STC’s Sabrina Holtz throws in Shot Put at a Wartburg Indoor meet this season. Holtz finished 9th at the first Wartburg Indoor and a personal record at the Wartburg Indoor 2. Photo Provided

By Allison Graham

Sports Editor

agraham@

tamatoledonews.com

The STC girls track season kicked off at the end of February. The Trojans first indoor meet of the season was at the Wartburg Indoor. Levi Hunerdosse has taken the reigns from longtime coach George Corum who retired from coaching at the end of the 2016 season. Hunerdosse had previously been the assistant girls track coach under Corum.

STC’s Stacey Slaven stands on the podium following her 2nd place finish in the High Jump at the A.D. Dickinson Relays at UNI. Photo Provided

Warburg Indoor

Some highlights from the night included Stacey Slaven matching her 2016 best the first night of 2017 with a High Jump of 5’5“. Shae Slaven had a solid performance in the long jump with a jump of 14’9.5”. Allison Yuska also started the year off strong with a 1:05.38 in the open 400. Sabrina Holtz had a good start to the season with a 32’7″ throw in the shot which was good for 9th place.

“We were very happy with the way everyone came out and competed in an extremely tough field consisting of mainly 4A competition. Three top ten performances was a great start to the season,” said Hunerdosse.

UNI Dickinson Relays

On March 6 the team travelled to UNI for the UNI Dickinson Relays. This is traditionally a large meet with upwards of 80 schools competing.

Bright spots for the Trojans were Stacey Slaven finishing 2nd with a jump of 5’4″. Freshman, Katie Riha, ran a stellar personal record in the open 400.

Wartburg Indoor #2

The next night the Trojans were back at Wartburg for another indoor meet on March 7.

It was a very exciting night for the team with 8 personal records including a pair of career bests (Sabrina Holtz and Alana Neave in the shot). Sabrina’s throw good enough for 2nd place. Stacey Slaven cleared 5’5″ again in the high jump for a 1st place finish. Lauren Yuska qualified for the finals in the 55 M hurdles and finished 6th overall. Jensen Vodochodsky ran a 2017 season best of 5:41.28 for 6th along with the 4×200 team of Shae Slaven, Lauren Yuska, Allison Yuska, and Ashton Graham moving the baton in a time of 1:56.05 for a 4th place finish.

“Tuesday night was an exciting night with 8 PRs. Its still early in the season but seeing some of our times and distances at this point in the season is very promising. They understand though that its not about where we start with our performances but where we finish our season,” said Hunerdosse.

ISU Indoor Classic

On March 13 the girls were at the ISU Indoor Classic in Ames.

Highlights included Stacey Slaven tying the school record by Jolynn Legg’s jump of 5’6″ (2002), Sabrina Holtz with a put of 36’6″ for 7th, the Sprint Medley team of Shae Slaven, Stacey Slave, Lauren Yuska, and Allison Yuska running a 1:58.68 for 11th place.

Five personal records were also set including Alana Neave in the shot, Stacey Slaven in the HJ, Callie Frakes in the 3000 and 1500, and Allison Yuska in the 60M Hurdles.

“We had plenty of good things Monday night but the girls want to finish the indoor season on a high note and they know the WaMaC indoor meet is the finale for the indoor season and want to have a good showing Saturday afternoon,” said Hunerdosse.