Staff writer
Marion track and field teams participated in the Halstead Relays on Friday, and the girls’ team netted a third place finish while the boys settled for sixth.
Head coach Grant Thierolf said the meet provided great competition for both squads, and that it was an event from which the Warriors can improve.
Sophomore Marissa Jacobson led the Warriors in scoring with 26 points, including two first-place finishes in long jump and triple jump. She also came in third in the 400 meters.
Thrower Kristen Herzet took third in discus and fourth in javelin to add 10 points for Marion.
Junior Marshelle Mermis finished fifth in the 400 and her classmate McKenzee Remmers finished sixth in the 3,200.
“The girls’ team had some good events and we are pleased with how some of our young runners are coming along,” Thierolf said. “Marissa had another outstanding day in the jumps. She is getting a little stronger as the season goes on and it is showing.”
The girls were benefited by two relay squads, the 4x100 of Erika Hess, Kirsten Hansen, Sam Richmond, and Mermis, and the 4x400 of Hansen, Richmond, Mermis, and Jacobson. They finished fourth and second, respectively.
Marion’s 51 points were good enough for the girls to edge out Pratt by a point for third place. First place Hesston scored 91.
For the boys, Kyle Palic again led the way with his throws, finishing first in shot put, third in javelin, and fifth in discus. Palic’s shot put throw of 51 feet, 9.5 inches was a personal record by nearly two feet, Thierolf said.
Brad Stone’s third- and fourth-place finishes in the 300 hurdles and 110 hurdles respectively helped the boys’ point total, and Nicholas Stuchlik’s third- and fourth-place efforts in the high jump and triple jump respectively added 10 points.
Senior Seth Snelling finished second in pole vault. Freshman Jack Schneider took fifth in the 100, while Quinton Hett, Bryce Shults, and Colin Williams placed sixth in various events to round out the individual scoring.
The boys 4x400 relay team of Tyler Arocha, Schneider, Stone, and Snelling took fourth.
The boys scored 55 points, 19 short of first place Berean.