Baker and Carter win at Illini Prairie Conference meet
By Fred Kroner
Senior Kaytlyn Baker and junior Payton Carter were individual winners for the St. Joseph-Ogden girls’ track and field team on Tuesday (May 2) in the Illini Prairie Conference Meet at Paxton.
Baker raced to victory in the 300-meter hurdles, with a time of 50.92 seconds. Baker’s margin of victory was 2.80 seconds.
Carter cleared 10 feet, 5 inches to win the pole vault by 5 inches.
Baker added a runner-up finish in the 100-meter hurdles (personal-best 16.6 seconds).
SJ-O ended fifth in the 10-school meet with 61 points. Team champion Tolono Unity amassed 186 points. Runner-up Pontiac totaled 88 points.
Besides Baker, two other Spartans who placed among the top 10 achieved their personal bests. Ally Schmitz was timed in 18.0 seconds and took sixth in the 100-meter hurdles.
Long-jumper Ainsley Rhoton was ninth in her specialty at 13 feet, 3 inches.
Other team leaders for SJ-O were Savanna Franzen (fourth in the 1,600 meters in 5:39.28), Yamilka Casanova (fifth in the triple jump at 30 feet, 1 inch), Lyla Frerichs (sixth in the high jump at 4 feet, 4 inches), Macy Reed-Thompson (seventh in the high jump at 4 feet, 4 inches), Alexis Wirth (seventh in the long jump at 13 feet, 6 inches and 10th in the 100 meters in 14.23 seconds), Helene Jones (eighth in the 400 meters in 1:04.56), Addison Ross (ninth in the discus at 69 feet, 5 inches) and Sydney Steinbach (ninth in the 1,600 meters in 6:28.02).
Three of the Spartans’ relays wound up among the top seven, including the second-place 3,200-meter grouping of Franzen, Sophia Kasper, Steinbach and Hannah Mock. Their cumulative time was 10:53.23.
The 800-meter foursome of Kasper, Madison Clampitt, Wirth and Casanova took sixth in 2:00.02.
SJ-O’s 1,600-meter relay stepped off a 4:44.93 time and placed seventh. Handling the baton were Kasper, Clampitt, Frerichs and Jones.
SJ-O will return to action on Friday (May 5) in its own Spartan Classic.
