Long, cold night
Lackey, North Point top field in opener
There was little easy about Tuesday’s regular-season opening track and field meet for North Point’s Rachel Nueslein.
Nueslein ran in both the 1,600and 3,200-meter races, winning both, with less than an hour to rest between the events. And possibly just as bad, the weather was more in line with what one might expect at a late-season football game than a track meet in April.
“The weather is cold and it’s the first conference meet of the season. I was just hoping to start off the season well,” she said after finishing the 3,200 in 11 minutes 45.3 seconds. “It is very cold and I did run the mile and two-mile and there was only 45 minutes in between, so I’m pretty tired.”
That was likely a sentiment shared by most of the athletes in the quad-meet at Great Mills, which also included Huntingtown and Lackey in addition to North Point. With four teams and in the first conference meet of the season, the competition did not end until close to 9 p.m.
When all was said and done, Huntingtown earned a sweep on the boys side while Lackey did the same in the girls competition.
Huntingtown’s boys (3-0 overall/SMAC) defeated North Point 94-42, Lackey 113-23 and Great Mills 85-52. Great Mills (2-1) picked up a pair of wins, topping North Point 84-53 and Lackey 95-42. North Point (1-2) managed one win, taking Lackey (0-3) by an 87-39 count.
Lackey’s girls (3-0) were 8646 winners over North Point, defeated Great Mills 88-44
and took a 69-67 decision from Huntingtown. North Point (2-1) defeated Huntingtown 73-63 and Great Mills 86.5046.50, while Huntingtown (1-2) earned a win over Great Mills (0-3) 94.50-38.50.
Lackey won eight of 17 events in the girls competition, with Dominique Jeffery (100, 200), Sydney Williams (400, 300 hurdles) and Courtney Hawkins (shot put, discus) each
winning two events. The Chargers also won both the 800 and 1,600 relays.
Jeffery was relatively pleased with how the meet went, and didn’t think the cold played too great a factor.
“I think I did pretty good, better than I expected,” she said. “[The cold] bothered me a little bit, but it’s not that bad.”
North Point won five events, with Nueslein leading the way with her first-place finishes in the distance races. Valencia McDowell won the 800, while the Eagles also finished first in the 400 and 3,200 relays.
Harleigh White picked up a pair of wins for Huntingtown, taking the top spot in both the long and triple jumps. Erianna Gudger won the 100 hurdles, while Kaitlyn Hinds rounded out the Hurricanes’ winners with her effort in the high jump.
In boys action, Huntingtown won eight of the 17 events without a single athlete winning multiple events. Dajon Wiseman won the 100, while Michael Pettiford took first in the 800 and Colin Flynn in the 1,600. Charlie Weber took first in the high jump, Tavish Fokum in the triple jump and
Robert Meador in the shot put. The Hurricanes also won the 800 and 3,200 relays.
North Point had four winners on the day. Darrien MacIntosh was first in the 200, while Melton Campbell (110 hurdles) and Braxton Hammock (300 hurdles) followed suit in their events. Joshua Smith also nabbed a first-place finish for the Eagles, winning the discus.
Great Mills took five events, two being the 400 and 1,600 relays. Savion Chisholm won the long jump, while Keith Brown took first in the 400 and Ian Madden crossed the finish line
ahead of the pack in the 3,200.
For Madden, who finished the 3,200 in 10:41.3 and also finished fifth in the 1,600 earlier in the meet, the conditions may not have been optimal, but there was still plenty of value in competing in them.
“The weather is cold. It’s a little rough to run in, but I really think these races are pretty good training, starting in harder weather,” he said. “When you go into easier weather to run in, it feels a little better. You can PR a little bit. I’m just glad to get a good starting off time.”