Despite falling short of winning these past two meets, Western's boys track and field team has enjoyed some impressive performances, especially in the field events.
Last night in a dual meet at Battle Creek Harper Creek senior Alex Inosencio literally vaulted his way into the top spot in his event in the state, across all divisions, when he cleared a school-record height of 15'-8". "They had set the crossbar at 15'-7" because clearing that height would qualify Alex for the Championship Division at nationals in June," coach Lucas Sponsler said. "But when we ran the tape measure from the bar it read 15 feet, eight inches." Western lost the dual meet, 100.5-62.5. "This year's team has a great attitude and a lot of ability," Sponsler said, "but we're young, and we're nursing some minor injuries. Had we been a full strength it would have been a different meet." Choosing to hold athletes back and let them heal also led to Western's second-place finish in last Friday's Ralph Rice Invitational. The Panthers finished just 13 points behind the meet champions from Corunna, which means one or two key entries could have made the difference. "It's frustrating but that's the beauty of this sport," Sponsler said. "No matter what, there are guys who are working hard and competing to the best of their ability." Tyler Oxley demonstrated that sentiment Friday when he broke fifty feet in the shot put. His winning throw of 50'-8" puts him in Western's top four or five throwers ever. "We have guys who are still figuring out how to really exert themselves and let the toughness mix with the technique and training," Sponsler said. "But this group has a great attitude and work ethic, and that's key to success in anything. It's easy to see Ino and TheOx, but those guys are quick to point to and celebrate the progress of their teammates." To get a detailed picture of Western's results and progress go to www.athletic.net/TrackAndField/EventRecords.aspx?SchoolID=12834 For archived updates and reports go to 270tnf.weebly.com. -33-
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May 2018
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