Raider girls track team continues impressive season

Williamsburg girls' track coach Nick Nordheim continues to be impressed by the performances of his athletes this season.

Meet after meet someone new has stepped up for the Raiders and last week was no different.

Senior Jenna Thurm gave Williamsburg a boost in the Tuesdays, April 18, Panther Relays at Mount Pleasant, winning the discus for the first time with a personal best throw of 111-feet 4-inches.

"Jenna really stood out," Nordheim said. "She is working hard and is now top 12 in the state. She could be a state medalist by the end of the year."

Thurm's classmate, Tayler Long, was pretty good herself, setting personal records in her splits of the shuttle hurdle (17.72), 4 x 200 (26.50) and 4 x 400 (1:03.09) meter relays, races which the Raiders placed third, second and first, respectively.

"Tayler just had a huge meet," said Nordheim. "Running PR's in the shuttle hurdle and 4x2 was great, but the big one was the 4x4. We've had some nice competition for those 400 spots and she made a big statement by improving her time by 3 seconds and putting us up there with the top teams in the state. She's done everything right for 4 years and it shows."

Makenna Hughes, a sophomore, also ran a personal best split of 1:03.2 in the 4 x 400 relay and with junior Shannon Finn and senior Macey Marovets joining her and Long, the Raiders produced a season-best time of 4:10.19.

Marovets had a personal best anchor split of 1:00.43 in the sprint medley relay, which with Finn, Hughes and sophomore Ailea Wetjen established a season-best winning time of 1:54.39.

Freshman Analise DeWitt ran her fastest split of 2:40 in the 4 x 800 relay to aid a runner-up finish, as did sophomore Kalon Spratt (18.19) in the shuttle hurdle relay, sophomore Carly Rich's 200 (28.3) in the distance medley relay, and freshman Ashlynn Hoffman in the 100 (14.45) and 200 (28.6) meter dashes.

All of those performances and several third places — Elle Ridgeway in the discus and shot, Elizabeth Stohlmann 100 meters, Jenna Yearian 400, Natalie Bemer 800 and April Phillips 1,500 — allowed Williamsburg to place a close second to Mount Pleasant in the battle for the team championship, 134-127.

Last Chance Drake Relays Qualifier

The Raiders also went to the Last Chance Drake Relays Qualifier Thursday, April 20, at Davenport Assumption, and on the same day with a split squad competed in the Hawk Relays at Mid-Prairie, Wellman.

Thurm finished first in the discus for the second straight meet with a throw of 111-feet, Wetjen won the 200-meter dash in a personal best 27.62 seconds, and Finn, Hughes, Long and Marovets ran No. 1 in the 4 x 400 relay in a season-best 4:09.93 to highlight the Raiders' performances at Assumption.

"Our 4x4 was amazing," Nordheim commented. "They ran out front the entire race and had nobody to push them. To run a 4:09 by themselves in the windy conditions was super impressive. We missed qualifying for the Drake Relays by .14 seconds."

Marovets also took runner-up honors in the 400-meter dash, as did Phillips in the 3,000 meter run and the 4 x 200 relay team of Hughes, Long, Hoffman and Wetjen.

"April was fantastic in the 3,000," Nordheim noted. "I'm really happy for her as she deserves all the success she gets. She's a great leader and worker."

Third places went to Ridgeway in the shot put, Wetjen in the 100 and the 4 x 800 relay of DeWitt, Hoffman, Tori Yunggbauer and Reagan McMenomy.

Three personal records by Hayden Wade led Williamsburg at the Hawk Relays.

"Hayden really had a great meet," said Nordheim. "This was the 1st time she's been in three events so running two 800's and a 400 as well as she did really stood out to us. She's a tough competitor and has a bright future."

Nordheim noted Kalon Spratt also was "outstanding," saying "she's worked so hard on her hurdles after struggling a bit to end last season, and it's a lot of fun to see her running some great times."

"Overall, it was a great week for us," Nordheim concluded. "These girls keep amazing me."