By Fred Kroner
Oakwood’s 3,200-meter relay team was victorious on Tuesday (April 25) in the Gibson City-Melvin-Sibley Falcon Boys’ Track and Field Invitational.
The foursome of Thomas Wells, Grant Brewer, Ben Darling and Jakob Rupp were timed in 9 minutes, 27.76 seconds and had a margin of victory of 2.99 seconds
The Comets placed fifth in the 11-school field with 47 points. Meet champion Ridgeview totaled 157 points.
Oakwood had a runner-up finish from triple-jumper Bryson McDaniel (39 feet, 2 inches).
Capturing third for the Comets were Connor Smith (200 meters in 24.61 seconds) and Wells (800 meters in a personal-best 2:20.42).
Sailer Harrison was fourth in the triple jump (35 feet, 4 inches) and fifth in the long jump (16 feet, 3 inches).
Doug Myers collected a fifth-place finish in the discus (112 feet, 3 inches) and teammate Jacob Pricer was sixth in the long jump (16 feet, 2 inches).
Three other Oakwood relays fared well.
The 400-meter foursome of McDaniel, Connor Taflinger, Macen Phillips and Noah Phillips was fourth in 48.26 seconds.
The 800-meter unit of Pricer, Kaden McDaniel, Macen Phillips and Taflinger took fifth. They were timed in 1:44.45.
Also winding up in fifth place was the 1,600-meter grouping of Jack Ajster, Tucker Pesek, Brewer and Wells. Their cumulative time was 4:12.70.
Besides Wells in the 800, eight other Comets recorded their all-time bests: Rupp (seventh in the 400 meters in 58.74), Darling (eighth in the 800 in 2:35.45), Bryson McDaniel (ninth in the 110-meter high hurdles in 19.50), Ajster (11th in the 300-meter hurdles in 50.59 seconds), Kade Fleming (12th in the shot put at 30 feet, 6 inches), Kaden McDaniel (13th in the 200 meters in 28.03), Harrison (14th in the 400 meter in 101.19) and Alex Wells (14th in the 300-meter hurdles in 58.16).
Oakwood returns to action on Friday (April 28) in the SJ-O Spartan Classic.
