MCHS track teams figuring out their lineups

SALEM — Mitchell Christian’s track and field teams were unsure of where their athletes would fit into the lineup this season.

After the Fighting Cougar Invitational Tuesday in Salem, the second outdoor meet of the season for the Eagles, head coach Bob Lemon said that the team is getting a feel for what events the athletes fit in best.

McCook Central/Montrose won the boys’ title, while West Central took first on the girls’ side. The Eagles’ girls’ team finished sixth at the meet while the boys’ team finished eighth. For full results, see Page B2.

“I think we are pretty much settling into our events now,” he said. “We have a pretty good feel for where these kids are at.”

One event the team felt confident with entering the season was the girls’ 3,200-meter run, an event run by sophomore Becca Glanzer.

Last season, Glanzer took fifth place in the event at the Class B state track meet, and she won the event Tuesday with a time of 12 minutes, 42.64 seconds, edging West Central’s McKayla Wieczorek by more than two seconds.

“(Wieczorek) ran a really good race,” Lemon said. “Becca (Glanzer) ran a really tactical race and overtook her in the last lap. They ran virtually stride for stride in the race.”

Lemon said Glanzer has room for improvement, but he was satisfied with where she’s at early in the season.

Glanzer also finished second in the 1,600-meter run.

Another event Lemon said was a good one for the Eagles was the girls’ 400-meter relay.

Taylor Krall, Lindsay Thompson, Brittany Zoss and Alexa Van Laecken teamed up in the relay and took third-place.

“That group has really only begun working together,” Lemon said. “They’ve had about two days of practice with the handoffs and they’ve been decent at it. It’s been a pleasant surprise.”

Van Laecken also impressed her coach with her third-place finish in the long jump with a jump of 15 feet, 4 inches.

For the boys’ team, Luke McCullough got his first chance to run in the 1,600-meter run and looked impressive early.

Lemon said the inexperience showed, as McCullough was in second place after three laps and miscalculated how much he had ran when he walked off the track.

“That’s the first time I’ve seen him run that, and I was really impressed with him,” Lemon said.

Aaron Lemon had the best finish for the boys’ team as he took second-place in the 800-meter run with a time of 2:13.7.

Craig Van Zee hoped to have a good day for the Eagles, however in his first event, the triple jump, Van Zee was injured with an ankle injury and missed the rest of the meet.

Bob Lemon said there is no time table on Van Zee’s return and he will go in today for further evaluation. The injury forced the Eagles to drop out of the boys’ relay events the team had hoped to participate in.

Overall, coach Lemon said he was pleased with his team’s performances.

“I think considering the number of athletes that we had we did fine,” he said. “I was satisfied with where we were at.”

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