Saturday, April 30th, 2022
Flyer boys, Cav girls runners-up at Cardinal Invite
By Tom Haines
Photo by Nick Wenning/The Daily Standard
Tyler Schwieterman goes over the bar in the high jump at Cardinal Stadium on Friday. Schwieterman placed first with a jump of 6-feet even.
NEW BREMEN - Anna and West Liberty-Salem came away victorious in the 12-team Cardinal Invitational in New Bremen on Friday, with Coldwater runner-up behind the Rockets on the girls side and the Marion Local boys placing second behind the Tigers.
The Marion boys came in second despite just three wins on the night, taking first in the 4x100 and 4x200 relays and winning the pole vault when Nate Buschur topped 13-6, a foot and a half ahead of runner-up Austin Ebbing from Coldwater.
"Our boys 4x100 came in hoping to beat Anna, because Anna is the No. 1 4x100 team in the state based on the times they've run so far for Division III," Marion coach Kyle Grabowski said. "We were really hoping we could push that, and we did."
Coldwater got a win in the 400 from Ava Giere, who was in a virtual dead heat with Lehman Catholic's Kiersten Franklin before eking out a narrow lead on the final turn and holding on down the stretch. Haley Alig gave the Cavaliers a handy win in the 800, finishing three seconds ahead of Marion's Jayden Huelsman.
Photo by Nick Wenning/The Daily Standard
Coldwater's Haley Alig (left) takes the baton from Ava Giere for the final leg of the 4x800 at Cardinal Stadium on Friday.
Alig and Giere joined forces for Coldwater victories in the 4x400 and 4x800 as well. Tyler Schwieterman turned in three wins for the Coldwater boys, beating out West Liberty-Salem's Logan Taylor and Marion's Luke Pohlman and Tate Hess with a 6-0 mark in the high jump before blazing to a pair of hurdles wins, accounting for 30 for the Cavalier boys' 50 points.
Marion's Sammy Hoelscher swept the girls hurdles events, and the Flyers got a 1-2 finish in the shot put from Molly Winner, who placed fifth in Division III in shot put last year, and Amber Wendel, a junior in her first year in track.
"Amber Wendel in the shot put, 37-foot, that's elite," Grabowski said. "Lots of good stuff to come."
St. Henry took a single first on a 50-2 shot put by Dustin Quinter.
The host Cardinals got a win in the girls 1,600 from Chloe Homan, who held off Anna's Paige Steinke by two seconds.
"She can run sprints, distance, middle-distance," New Bremen coach Mark Sharp said. "Just an all-around good athlete."
Photo by Nick Wenning/The Daily Standard
Marion Local's Wesley Schoen (left) hands off to Andrew Pohlman in the 4x800 at Cardinal Stadium on Friday.
New Bremen also got a boost from distance runner Molly Dues, who subbed in for missing teammates on the 4x100 and 4x200 before placing third in the 3,200 in her fourth event of the night.
"She's filled in the sprint relays, which is where girls were missing, but she's a two-miler," Sharp said. "And she did very well in the two-mile, had a PR. One of five or six PRs tonight."
Marion Local, Coldwater and St. Henry will meet again at the Knights of Columbus Mercer County Track Meet in Coldwater starting Tuesday, while New Bremen goes to Versailles, with the Midwest Athletic Conference championships starting May 10.
