Pictured: Mansfield junior girls Daisy Nelson, Trinity Triska, and Laney Wood await the start of the women’s pole vault. The three underclassmen were Mansfield’s leading scorers at the Junior Quad City Meet on April 12
Showing their depth, Mansfield’s Lady Tigers roared the loudest as the champions of the Junior Quad City Meet at home on April 12.
The junior Lady Tigers took advantage of the games committee’s opening up the meet to four athletes per individual event. In 10 of 13 individual events, the crew flooded the entries with competitive people that scored in bunches. The results took them to their second consecutive team victory and the third such finish this season.
Mansfield’s girls closed strong with 60 points in the final four events to overtake their nearest challenger by 10 points. The MJH girls scored 239 total points. Waldron closed too little too late with 229 points for second place in the team standings.
Waldron reversed the trend in the boy’s division by running away with the top spot with 242 total points. Mansfield edged conference rival Magazine in the race for second place by posting 150 total points compared to the Rattler’s 98.
The Tiger women went 2nd, 3rd, and 6th in the 300m hurdles. That was followed by 1st and 3rd in the 800m run. That was followed by 1st, 4th, and 5th in the 200m dash before closing with a 2nd place result in the 4x400m relay.
Addison Bowman, Daisy Nelson, and Madison Hearron surged in the 300m hurdles. Trinity Triska led a strong field in the 800m run along with teammate Laney Wood. Then Carter Whiley hit a home run in the 200m dash with support from Aayilah Summers and Presley Curry.
“We closed really well with some of our strongest events,” recognized Mansfield coach John Mackey. “We were disappointed not to win our previous home meet. So, tonight was some sweet revenge along with last week’s major win at Waldron.”
Nelson, just a seventh-grader, was the highest point-getter in the women’s division with 36.5 points. She scored in six events including an individual victory in the 100m hurdles (17.82) and a team win in the 4x100m cooperative (55.83). She was second in the pole vault (7’ 0”), fourth in the 100m dash (14.37), fourth in the long jump (14’ 2”), and third in the 300m hurdles (58.56).
Mansfield’s Laney Wood took two first places and scored in four other events to push for high point status at 36.0 points. The eighth-grader won the pole vault (7’ 6”) and the 1600m run (6:29.33).
Wood was also the third leg on two second-place relay teams. Those were the 4x800m relay (12:08.58) and the 4x400m relay (4:54.16). Additionally, she was third in both the triple jump (28’ 0.5”) and 800m run (2:58.48).
Triska’s win in the women’s 800m run was the team’s eighth such placement over the course of the 17 event schedule at the Quad City Meet. The eighth-grader pushed the high point pack with 33 points of her own scoring individually in the pole vault (3rd – 6’ 6”), triple jump (4th – 27’ 10”), and 400m dash (2nd – 1:11.09).
Another Tiger seventh-grader Kaylee Ward took two other victories on the night. The rising star in several sports for the Tigers pitched a personal best in the shot put (37’ 1”) along with a gold medal toss of the discus (80’ 4”).
Two more relays provided heavy dividends for the Lady Tigers. Summers, Whiley, Bowman, and Nelson torched the 4x100m sprint teams by more than three seconds for the gold. Curry, Raine Hecox, Azlynn Stover, and Shelbie Fuller came on in the 4x200m relay for silver.
The Tiger men were led by Trey Powell. Looking more and more like the fastest sprinter in the 2A-4 conference, Powell won both the 100m dash (12.26) and the 200m dash (26.02).
Powell was credited with 30.5 points for the meet. He scored in the long jump (6th – 17’ 0”), high jump (3rd – 4’ 8”), and anchored the bronze medal 4x100m relay team (52.99).
Austin Ruiz gave value in the 400m dash and pole vault with a pair of third-place finishes. Dominic Shores did similarly in the 110m high hurdles and the 300m intermediate hurdles.
Cisco Fildes moved up as the silver medalist in the men’s discus. He spun the 1kg discus 104’ 10”. Sammy Sellers added to the discus points with a 95’ 1” toss for fifth place.
Sellers, Dakota Langford, and Turner Wright all scored in the shot put going 2nd, 3rd, and 7th in that event.
Shores, Toby Towe, and Alex Hecox collected 25 points through the hurdles. The trio also helped through the relay events.
Mansfield’s men were first in the 4x200m relay. They were third in the other three baton passing events.
Josiah Fildes set his personal record in the 1600m run at 5:38.17. It was worthy of the silver medal.
Fildes also anchored the bronze award-winning 4x800m relay team with Joseph Carter, Rylan Nichols, and Jonah Martin.
