NEWS CHRONICLE PHOTO BY STEVE BRANT – STC sophomore Oliva Bradley runs the second leg of the 4x200 relay. The team of Bradley, Payton Aguilar, Madeline Paxton, and Khloe Balderas finished in ninth place for the Trojans.

The South Tama girls track and field team participated in their annual Coed Early Bird meet on Tuesday, April 8. Finishing sixth as a team, the Trojans were led by a talented group of sprinters who secured multiple top ten finishes.

One of the highlights of the meet came when STC finished with five girls in the top ten of the 100-meter dash. Scout Ridout finished as runner-up to Newton’s Lauren Clarke with a time of 13.86. She was followed by Maylee Rucker (3rd, 14.03), Jayva Gomez (7th, 14.32), Cahysia Kapayou (9th, 14.74), and Brylee Nelson (10th, 15.00). All five Trojan placers are freshmen.

Ridout also placed high in the 200-meter dash, finishing third with a time of 28.63. She was joined by freshman Sydney Arp, who finished sixth in the race, with a time of 29.62.

The Trojan sprinters also found a high level of success in their relay teams. STC’s 4×100 team continued to perform well this year, with the team of Nelson, Arp, Rucker, and Gomez finishing third with a time of 54.41. A second STC team, which included sophomore Payton Aguilar, sophomore Paisley Bro, junior Rylee Ridout, and sophomore Khloe Balderas finished ninth in the same event (1:00.09).

In similar fashion, the Trojans placed two 4×200 relay teams in the top ten. Leading the way was the team of Kapayou, freshman Shelby Johannsen, junior Naomi Peshel, and Nelson, who finished fourth with a time of 2:02.92. Placing ninth, with a time of 2:08.36, was the team of Aguilar, sophomore Olivia Bradley, junior Madeline Paxton, and Balderas. In the final race of the night, the 4×400 team of Paxton, Bradley, Peshel, and sophomore Livia Smith placed fifth with a time of 4:58.29.

NEWS CHRONICLE PHOTO BY STEVE BRANT – STC freshman Sydney Arp closes in on the competition during her third leg of the Spring Medley relay. The team of Arp, Maylee Rucker, Jayva Gomez, and Scout Ridout finished in third place.

Both of the Trojans medley relay teams also placed in the top 10 on the evening. The Sprint Medley team of Rucker, Gomez, Arp, and Scout Ridout placed third with a time of 2:02.01. They were followed by the Distance Medley team of Kapayou, Johannsen, Paxton, and Smith, who finished seventh (5:21.41).

In the hurdling events, STC was led by Scout Ridout and Nelson who both competed in the 100-meter hurdles. Ridout finished in seventh place with a time of 17.45, followed by Nelson who finished fifteenth with a time of 20.80.

The Trojans also continued to get solid performances out of their field event entries. Rucker and Bro both finished in the top ten of the high jump, with Rucker jumping 4 feet-4 inches (5th place) and Bro completing 4 feet-2 inches (6th place). Arp led the Trojans in the high jump, finishing sixth with a jump of 14 feet-5.5 inches. She was joined by sophomore Olivia Hala (7th, 14-3.75) and sophomore Alexis Thiessen (13th, 13-5.75). Three Trojans finished in the top fifteen of the shot put, led by junior Autumn Elsbury’s fifth place toss of 30 feet-7.5 inches. Joining her were sophomore Ioleta Kingbird (7th, 29-8) and sophomore Emma Slifer (16th, 24-1). Slifer was also the highest placing Trojan in the discus, throwing a length of 60 feet-9 inches for seventeenth place.

Up next for the girls track and field team is a trip to Huxley for the Ballard Co-Ed Bomber Relays on Tuesday, April 22.

NEWS CHRONICLE PHOTO BY STEVE BRANT – Freshman Maylee Rucker competes in the high jump at the Early Bird at STC. Rucker took home fifth place for the Trojans, clearing a height of 4’4”.