By Mark Schafer | The News-Review
BELLE PLAINE – A little bit of confidence this time of year never hurts.
Confidence seems to be exactly what the English Valleys girls track team walked away with after winning the Belle Plaine meet on April 29.
The Bears had 167 total points. Lone Tree finished second with 116 points.
Once again the sprinting ability of sophomore Ava Gehrking was one of the strong suits for the Bears. She was able to win the 100 meter dash with a time of 13.09 nearly a second faster than her nearest competition.
She also won the 200 meter dash with a time of 26.87. This time she did finish a full second faster than her nearest competition.
Gehrking was able to win the long jump with a leap of 16-feet-11-inches. Lydia Smith was sixth overall.
Anna Luers was able to win the 800 meter run with a time of 2:30.4. Teammate Kaylynn Caster was fourth with a time of 2:44.36.
Luers was second overall in the 1,500 meter run. Emily Sieren was fifth overall.
Kailor Lown was able to win the 100 meter hurdles with a time of 17.24.
Joslyn Bender was second in the 400 hurdles with a time of 1:17.69.
Olivia Debevec was able to win the high jump with a leap of 4-feet-6-inches.
Taylor Mikesell was able to win the shot put with a throw of 33-feet-9-inches. McKenna Rugg was sixth in the same event.
Mikesell was second in the discus with a throw of 110-feet-8-inches. Haydn Bender was fifth and Rigg finished seventh.
In the 4×800 relay the Bears had the winning time of 10:34.84.
The Bears added a second place finish in the 4×400 relay. The distance medley relay team won the race with a time of 4:52.24.
The Bears finished third in the 4×100 relay. In the 4×200 they were fourth overall. Another second place finish came in the sprint medley relay.
The Bears shuttle hurdle relay team was second with a time of 1:18.16.
Emily Sieren was eighth overall in the 400 meter dash. She finished second in the 3,000 meter run.
