Baker and Carter win at PBL Sectional
By Fred Kroner
Senior Kaytlyn Baker and junior Payton Carter each won individual events on Thursday (May 11) for St. Joseph-Ogden at the Paxton-Buckley-Loda Class 1A girls’ track and field sectional.
Baker was the 300-meter hurdles champion (49.54 seconds) and also qualified for state in the 100-meter hurdles (second in 17.91 seconds).
Carter was the pole vault champion (personal-best 12 feet) and also advanced in the 100 meters (second in a personal-best 13.14 seconds).
SJ-O qualified athletes for state overall in five individual events as well as with two relays.
The Spartans’ other individual qualifier was 800-meter runner-up Savanna Franzen (personal-best 2:23.39).
The school’s two distance relays will compete at state after finishing in second place at the PBL Sectional.
The 3,200-meter foursome featured Sophia Kasper, Helene Jones, Hannah Mock and Madison Clampitt. Their cumulative time was 10:30.20.
Handling the baton on the 1,600-meter relay were Baker, Franzen, Clampitt and Jones. They were timed in 4:18.17.
Based on sectional performances, two SJ-O entries are seeded among the top 10 at state. Carter, who placed eighth a year ago in Clas 1A in the pole vault, is seeded second this year in an event with 37 participants.
Franzen, an All-Stater as a freshman in the 1,600 meters, is the No. 7 seed in the 800 meters, which will have 32 competitors.
Three other SJ-O runners who ended among the top 10 in their events at the sectional recorded personal-best times: Kasper (fifth in the 400 meters in 1:07.72), Mock in the 800 meters in 2:41.15) and Ally Schmitz (fifth in the 300-meter hurdles in 53.16 seconds).
Other Spartans who registered top-10 performances at the sectional in individual events were: Lyla Frerichs (third in the high jump at 4 feet, 8 inches), Schmitz (third in the 100-meter hurdles in 18.40 seconds and fifth in the pole vault at 7 feet, 1 inch), Sydney Steinbach (fifth in the 1,600 meters in 6:29.99), Carter (sixth in the 200 meters in 28.47 seconds), Alexis Wirth (sixth in the 100 meters in 13.81 seconds), Macy Reed-Thompson (tied for eighth in the high jump at 4 feet, 6 inches) and Yamilka Casanova (10th in the triple jump at 30 feet).
Additionally, the SJ-O 800-meter relay ran third in 1:53.62. Teaming up on the relay were Wirth, Jones, Clampitt and Carter.
In the team race, Bismarck-Henning/Rossville-Alvin was the sectional titlist with 93 ½ points, edging runner-up SJ-O, which totaled 89 points.
The Spartans’ state-qualifiers will compete in the state preliminaries on Thursday (May 18) at Eastern Illinois University, in Charleston. Those who make the finals will return on Saturday (May 20).
