‘I know you’re disappointed about not running the 200 finals, but how’s your hamstring?’ and he said, ‘it’s starting to get really tight.’ They don’t count it in the points total as a win, but that was a nice run.”
Ellis, along with Bryce McKinstry, Maliek Johnson and Matt Kuyken, helped the 4×200 relay to a second-place finish with a time of 1:36.21.
The Little Giants were strong in the field events, as Bryce McKinstry (high jump, 5-06.00), Jason Burling (shot put, 43-01.50) and Mike Thomas (discus, 120-05) all took second in their respective events.
In the 100 hurdles, Devyn Jagodzinki took fourth, finishing in a time of 16.35 seconds while the 4×800 relay team of Jayden Scott, Evan Starkweather, Ka’Von Martin and Matt Kuyken combined to run a time of 9:00.49, placing them fourth in the event.
Elder said nights like Friday show the difference in a runner’s preparation and mental toughness.
“We’re all kind of angry at the weather,” Elder said. “Some of the kids will prepare themselves well for a meet and some won’t and will let the weather affect them. I know some of our younger runners that was probably the case, they let the weather affect them more mentally than physically. They just weren’t as prepared to run as they could have been, but everybody had that problem last night. ‘Get out from under your blankets, kids, it’s time to warm up.’”
The track and field teams will return to action next Saturday, April 14, at the AW Hendricks-Clyde Invite, at 9:30 a.m.
Bowling Green Bobcat Invitational
GIRLS
1. Liberty-Benton 58.5; 2. Fremont Ross 57.5; 3. Bellevue 44; 4. Napoleon 41; 5. Wauseon 37.5; Defiance 36. 7. Findlay 30.5; 8. Bowling Green 5.
100 Hurdles: 2. Janna Sutton, 17.51
4×800 Relay: 6. Olivia DeRodes; Ashanti Elkins; Madalyn Metcalf; McKela Elder; 11:11.11
4×200 Relay: 1. AnneMarie Moses; Kimora Rapp; Ashanti Elkins; Jazzele Lindsey; 1:57.49
1600 Run: 2. McKela Elder, 5:44.05 (half a second out of first place)
Long Jump: 7. Alexis Prenzlin, 13-08.00
High Jump: 1. Olivia DeRodes, 5-00.00 (4-10 was second place)
Shot Put: 3. Olivia Baptista, 32-03.75 (4. Emma Jahns, 32-03.50)
Discus: 5. Marissa Overmyer, 92-00
Pole Vault: 2. AnneMarie Moses, 11-00.00
BOYS
1. Liberty-Benton 57; 2. Fremont Ross 44; 3. (T) Wauseon 43; 3. (T) Bellevue 43; 5. Defiance 36; 5. Bowling Green 36; 7. Findlay 20.
110 Hurdles: 4. Devyn Jagodzinski, 16.35
4×800 Relay: 4. Jayden Scott; Evan Starkweather; Ka’Von Martin; Matt Kuyken; 9:00.49
4×200 Relay: 2. Oliver Ellis; Bryce McKinstry; Maliek Johnson; Matt Kuyken; 1:36.21
1600 Run: 9. Jayden Scott, 5:18.20
200 Dash: 1. Oliver Ellis, 23.54
Long Jump: 10. Kamyron Jones, 17-11.50
High Jump: 2. Bryce McKinstry, 5-06.00
Shot Put: 2. Jason Burling, 43-01.5
Discus: 2. Mike Thomas, 120-05