By Abby Dumler
Despite the cold weather, the Lady Mustangs track team took the victory at the Kenesaw track meet on April 1st, earning a decisive team victory with 113 points — a full 23 points ahead of the next closest team, Superior, who finished with 90. The meet brought together a competitive field of schools, including Shelton, Doniphan-Trumbull, Kenesaw, Franklin, Minden, Blue Hill, Lawrence-Nelson, Gibbon, Red Cloud, and Axtell.
Silver Lake’s success came from having a top-six finisher in all but two events which they had entries.
Getting the day started strong with field events, multiple Silver Lake athletes earned medals. Senior Katy Soucek began the day of scoring for the Mustangs with a 1st place finish in discus. This throw was a season record of 111’6”. Capping off scoring in discus, Katelyn Strampher placed third with her throw of 100’0”, and senior McKenna Pankoke took 6th place, throwing 89’7”. The three seniors also placed in the top six for shot put: Soucek placed 3rd (30’6.5”), Strampher placed 4th (30’0.5”), and Pankoke took 5th place (30’0”). Also in the field events, junior Sophie Schmidt placed 3rd in long jump with a leap of 15’1.25”, and freshman Libby Soucek followed closely behind her, claiming 4th place with her jump of 14’2.25”. Libby Soucek also found success in the triple jump, earning a 6th-place finish (30’0”).
Leading the way in the running events was junior MaKenna Karr, who claimed gold in the 100-meter dash with a time of 13.65 and earned a third-place finish in the 300-meter hurdles with a season-record 53.65. Schmidt was another standout, winning the 400-meter dash with her season-record time of 1:04.71 while also placing third in the 200-meter dash with her time of 28.14.
Middle-distance runner senior Paige Faimon had a strong day, taking first in the 800-meter run with a season-record 2:37.67 and finishing third in the 400 with a personal record of 107.86. In the distance events, freshman Kaylee Karr earned a pair of second-place finishes in the 1600 and 3200-meter runs. She set personal records in both events: 6:00.75 and 13:17.13.
Junior Kerra Hofstetter rounded out the individual scoring with a sixth-place finish in the 100-meter hurdles, with a season record of 19.22.
The 1600-meter relay team — comprised of MaKenna Karr, Faimon, Kaylee Karr, and Schmidt — capped off the day with a second-place finish, with their time of 4:35.77.
With a strong showing across all events, the Silver Lake Girls’ Track team proved their depth and talent.
The Silver Lake boys’ track team also saw some success.
Leading the way for the Silver Lake boys was junior Hayden Karr, who earned a 2nd place finish in the 800-meter run with his season record 2:11.23. He also took 5th place in the 1600 meter with another season record of 5:18.79. Junior Jaxon tenBensel also stood out for the Mustangs. He finished 3rd in the 300-meter hurdles with a personal-record time of 43.97, and 6th in the 400-meter dash with a season record of 55.61. Additionally, freshman Braedyn Snell finished in 6th place in the 100-meter dash with his time of 12.14. The 1600 meter relay team, which consists of tenBensel, sophomore Lane Magarin, Snell, and Karr, finished 4th place with their time of 3:51.98.
Outside of individual placers, the team saw a lot of personal records being set, and they look ahead to the Franklin track meet on April 8th.