The Rye High School track team placed in the top 20, thirteen times in the Larry Pickering Centennial Invitational track meet last Saturday in Pueblo. Twentynine teams of all classifications were on hand for the event.
The boys’ 4x8oo meter relay team had the highest Thunderbolt finish of the day coming in 6th place in a time of 10:20.40. Mason Ford, Colton Hendrickson, John Lopez and Lee Miller ran the four legs of the relay.
The boys’ 4x400 meter relay team also placed in the top 10 coming in 9th with a time of 3:55.84 which was a season’s best. Josh Newitt, and Garret George joined Miller and Lopez in the event.
Individually Newitt placed 8th in the 800-meter run which he completed in a time of 2:17.01. Newitt’s 8th place finish was the highest individual finish by a Rye participant. Newitt also placed 12th in the 1600-meter run in a time of 5:24.86.
Pine Creek won the boys’ half of the tournament with 105 points. Rye placed 20th with a pair of points.
Clarissa Peterson led the Rye girls’ individual finishers with a 12th place finish in the 800-meter run. Peterson set a season best mark of 2:53.99.
Both the girls’ 4X200 and 4X400 placed 12th in season best form. In the 4x200 Hailey George, Jordan Holgerson, Katelynn Frick, and Ming Tam ran the event in a time of 2:04.85. In the 4x400 Clara
Chandler, and Jaklyn Newitt joined Tam and Frick in a relay which they ran in a time of 5:20.33. Holgerson placed 14th in the 100-meter run with a season best time of 13.98 a scant .04 seconds over teammate George who placed 17th in a time of 14:02.
Individually Jaklyn Newitt placed 16th in the shot put with a toss of 26’4”. That was a season best mark. Devin Samuelson of the boys’ team finished 20th in the boys’ shot with a toss of 34’6”.
Newitt and Samuelson switched places in the discus where Samuelson placed 16th with a throw of 101’4”. Newitt placed 20th in the girls’ disc with a throw of 67’7”.
Classical Academy won the girls’ tournament scoring 139 points. Rye placed in a tie for 18th with three points.
The track team will travel to Pueblo to compete in the Pueblo County Invitational on April 2nd. The event will be held at Dutch Clark stadium. Events are scheduled to start at 9 a.m.