The temperature had dropped twenty degrees from the previous day and the wind took the runners and fans for a spin. Needless to say, the conditions were far from ideal for the girls’ sectional championship at Northwestern high school. However, the Lady Kings stood eager and ready for the sound of the gun. Coming off of the high from the Conference meet, the girls held high expectations for the post-season tournament.

Our distance program has dwindled in strength and depth the past two years, so none of the distance ladies advanced further into the tournament. However, the D-Squad finished with solid PR’s (personal records) in several races and looks forward to a promising season next year. Mari Karmel ran her best time in the mile at 6:15 and looks to improve her time through her hard work and dedication. Unfortunately, none of our field event athletes advanced either.

Brooke Langely took third place in a tight race in the 100 meter hurdles and advanced to the regional championship. Langley also ran to a second place finish in the 300 meter hurdles, which landed her a spot at the regional meet. The 4×100 team of Kelsey Smith, Brooke Langely, Breanna Diedrick, and Haley Johnson fell short of advancing by two close places. Haley Johnson will be heading to Warsaw to run at the regional competition in the 400 meter dash as she placed third with a time of 1:04. Kelsey Smith claimed second place in the 200 meter dash and plans to redeem herself nest Tuesday.

The 4×400 team went into the race seeded first with a time of 4:13. Considering the awful conditions, the team of Johnson, Karli DeHaven, Langley, and Smith performed decently with a time a 4:20. However, Pioneer took first as their lightning-fast anchor, Madison Kiser, whipped around the track to pass the Lady Kings with her 57 second split. Although the ladies didn’t achieve their goal of winning the sectional 4×400, they’ll be heading to Warsaw to chase down their school record and make noise at the regional competition.