Area Middle Schools Shine in Track and Field

Athletes from Avery and Cranberry Middle Schools held a Toe River Conference track and field meet last week at MacDonald Stadium.

In girls action, the Avery Lady Panthers finished the day’s activities in second place overall with 104 points, while the boys squad took third place with 61 cumulative points. The Cranberry Wildcats also ran well, finishing sixth in both the boys and girls events. Lady Wildcat Abby Roberts took home fourth place in the 100 meter dash at 14.58 seconds, while the 4x100m relay team came in third overall with a time of one minute and two seconds.

For the Lady Panthers, a number of individuals and teams placed in events. In the high jump, a trio of Avery jumpers came home in 2^nd-4^th place. Lauren Burleson took the second spot, with Kylie Polsgrove third and Juanita Guzman fourth.

Burleson brought home a second place finish in the 75m hurdles at 13.97 seconds, and also finished fourth in the 200 meter dash with a time of 30.42 seconds. Teammate Shannon Smith also had a good meet, finishing second in the 100 meter dash in 13.64 seconds, bringing home first place in the long jump with a 13’7” jump. Smith also won first place in the 200 meter run, crossing the stripe in 28.81 seconds.

Lady Panther Kylie Polsgrove finished fifth in the 200 meter dash, as well as second in the 400 meter run. Teammates Hannah Robbins (5^th) and Mikaela Whitehead (6^th), competed in the 400-meter run. Catalina Adams took home third place in the 800 meter run and fourth in the 1600 meter run, while Kayla Pruitt finished just ahead of Adams in the 800 meter run for second place and Ashley Yoder took third place in the long jump.

In the boys events, Cranberry’s Hayden Ross finished third in the shot put with a distance of 35 feet, 4 inches, while the Wildcats finished third in the 4x100 meter relay (55.06)

Avery had several boys competing in events, with a number of tremendous results. Panther runner Carson Williams had a strong meet, taking home first place in the 100 meter dash (12.12 sec.), the long jump (16’11”), and the 200 meter dash (26.20 sec.).

Ty Polsgrove finished second in the 75 meter hurdles (11.89 seconds), third in the 100 meter dash (12.77 seconds), and third in the long jump (14’9”).

The Avery team took home fourth in the 4x100 meter relay (59.05 seconds), with Tre Jackson (5^th place in the high jump) and Scott Wiseman (6^th in discus with throw of 77’7”) also represented the Panthers well as the meet.

Congratulations to all our local middle school competitors as they continue their season in track and field!