Track took second place at the Brutus Hamilton Invitational April 12 after scoring 121 points.

“I thought the meet went really well I was super happy with how the whole team performed,” senior Brenna Richart said. “I think everyone really tried their best and it showed in how we each placed.”

The four by one hundred meter relay, four by two hundred meter relay and four by four hundred meter relay were a critical part of the teams points. The four by one hundred meter relay of senior Molly Conway, sophomore Grace Hill and freshmen Lizzy Hoffman and Julianna Vergara placed third with a time of 54.51. The four by two hundred meter relay made its second appearance of the year at the invite as the event wasn’t offered at the Bishop Miege Invitational the previous week because it is not an event in Kansas track.

“I enjoyed not competing the four-by two-hundred relay at the Miege Invite because it gave me a chance to try other events I otherwise would not have been able to compete in,” senior Chandler Rawson said.

The four by two hundred meter relay team consisted of sophomore Olivia Overlease, Conway, Rawson and senior Ava Rawson. The team placed fourth with a time of 1:56.12.

“I thought the four-by-two went well at the meet, it was nice to not have done it the previous Friday though because it gave the runners some time to rest,” Rawson said.

The four-by-four-hundred-meter relay team of Ava, Conway, Overlease and senior Mia McLey won the meet with their time of 4:23.86, dropping time from the Bishop Miege Invitational the previous week. The relay team also qualified to run at the University of Kansas relays April 19-20 at the University of Kansas.

“I was super excited to win the 4×400 at the Harrisonville meet because we were seated 2nd out of 2, but we got first,” Overlease said. “I’m super excited to go to the KU relays for the 4×400 because I didn’t think our time would qualify and I love the team we have this year.”

Individual events also contributed to the team’s second-place finish. Junior Lily Henkle won the 1600 meter race with a time of 5:43.68 and was followed by Richart who came in third with a season-best time of 5:56.56. McLey competed in the 800 meter race for the first time and came in second with a time of 2:38.02. Sophomore Abby DeLong competed in the 3200 meter race for the first time and came in third with a time of 13:15.00. Freshman Kate Lovik placed seventh in the 400-meter race with her season-best time of 1:12.36. 

“I was really glad that I improved on my mile time,” Richart said. “I think it shows that I have even more room for improvement as the season goes on, so I’m excited to see what I can do.”

The field events were also a key factor in the team’s success at the invite. Senior Sophie Hewitt placed second in the javelin after throwing her personal best of 95 feet 3.5 inches while Rawson placed fifth with a throw of 92 feet 2.75 inches. Sophomore Mary Elizabeth Amiri won high jump after clearing 5 feet 1 inch and was followed by sophomore Olivia Shively who cleared 4 feet 10.25 inches earning second place. In the triple jump, freshman Kendall Brewer took third after jumping 28 feet 9 inches.

“I went to throw javelin I was just hoping to stay consistent with my throwing and trying to focus on making sure my footwork was right, but I was super excited to PR and I didn’t realize I had until they announced the distance but I was so excited and seeing my coach so happy was so nice,” Hewitt said. “I’m excited to see how the rest of the season goes, see how far I can eventually get and it’s always fun cheering everyone on and seeing people do really well in the events that they compete in.”

The team will be competing in the Grain Valley Invitational April 18 at Grain Valley High School and is hoping for another successful meet, according to Head Coach Cody Buhrmeister.

“I would have to say that I am most excited moving forward as our training is starting to show the right time of the year and we will be fine tuning the workouts to try and get our peek performances within the next few weeks,” Buhrmeister said. “Hoping to really peak at our District meet, we have a strong group of girls that continue to buy into what we want to do. Seeing the excitement of top performances is really special to me and the rest of the coaches.”