Leyton Boys Second at Leyton HS Invite

A beautiful warm and sunny day with a slight breeze was on tap for the Leyton High School Invitational in Dalton on Friday, May 5, and area teams competed in the final big meet prior to the D-9 District Meet at Creek Valley High School on Wednesday, May 10.

The Paxton team finished in first place for both boys and girls squads. For the boys, it was Paxton with 149 points followed by Leyton with 121 points and Kimball with 118. For the girls, Paxton with 117 points was followed by Kimball with 86 points and South Platte with 79 points. For the local teams, the Creek Valley girls placed fourth with 64 points, followed by Potter-Dix in fifth with 63 points and Leyton in sixth with 57. For the boys, after Leyton's second place finish, Potter-Dix placed fourth with 71 points and Creek Valley placed sixth with 10 points.

The Leyton boys, seniors Justin Ernest and Cort Rummel finished first and second in the 100 Meters, with Ernest's time of 11.49 being a personal best. Prior to the 100 Meter finals, Cort Rummel said “These are really good conditions today. I'll be racing in the finals next to Justin (Ernest) and we push each other in every race in practice. It should be a close race.” Ernest also won the 400 Meters with a time of 53.34 and was on the first place 4X100 Meter Relay team. Senior Chance Carter won the 200 Meters with a time of 24.20 and was on the first place 4X100 meter Relay team and second place 4X800 Meter Relay team. Freshman Alec Watchorn continued his great first season for the Warriors, winning the 110 Meter Hurdles with a time of 17.44, the 300 Meter Hurdles with a personal best time of 44.57, and had a third-place finish in High Jump. Junior Kaleb Borges placed second in the 110 Meter Hurdles and third in the 300 Meter Hurdles. Borges was also on the winning 4X100 Meter Relay team.

Sophomore Zachary Anderson won the Shot Put with a personal best distance of 43' 11.25” and placed second in Discus. Senior Dawson Juelfs placed fourth in Pole Vault and sophomore Isaac Lipska placed sixth in Long Jump. Senior Jakob Kruse placed sixth in Discus and eighth in Shot Put.

For the Leyton girls, sophomore Zaili Benish had three wins, first in the 100 Meters, then in the 100 Meter Hurdles and finally in the 300 Meter Hurdles. After her win in the 100 Meter preliminaries, she said, “This is really good weather to run, much better than when it’s cold. It makes a big difference in the hurdles, especially.” Junior Claire Watchorn placed second in the 200 Meters and the 400 Meters, and placed fourth in Discus. Freshman Macey Roelle placed third in the 200 Meters and junior Trinity Buetler placed sixth in the 200 Meters.

For the Potter-Dix boys, senior James Pease won the 3200 Meters with a personal best time of 11:49.9, placed second in the 1600 Meters and anchored the winning 4X400 Meter Relay team. Freshman Dylan Tabor won the Triple Jump with a distance of 36' 7”, placed second in the 300 Meter Hurdles and was part of the winning 4X100 Meter Relay team. Junior Brayden Kasten placed third in the 400 Meters, sophomore Dawson Monheiser placed third in Shot Put, and freshman Kyle Lenstrom placed fourth in Long Jump and sixth in the 800 Meters.

For the Potter-Dix girls, senior Lily Tabor won the Pole Vault, clearing 8 feet. She also placed second in Shot Put and anchored the winning 4X100 Meter Relay team. After winning the Pole Vault, Tabor said, “Everything fell into place today. I have a new vaulting pole, and it really made a difference.” Senior Kallie Crossman placed third in the 100 Meters, fourth in the Long Jump, fifth in Pole Vault and was on the winning 4X100 Meter Relay team. Sophomore Crystal Dhooge placed fourth in the 800 Meters, fifth in the 1600 Meters and was part of the winning 4X100 Relay Team. Freshman Kennedy Kroll placed third in the 3200 meters, freshman Cayli Spencer placed fourth in the 1600 Meters and senior Jayden Shoemaker placed fifth in High Jump.

The Creek Valley girls had a strong showing, with junior Samantha Marin winning the 3200 Meters with a time of 14:15.98 and being part of the third place 4X400 Meter Relay team. Junior Anna Speirs placed second in the 1600 Meters, third in the 400 Meters and was part of the third-place 4X400 Meter Relay team. Freshman Kyndi Martinez placed fourth in the 100 Meter Hurdles and 300 Meter Hurdles and was part of the third-place 4X100 Meter Relay team. Senior Elizabeth Whiting placed fourth in the 200 Meters and sixth in the 100 Meters, and was part of the third place 4X100 and 4X400 Meter Relay teams. Senior Chaeli Polk placed seventh in Shot Put, eighth in the 800 Meters and was part of the second place 4X800 Meter Relay team and third place 4X400 Meter Relay team. Junior Ella Whiting placed third in Long Jump and was on the third place 4X100 Meter Relay Team.