With May around the corner, everyone in spring sports is starting to become aware of the fast-approaching end of the season. This is not only making athletes begin to prepare for the end, but competition is starting to rise significantly. For the girls track & field team, those ideals are no different. 

All of this in mind, the girls competed this past weekend on Saturday, April 22, at the Cougar Invite. With 19 teams competing at this invite, expectations were high for the girls to compete well. Nonetheless, they have proven to compete well under pressure with the Lady Rangers coming out in fourth place and an overall score of 57 points. 

Starting off strong, the girls had some outstanding individual performances to rack up some points for their team. Some of those were the 100 meter with Emma Goring taking third place with a time of 13.20 and Lucy Yoder gaining sixth place with a time of 13.64. Zenash Cumings, in the 200 meter, took fourth place with a time of 27.66. Another one was Peyton Ludwig placing fourth in the 800 meter with a time of 2:21.48. 

However, when it came time for the relays, the Lady Rangers proved how much of a threat they truly were by taking first in two out of three races they competed in and taking second in the other. The ones that they placed first in were the 4×100 meter with Lucy Yoder, Brooke Bowers, Zenash Cumings, Emma Goring and going a time of 50.77, and the other being the 4×200 meter with Lucy Yoder, Gwen Lamport, Zenash Cumings, Emma Goring and going a time of 1:46.04. The 4×400 meter was the relay that they gained second place with Gwen Lamport, Peyton Ludwig, Zenash Cumings, and Emma Goring. They all had a collected time of 4:09.13 and sadly missed first place by three seconds to East Grand Rapids. 

The girls also proved that they are not to be taken lightly when it comes to the field portion as well. To start the team off strong, Olivia Latunski placed eleventh in both the shot put with a throw of 29’ 11 and the discus with a throw of 80’ 4 while also gaining a personal best with that amazing throw. Brooke Bowers was also a highlight when it came to the field by taking first place with a height of 12’ 0 while beating the second-place girl by an entire foot. 

Now with this meet behind them, the girls are more ready than ever to go into a highly anticipated meet of the year against East Grand Rapids. This season, EGR has proven to be a threat when it comes to girls track & field; however, the girls are prepared to go into this meet on Wednesday, April 26, at EGR and hopefully come out with the win. Make sure to make it out and support our Lady Rangers as they take on the Pioneers for one of their toughest duel meets yet!