Warriors Push Knights, Take 2nd

By ERIC X. VICCARO

EVICCARO@STEGENHERALD.COM

Two distinct cheers took place after completion of the boys’ 1,600-meter relay on a warm Friday evening at Dragon Field.

Valle Catholic celebrated winning the relay over Farmington with a stout time of 3 minutes, 33.90 seconds — with less than three seconds separating the squads.

Then Farmington’s athletes showed exuberance after learning they scored more points than Valle Catholic to win the overall team title at the Mineral Area Activities Association conference meet.

Still, the Class 1 Warriors showed they could complete with a school from a much larger enrollment size in Farmington.

“The MAAA conference meet was a fun one,” Valle Catholic track and field coach Samer Zoughaib. “I knew going in it was going to be close. Both the boys and girls had an awesome day.”

Valle Catholic will now practice this week in preparation for the Class 1 District 1 meet set for Dexter High School this Saturday. The meet begins at 11 a.m.

“This meet prepared us for districts, as we are about to start the qualifying rounds,” Zoughaib noted. “From this point forward, the top four move on to sectionals.”

Farmington scored 152.5 points, which was 9.5 more than Valle Catholic on the boys’ side. The Warrior girls placed fourth with 86.83 points, about 19 behind in-town rival Ste. Genevieve.

Valle Catholic’s boys fared well both on the track — and in the field — with Bryce Giesler coming through in the javelin with a mark of 44.62 meters to claim the gold medal. He also earned fifth in the long jump (5.59m).

Two of the most impressive sprinters this season have been Valle Catholic’s Cory Stoll and Luke McClure.

McClure claimed the 200-meter dash title with a run of 23.05 seconds, 0.36 faster than Stoll. The pair went one-two in the 100 dash. McClure clocked in at 11.52 seconds, with Stoll just seven one-hundredths of a second back (11.59).

The two boys teamed up on the 400-meter relay with Sam Drury and Giesler, clocking in at 44.72, which was two one-hundredths of a second off school-record time. Stoll also was second in the long jump (6.29m).

Other boys helped the Warriors pile on the points.

Peter Roth came through with a bronze medal in the 1,600 run (4:45.76) and fifth in the 3,200 (10:27.44).

Sam Drury clocked in at 18.26 for third spot in the 110 high hurdles, and he was fourth overall in the high jump (1.68m).

Mitchel Meyer took bronze in the 300 dash (53.16) and Coleman sixth (55.60). Jordan Bales claimed third in the 300 meter intermediate hurdles (43.47).

The Warrior 800-meter relay with Coleman, Jordan Bales, Meyer and Giesler placed third in 1:55.83, 4.5 seconds off Farmington’s gold-medal performance time.

Valle’s 3,200-meter relay foursome of Roth, Josef Flieg, Coleman and Josh Hoog recorded a third-place finish in 8:36.50. Josef Flieg added a sixth-place finish in the open 800 (2:09.84).

Meyer earned a bronze medal in the boys’ triple jump at 11.73m, and Eli Fallert was fifth in the boys’ pole vault (3.05m).

Like the boys, the Valle girls’ 3,200-meter relay also claimed a bronze medal with a group of Rachel Valle, Camryn Basler, Katie Kertz and Nicole Valle clocking in at 10:36.25.

The Valle 800-meter relay foursome of Sam Loida, Hailey Weibrecht, Ashlyn Klump and Rachel Valle also placed third (1:55.83). The Valle 400 relay group of Klump, Lillian Hoog, Nicole Valle and Kertz was fifth (57.35).

In the individual events, Loida raced in with a silver-medal performance in the 400 dash, clocking in at 1:02.44. Rachel Valle was fifth in the same event (1:06.30). Loida also was fourth in the 200 dash with a time of 0:28 flat.

Camryn Basler placed fifth in the 1,600 run (5:49.05), with Nicole Valle taking seventh (6:10.75). Basler also was sixth in the 800 run (2:38.27).

In other field event success, Ella Bertram was tops in the shot put (10.42), fourth in the girls’ high jump, leaping to a mark of 1.37m, fourth in the javelin (29.53m) and sixth in discus (23.14m). Brianna Hibbetts was sixth in shot put (8.74m).

Weibrecht was the silver standard in the triple jump (9.48m) and fourth in the girls’ long jump (4.44m).