GRANITE CITY – Even the windy conditions couldn't slow down the Edwardsville boys and girls track teams at the Madison County large-school championship meet on Tuesday at Granite City.
The Tigers won county titles in both boys and girls divisions in the six-school meet. The EHS boys scored 188 points and the girls finished with 164.
Both teams combined with 15 first-place finishes. The boys placed first in eight events and the girls came out on top in seven.
The Alton Redbirds finished second in both boys and girls divisions. The Alton boys had 135 points and the girls finished with 121.
The Granite City Warriors finished in a tie for third with Triad with 86 points in the girls division and fourth with 76 points in the boys division.
Edwardsville seniors A.J. Epenesa and Travis Anderson turned in strong performances in their final county meet. Epenesa won the discus in 184 feet, 7 inches and the shot put in 55-4.75 and Anderson placed first in the 110-meter hurdles in 14.46 seconds and the 300-meter hurdles in 39.40 seconds.
Seniors Devonte' Tincher and Darryl Hanlan also celebrated championships. Tincher won the 200 and Hanlan placed first in the 400
Also for Edwardsville, sophomore Kenneth Bond won the long jump in 20-4 and junior Blake Neville won the pole vault in 14 feet.
“Overall, some good things happened, but our group needs to understand that we still got a lot of work to do,” EHS boys coach Chad Lakatos said.
In the girls' division, the Tigers got wins from Lorie Cashdollar in the 800, Melissa Spencer in the 1,600, Abby Schrobilgen in the 3,200, Kymel Bell in the triple jump, Alexis Boykin in the long jump, their 4x400 team of Rachel Kubicek, Jaydi Swanson, Katherine Bobinski-Boyd and Kendra Griggs and their 4x800 team of Spencer, Maddie Miller, Abby Korak and Elise Krone.
Camilla Eberlin was thrilled to win a county championship in her first year as EHS girls coach.
“We made sure that (the county title) was on their minds and it was a goal and they performed well,” she said.
The Alton girls' team had first-place finishes from Katie Mans (high jump), Kellie Mans (400), Tyriss Holloway (pole vault), Diarra Smith (300-meter hurdles), Jeanea Epps (100),
Katie Mans cleared a 5-7 in the high jump, breaking the large-school division old mark of 5-6 that was set by Granite City's Natalie O'Keefe in 2013. She also won her third straight country title in the event.
“We've been resting her, so I guess that rest has done wonders for her,” first-year Alton girls coach Jaida Moore said. “It's good to see her come out and she's been ready to get to at least her personal record. To least meeting it now with still have time to go (in the season), she's ecstatic and I'm ecstatic for her.”
The Alton boys' team won three relay events – 4x100, 4x400 and 4x800. The 4x400 team of Ahmad Sanders, Kelvin Cummings, Arie Macias and Terry Walker came from behind to beat Edwardsville by four-tenths of a second.
“It was our distance guys coming together with our sprinters in that last event (4x400),” AHS boys coach Jeff White said. “It was a really good team effort and that's really what we had going on for us today, scoring points in everything.”
Walker, Tony Dobbins, Jonathan Bumpers and Earlie Brown make up the 4x100 and Cummings, Macias, Evan Rathgeb and Cassius Havis competed in the 4x800.
Granite City's 4x100 girls team of Niya Wilson, Robyn Pointer, TyKazia Jones and Toni Rush won in 48 seconds, breaking its own large-school division mark of 48.49 that was set last year. Wilson, Pointer and Jones competed in last year's relay team.
“The girls were a little frustrated with their 4x100 and we came up with a new order and they worked hard,” Granite City coach Tom Miller said. “They worked after school yesterday and they came back, got fresh and practiced again last night to make sure their handoffs were down. We got a county record and things are on the right track with them.”
The Warriors also had wins from Jones (100-meter hurdles) and Pointer (200) in the girls meet.
The Granite City boys team was led by Torrey Deal and brothers Will and Andrew O'Keefe. Deal won the high jump in 6-7 and the triple jump in 42-10, Andrew O'Keefe placed first in the 3,200 in 10:09.28 and the 1,600 in 4:33.61 and Will O'Keefe came out on top in the 800 in 2:01.71.
MADISON COUNTY LARGE-SCHOOL DIVISION CHAMPIONSHIP MEET
April 25 at Granite City
GIRLS DIVISION
Team standings – Edwardsville Tigers 164, Alton Redbirds 121, Granite City Warriors 86, Triad Knights 86, Collinsville Kahoks 59, Highland Bulldogs 32
Individual champions
100 – Jeanea Epps, Alton, 13.13; 200 – Robyn Pointer, Granite City, 26.65; 400 – Kellie Mans, Alton, 1:01.67; 800 – Lorie Cashdollar, Edwardsville, 2:24.33; 1,600 – Melissa Spencer, Edwardsville, 5:34.58; 3,200 – Abby Schrobilgen, Edwardsville, 11:50.50; 100-meter hurdles – TyKiaza Jones, Granite City, 16.46; 300-meter hurdles – Diarra Smith, Alton, 49.35; 400-meter relay – Granite City, 48.0; 800-meter relay – Collinsville, 1:47.14; 1,600-meter relay – Edwardsville 4:09.45; 3,200-meter relay – Edwardsville 9:55.33; High jump – Katie Mans, Alton 5-7; Long jump – Alexis Boykin, Edwardsville, 14-11.5; Triple jump – Kymel Bell, Edwardsville, 32-3.5;' Shot put – Kelly Pottorff, Triad, 37-1.5; Discus – Kelly Pottorff, Triad, 126-9; Pole vault – Tyriss Holloway, Alton, 8-6.
BOYS DIVISION
Team standings – Edwardsville Tigers 188, Alton Redbirds 135, Collinsville 88, Granite City 76, Triad 35, Highland 32.
Individual champions
100 – Jermarrion Stewart, Collinsville, 11.50; 200 – DeVonte' Tincher, Edwardsville, 22.35; 400 – Darryl Harlan, Edwardsville, 52.26; 800 – Will O'Keefe, Granite City, 2:01.71; 1,600 – Andrew O'Keefe, Granite City, 4:33.61; 3,200 – Andrew O'Keefe, Granite City, 10:09.28; 110-meter hurdles – Travis Anderson, Edwardsville, 14.46; 300-meter hurdles – Travis Anderson, Edwardsville, 39.40; 400-meter relay – Alton 43.06; 800-meter relay – Collinsville 1:31.22; 1,600-meter relay – Alton 3:30.46; 3,200-meter relay – Alton 8:25.91; High jump – Torrey Deal, Granite City, 6-7; Long jump – Kenneth Bond, Edwardsville, 20-4; Triple jump – Torrey Deal, Granite City, 42-10; Shot put – A.J. Epenesa, Edwardsville, 55-4.75; Discus – A.J. Epenesa, Edwardsville, 184-7; Pole vault – Blake Nevelle, Edwardsville, 14-0.