NEWS CHRONICLE PHOTO BY STEVE BRANT – Freshman Scout Ridout clears the final hurdle of her 2nd place running of the 100 hurdles at the WaMaC conference meet.

MOUNT VERNON — The South Tama girls track and field team traveled to Mount Vernon High School on Thursday, May 8 to participate in the annual WaMaC conference meet.

Leading the way for the Trojans was freshman Scout Ridout, who took home a second place finish in the 100 hurdles. With a time of 16.30, Ridout finished behind only West Delaware sophomore Avery Schmitz, who took first place with a time of 15.65. Ridout’s runner-up finish earned 8 points of STC’s total of 11 on the night. The second place finish in the always-strong WaMaC conference is an impressive feat by Ridout. With the next two finishers after Ridout also being freshman, the event looks to be hotly contested for the next few years to come.

STC’s remaining team points were earned by two relay teams. The Shuttle Hurdle Relay team of freshman Brylee Nelson, freshman Maylee Rucker, sophomore Paisley Bro, and Ridout finished eighth with a time of 1:16.20. Also scoring for the Trojans was the 4×100 team of freshman Sydney Arp, Ridout, Jayva Gomez, and Rucker. The four freshmen have run well all season but found the WaMaC competition difficult, finishing in seventh place. Still, the team ran a season-best time of 51.84, inching closer to the school record of 50.01.

The Trojans also earned three other top-ten individual performances. Rucker competed in the high jump and placed ninth when she completed a jump of 4 foot-8 inches. Gomez secured tenth place in the 100-meter dash with a time of 13.37. And junior Autumn Elsbury finished tenth in the shot put, with a throw of 31 feet-9.50 inches. Elsbury also just missed out on the top-ten in the discus, when she finished twelfth with a toss of 97 feet-9 inches.

Two STC relay teams also finished in the top 10 of the WaMaC meet. The Distance Medley Relay team of junior Naomi Peshel, sophomore Khloe Balderas, junior Madeline Paxton, and sophomore Livia Smith placed ninth with a time of 4:59.79. They were followed by the 4×200 team of Paxton, Smith, sophomore Olivia Hala, and Peshel, who finished in tenth place (4:36.35).

NEWS CHRONICLE PHOTO BY STEVE BRANT – STC freshman Shelby Johannsen runs the third leg of the Spring Medley relay team at the annual WaMaC conference meet.

At the end of the night, the Trojans found themselves in twelfth place with their 11 points. Mount Vernon won the meet with a total of 162.5 points. They were followed by Williamsburg (104.5) and Marion (94).

The STC track and field team now turns its attention to the postseason. Following their State Qualifying Meet this past Thursday, May 15, the annual State Track Meet will be held from May 22-24 in Des Moines.

NEWS CHRONICLE PHOTO BY STEVE BRANT – STC sophomore Livia Smith runs the anchor leg of the Distance Medley relay team. Smith and her teammates finished in 9th place for the Trojans.

NEWS CHRONICLE PHOTO BY STEVE BRANT – Trojan freshman Brylee Nelson competes in the 100 hurdles at the annual WaMaC conference meet. Nelson finished in 19th place for STC.