1706-Rogers City track teams showing confidence early on The Rogers City track teams traveled to Indian River for the Inland Lakes Invitational on Monday. Both teams performed well, finishing strong out of the 14 teams that competed. The girls team placed third overall, which pleased head coach Nick Rethman. ?All of the girls did a great job, and there were some good performances for so early on in the season,? said Rethman. ?We are hoping to build on those.? Placing first for the Lady Hurons was the 3200-relay team, consisting of Kaylee Kreft, Sarah Bruning, Cynthia Belusar, and Lacey Kreft. In the individual 3200-meter run, Chelsea Kreft earned a fourth place medal. Freshman phenomenon, Kaylee Kreft, placed first in the 800-meter, with a time of 2:35.5, as well as a first place medal in the 1600-meter run, with a time of 5:31.8. Lacey Kreft followed close behind in the 1600-meter race with a 5:50.9 second place finish.
?The distance runners had some very strong performances, and we are looking forward to the Presque Isle Championship meet,? said Rethman. Junior state qualifier, Paula Vogelheim, took a very impressive first place finish in shot put with a distance of 33?4?. Senior Jessica Hempel placed fifth in the event with 27?8.5?. Hempel also placed second in the discus competition with a distance of 87?.5?. Sophomore Kaitlin Klingshirn took home a third place medal in the 400-meter with a time of 1:07.4, and a fourth place medal in the 100-meter dash with a time of 13.77 seconds. The boys team also finished the day with a solid team performance, placing fourth overall. Rethman was satisfied with the team?s performance and said it was a good starting point, giving them a clear idea of where they stand in the competition among area schools. ?The boys did very well?and there were some great performances,? said Rethman. ?There are some things we need to work on, but we?re at a better place right now than we were at this time last year.?
The boys 3200-meter relay team, consisting of Jeremy Karsten, Zak McLennan, Eric Kieliszewski, and Derek McLennan, earned a first place finish with a time of 9:24.9. Mark Grulke placed third in discus with a distance of 109?9?. Junior James Bruning earned sixth place in the event with 97?2?. Bruning also placed fourth in shot put with a 37?8.5? throw. Derek McLennan took home the second place medal in the 3200-meter run with a time of 11:12. He also placed third in the 1600-meter with 5:05.2. Andy Tulgestke nabbed third place in the high jump competition with a height of 5?8?. He was followed close behind by Kieliszewski, who placed fourth with 5?6?. Last Friday, both Rogers City teams traveled to Posen for the K of C Relays. This was a co-ed relay meet, which gives the boys and girls teams a chance to compete together as one team against area schools. Rethman said that overall, his team performed well, placing third out of nine teams. ?Most of our teams were able to finish in the top six,? said Rethman. ?This is a fun meet, and not so competitive, which is a good change of pace at the beginning of the season.?
The Hurons placed first in the (4x) 800-meter relay with a solid time of 9:53.9. The team consisted of Derek McLennan, Karsten, Lacey Kreft, and Kaylee Kreft. The 6400-meter
Also earning third place was the 1600-meter relay team consisting of Chase McLennan, Zak McLennan, Kaylee Kreft, and Sarah Bruning. They finished with a time of 4:21.2. Wednesday?s results from the Presque Isle Championship meet in Posen will be in next week?s edition of The Advance. Both Huron track teams will be traveling to the Pickford Invitational Saturday.