MORENCI — The Morenci varsity girls track and field team had two athletes compete in MHSAA State Finals meet and crowned a regional champion this year.
Senior thrower Zoey Martinez finished off her Morenci track and field career in stellar fashion, winning the regional title in discus with a throw of 108’ 10’’. She placed second in shot put with a personal record throw of 31’ 9.5’’.
Martinez threw the discus 108’ 3’’ at the state finals and took home a fifth-place medal.
Earlier in the season Martinez placed first in discus at the TCC League Meet and the Lenawee County Championships with throws of 104’ 3’’ and 114’ 6’’ respectively. She placed third in the shot put at the TCC League Meet with a toss of 29’ 7’’.
Sophomore sprinter Emma Williams had herself a day at the regional meet. Williams set a personal record in the 100m dash and finished in third place with a qualifying time of 12.86s. She also took second place in both the 200m (27.57s) and 400m (105.00s).
She ran a PR of 27.55s in the 200m at the state meet. Williams also had a third-place finish in the 200m and a fourth-place at the County Championships just prior to the state finals.
She placed third in the 100m at the TCC League Meet and fourth in the 400m.
Head coach Jon Boesger knew going into the season with a shorthanded team it would be tough to compete in scoring, especially with a majority of the athletes being throwers.
The strongest team showing was a second-place finish at the Clinton Redwolves Throwers Only Invitational, being outscored only by Monroe. The Lady Bulldogs had won the invitational the previous year.
Senior Makayla Nieman came up just short of a state qualifying discus toss at the regional meet. She threw 95’ 1’’ to place fourth. Her PR of 97’ 2’’ was just eight inches shy of qualifying standard. Nieman placed fourth at the league meet in discus.
The Bulldogs will also lose senior throwers Paige Cousino and Emily Zuvers to graduation. Zuvers also competed in sprints and relays.
Junior thrower Rebecca Cox threw a PR of 94’ 4’’ at the County Championships in discus and will look to build upon that going into her senior season.
Sophomore athletes Hailey Cleveland and Tessa Zuvers both hit PRs in the long jump at the regional meet with leaps of 14’ 6.5’’ and 13’ 10’’ respectively. Cleveland and Zuvers ran a variety of sprints, hurdles and relays throughout the year and their versatility was much needed.
Junior sprinter Rachel Meadows ran her fastest 100m time of the season at regionals and will return next year as one of the senior leaders.
Sophomore Jayla McCowan and freshman Lillian Harsh will both return as throwers next year. Harsh had a late season PR of 70’ 7’’ in the discus and McCowan has a PR of 64’ 11’’ she set earlier this year.
Freshman Tavin Kruse split time with softball and didn’t compete in many races. But she did put a mark of 13’ 10.25’’ out there in the long jump.
Coach Boesger was very pleased with how the girls competed this year and how they showed up at the regional meet. Despite the low numbers, he sees some light on the horizon between a few talented eighth-graders moving up and the potential return of previous runners.
“I’m hoping that we get a couple back that we lost this year,” he said referring to athletes who may be on the fence about running next year. “I’m always hopeful.”
