MIDDLEBURY — Middlebury Union High School track and field athletes won a dozen events at a meet the Tigers hosted on Friday at the Middlebury College track, seven by the team’s female athletes and five by its male athletes.
Overall, the Division II MUHS girls’ and boys’ teams each finished second in the seven-team meet behind D-I visitor Mount Mansfield on a rainy afternoon.
The Cougar girls scored 249 points, followed by MUHS (169.5) and Peoples (89). Vergennes, which chose to rest many distance runners and some injured athletes, was fifth at 13 points.
On the boys’ side, MMU won with 316 points, followed by MUHS (212.5) and Stowe (23). VUHS took fifth at 6.5.
Tiger girls won five individual events. Senior Hannah Buttolph won twice, easily claiming her championship specialty, the high jump, even though she is working on changing her style, and also winning the long jump. Senior Julia Vorsteveld prevailed in the triple jump, sophomore Caroline Kimble won at 3,000 meters, and freshman Ailey Bosworth cruised in the 800. The Tiger girls’ four-by-100 and 4X400 relay teams also won.
On the boys’ side, senior Wyatt Norris won at 200 and 400 meters, senior Matthew Ferguson won the 800, senior Chris Grier outdistanced the field in the javelin toss, and freshman Nanja Horning won the shot put. The Tiger boys also won the 4X100 relay.
Coach Ed Blechner said “some uncertainties remain” with his team midway through the season, such as identifying the best combinations for the relay teams and coordinating practice times, when many athletes have complicated spring schedules.
“We’ve got a lot of things to work on still. We’re pointing toward the state meet, and hopefully everything comes together,” Blechner said. “We’ve got a chance to do very well, both individually and from a team standpoint. But we’ve got a lot of kids, and everyone’s got to come together. I’m hopeful, but this time of year is tough, you know, the prom this weekend, graduation coming up and everything else.”
He is cautiously optimistic the Tigers can reach their collective potential and finish well at the D-II meet.
“We’re hoping, and I think they will,” Blechner said.
Most of the Commodores’ points came from junior runners Sadie Kass, who placed in two events, and Brandon Cousino, who placed in one. Coach Brad Castillo said his distance runners have been working hard in a busy schedule, and he essentially gave them a day off on Friday, while junior newcomer Caroline Johnston, who placed in two events at the Burlington Invitational, had a scheduling conflict.
Friday’s results were not indicative, Castillo said.
“It’s been a great season so far. A lot of our newcomers, like Caroline Johnston and Meg Rooney, have been doing fantastic,” he said. “Our freshman boys (distance runners Zeke Palmer, Spencer Hurlburt and Wade Mullin) are way ahead of schedule as to where we thought they’d be a this point in the season.”
Senior Quinn D’Andrea and those three freshman should make up a competitive 4×800 relay squad, Castillo said, but injuries to Rooney and runners like freshman Ashley Cray have slowed VUHS down.
But with so many promising young athletes, Castillo is hopeful for the future.
“If we can keep this group together, in a few years, as the numbers hopefully grow with them, we’ll be good to go,” he said.
MEET RESULTS
Friday’s winners and MUHS and VUHS top-six girls finishers were:
• 100: 1. Macey Wissell, 13.57, MMU; 2. Chloe Kane, 13.90, MUHS; 3.Megan Townsend, 14.27, MUHS; 4. Trinity Bryant;14.60, MUHS; 5. Kiana Plouffe and Gretta Groves, 14.62, MUHS.
• 200: 1. Wissell, 28.42 , MMU; 2. Kane, 29.08, MUHS; 5. Bryant, 30.43, MUHS; 4. Groves, 30.3, MUHS.
• 400: 1. Heather Lefebvre, 1:06.18, MMU; 2. Buttolph, 1:07.25, MUHS; 3. Kass, 1:07.73, VUHS.
• 800: 1. Bosworth, 2:41.29, MUHS; 3. Kass, 2:49.01, VUHS; 6. Danielle Morris, 3:05.16, MUHS.
• 1500: 1. Sophia Anderson, 5:38.34, Peoples.
• 3000: 1. Caroline Kimble, 11:41.13, MUHS; 2. Helen Anderson, 11:41.80, MUHS; 4. Vorsteveld, 12:18.12, MUHS.
• 100 Hurdles: 1. Perry Willett, 18.46, MMU.
• 300 Hurdles: 1. Willett , 51.36, MMU.
• 4×100 Relay: 1. MUHS (Kane, Groves, Plouffe, Townsend), 54.65.
• 4×400 Relay: 1. MUHS (Anderson, Bosworth, Kimble, Vorsteveld), 4:44.25.
• 4×800: 1. MMU, 12:58.67.
• Shot Put: 1. Sawyer Thompson, 23-01, MMU; 4. Emily Pottinger, 21-00.5, MUHS.
• Discus: 1. Thompson, 62-06, MMU; 3. Pottinger, 55-09, MUHS.
• Javelin: 1. Lucia Kelley, 82-07, Peoples.
• High Jump: 1. Buttolph, 4-10, MUHS.
• Long Jump: 1. Buttolph, 14-01, MUHS. 3. Plouffe, 13-01, MUHS.
• Triple Jump: 1. Vorsteveld, 29-11.50, MUHS.
The winners and MUHS and VUHS top-six boys finishers were:
• 100 Meters: 1. Eli Ogilvie, 11.86, MMU; 3. Norris, 11.96, MUHS; 5. Damien Morris, 12.69, MUHS; 8. Tristan Durante, 12.99, MUHS; 6. Garrett Troumbley, 12.8, MUHS.
• 200: 1. Norris, 24.32, MUHS; 2. Morris, 25.60, MUHS; 4. Cousino, VUHS, and 4. Sandro Zihlman, MUHS, 27.21; 6. Ben Balparda, 27.37, MUHS; 8. Durante, 27.82, MUHS.
• 400: 1. Norris, 52.0, MUHS; 2. Henry Ganey, 53.2, MUHS; 4. Joshua Girard, 55.1, MUHS; 5. Nikhil Plouffe, 57.1, MUHS.
• 800: 1. Ferguson, 2:11.29, MUHS; 2. Haven Tate , 2:13.01, MUHS.
• 1500: 1. William McGovern, 4:26.00, Stowe.
• 3000: 1. McGovern, 9:22.81, Stowe: 2. David Dregallo, 9:37.97, MUHS; 3.Willem Landis, 9:57.61, MUHS; 4. Ross Crowne, 10:05.58, MUHS; 5. Ganey, 10:09.55, MUHS; 6. Tobias Broucke, 10:13.82, MUHS.
• 110 Hurdles: 1. Oliver Sloan, 17.2, MMU.
• 300 Hurdles: 1. Sloan, 44.74, MMU; 4. Ian McKay 48.97, MUHS.
• 4×100 Relay: 1. MUHS (Durante, Balparda, Garrett Troumbley, Damien Morris), 49.6.
• 4×400 Relay: 1. MMU, 3:42.9; 2. MUHS (Tate, Landis, Dregallo, James Whitley), 3:58.2; 3. MUHS, (Morris, Girard, Ferguson, Plouffe) 3:58.3.
• 4×800: 1. MMU, 10:21.35.
• Shot Put: 1. Nanja Horning, 34-11, MUHS; 2. Grier, 34-03.5, MUHS; 6. Joe Langevin, 31-11.5, MUHS.
• Discus: 1. Matthew Cook, 102-0, MMU; 2. Horning, 97-06, MUHS.
• Javelin: 1. Grier, 137-07, MUHS.
• High Jump: 1. Harrison Leombruno-Nicholson, 5-02, MMU.
• Long Jump: 1. Skye Douglas-Hughes, 17-06.5, MMU; 2. Girard, 16-10, MUHS.
• Triple Jump: 1. Douglas-Hughes, 38-01, MMU; 3. Girard, 34-11, MUHS.