NEWPORT – Several area middle school track and fielders wrapped up their season on a high note earlier this month at North Country High School.
Eighth grader Landon Garrand of Danville led the field with three individual titles in the 100m, 1500m, and long jump events. Garrand edged Lamoille’s Micah Tursini by four tenths of a second in the 100m, with teammate Colin Gray finishing third. Hazen Union eighth grader Owen Welch posted a personal best time and a sixth-place finish, and seventh grade teammate Manny Caroli finished just outside the top ten in a field of almost 40 runners with his best time of the season. Garrand blitzed the field in the 1500m by nearly eight seconds, with Kingdom East’s Landon D’Auria crossing the line second. Garrand’s third title of the afternoon came in the long jump, with Hazen’s Kolton Lumsden (3rd) and Caroli (5th) posting personal bests.
Craftsbury Academy (CA) seventh grader Hollis Allen earned a runner-up finish in the 400m, bested only by Olin McKay of North Country. CA seventh grader Oakley Crawford and Hazen’s Owen Welch both posted personal bests. Crawford also posted an impressive runner-up in the discus event, with Cooper Utley of Kingdom East taking home first place honors.
Colin Gray continued his strong day for the Danville boys with a third-place finish in the 200m, also a personal record. Allen, Welch, and Crawford all finished inside the top ten with personal bests, with Kingdom East’s Jace Grayson besting the field. Gray also posted a top five finish in the shot put with Hazen Union sixth grader Kolton Lumsden one spot behind him, both posting personal records.
Mirek Siebenbrunner of Danville earned a strong runner-up finish in the shot put, with Utley capturing his second event of the day. Wyatt Mantius wrapped up a strong day for the Pride with a personal best and top five finish in the 800m. Hazen eighth grader Alden Pougnier finished inside the top ten setting a personal record, with Kingdom East’s Jonah Higgins-Matte running away from the field by almost 11 seconds.
On the girls’ side, Danville seventh grader Althaea Irwin captured the title in the long jump, with teammate Riley Barret (3rd) and CA sixth grader Evelyn Stout (11th) posting personal bests. Danville seventh grader Hailey Duprey was runner-up in the 400m, CA’s Aemilia Terrone finished third, and teammates Adrienne Robillard (8th), and Stout (10th) also set personal records.
Danville sixth grader Taryn Barrett earned an impressive runner-up finish in the javelin event, with Enosburg’s Maylin Muir besting the field. Hazen’s Savannah Zornow-Figueroa also recorded her best throw of the season. Terrone finished fifth in the 200m for CA and Robillard tenth, both personal records. Robillard also posted a top ten and personal record in the 100m. Riley Barret earned top 10’s with her best times of the season in both events. Irwin crossed the line fourth in the 100m hurdles for the Pride with a personal best, finishing just ahead of Terrone, who also ran her best time of the season. Lamoille’s Jocelyn Rossi bested the field to take home the title.
Danville wrapped up a stellar day by earning a pair of runner-up finishes in both the 4X100m (Duprey, Irwin, R. Barrett, T. Barrett) and 4X400m (Duprey, Irwin, Willa Mantius, Hanalee Hill) relay events. Kingdom East took home the hardware in both events.
