BURLINGTON — Vergennes Union High School runners won four races at the Division II indoor track and field championships this past Saturday at the University of Vermont.
Senior Wade Mullin led the way by claiming the individual 600-meter championship and running on two victorious Commodore relay teams — the four-by-400 and four-by-800 — while sophomore Ben Huston won the boys’ 1,000-meter race and ran on the 4×800 team.
The 4×800 quartet set a new Division II record at 8:52.11, breaking a mark set earlier this season by Thetford. The Commodores won the event by 24 seconds over second-place Thetford. Junior Erich Reitz and sophomore Gabe Praamsma joined Mullin and Huston on the 4×800 team.
Seniors Ezekiel Palmer and Spencer Hurlburt and junior Xander DeBlois joined Mullin on the 4×400 squad.
The Commodores, who had no competitors in any of the field events, finished fifth among 11 teams. VUHS scored 45 points, behind Oxbow (94), Thetford (86), Spaulding (85) and Fair Haven (46).
The VUHS girls sent three runners, seniors Cedar Winslow, Ashley Cray and Marin Howell, and all three placed in at least one event.
Rice scored 148 points to breeze to the girls’ team win, followed by Hartford (105) and Missisquoi (43). With eight points the Commodore girls were 10th among 12 scoring teams.
BOYS’ RESULTS
600 meters: 1. Mullin, VUHS, 1:30.11.
1,000: 1. Ben Huston, VUHS, 2:51.03; 5. Gabe Praamsma, VUHS, 3:06.13; 6. Erich Reitz, VUHS, 3:06.44; Hurlburt, VUHS, 3:19.95.
1,500: 6. Gabe Praamsma, VUHS, 4:49.73; Reich, VUHS, 4:50.15.
4×200: 6. VUHS, 1:49.86 (Andrew Woods, Chris Therrien, DeBlois, Palmer).
4×400: 1. VUHS, 3:53.26 (Palmer, Hurlburt, DeBlois, Mullin.
4×800: 1. VUHS, 8:52.11 (Huston, Reitz, Praamsma, Mullin).
FIRST PLACE WINNERS on the Vergennes Union High School team display their medals at Saturday’s state indoor track and field championship. Shown from left are Erich Reitz, Gabe Praamsma, Spencer Hurlburt, Ezekiel Palmer, Wade Mullin, Xander DeBlois and Ben Huston.
 
Photo/Kim Palmer
GIRLS’ RESULTS
55: 7. Winslow, VUHS, 8.20.
300: 4. Winslow, VUHS, 47.47.
600: 9. Howell, VUHS, 2:07.25.
1,000: 3. Elizabeth Siminitus, Mount Abraham, 3:45.39.
1,500: 6. Cray, VUHS, 5:51.78.
3,000: 5. Cray, VUHS, 13:33.69; 6. Howell, VUHS, 13:37.56.