After having a great meet at the Cougar Invite on Saturday, April 22, with the girls track & field team placing fourth overall out of 19 teams, they were ready to go into their next meet with full force. However, the girls knew that this was not going to be an easy duel meet due to the fact that they were competing against East Grand Rapids, who earlier at the Cougar Invite, placed third overall for the girls. Nonetheless, on Wednesday, April 26, the girls came out on top against the Pioneers with a score of 78-59. 

To start off strong on the track aspect, many of the girls had some incredible individual performances. For instance, in the 100-meter race, the girls had a clean sweep with Emma Goring taking first with a time of 13.11, Lucy Yoder in second going a time of 13.46, and Lauren Gaskin gaining third with a time of 13.96. Emma Goring also took first in the 200-meter with a time of 27.23. Another outstanding performance was from Clara James-Heer, who took first place in the 3200 meter with a time of 10:54.58 and beating her competition by over a minute and a half. 

The girls were also outstanding when it came to the relays, by taking first in all four relays: 4×100 meter relay, 4×200 meter relay, 4×400 meter relay, and the 4×800 meter relay. The 4×100 was won with a time of 51.77 with Lucy Yoder, Brooke Bowers, Zenash Cumings, and Lauryn Gaskin. In the 4×200 meter, Lucy Yoder, Gwen Lamport, Zenash Cumings, and Emma Goring had an overall time of 1:46.83. 4×400 meter relay was ran by Gwen Lamport, Peyton Ludwig, Zenash Cumings, and Emma Goring, and they had a time of 4:08.96. The 4×800 was competed with Peyton Ludwig, Anna Sybenga, Mia Stibitz, and Lilah Yoder with a time of 10:04.59. 

When it was time for the field, the girls knew that they could not back down, and they certainly did not. They showed the competition their unlimited potential in all the events, and made sure that EGR knew that they weren’t going down without a fight. For instance, Olivia Latunski had a great night by placing third in the shotput with a throw of 28-11.00 and taking second in the discus with a personal best throw of 87-01. Brooke Bowers also proved she was a threat once again by taking first place in the pole vault with a height of 12-00.00. 

With this win under their belt, the girls are now feeling more ready than ever to go into their next meet—the Spartan Classic. This meet will be held at Michigan State on the Ralph Young Track and Field on Friday, April 28, at 2:45 pm. Make sure to wish these Lady Rangers good luck as they go into this highly competitive meet.