Pierce Runner-Up at Home
By Brenden Bolling
The Bluejays stayed at home for the Tom Martin Memorial/Wausa Invitational, where they finished as runners-up and had champions who were Gavin Lubischer, Ryder Theisen, and Brenden Bolling.
Lubischer, a junior, was champion in long jump with a personal best of 21-05.5, and in triple jump, Theisen, a senior, finished second with a jump of 43-05.75.
Even with the wind as bad as it was, Theisen took the gold in the 110-meter hurdles with a personal best of 15.68 and in the 300 hurdles, running a 41.88.
Bolling ran the 800-meter, where he became the champion with a time of 2:00.05.
“It is awesome to be able to compete at home in front of everyone, and I was happy with how the team did, and hope everyone keeps improving,” Theisen stated.
Two sprinters came in the top six as well for the Bluejays in the 100, Lubischer finished third with another personal best of 11.47, while Colter Anderson was close behind, finishing fifth with a 11.56. Anderson also placed fourth in the 200, with his personal best of a 23.90.
Kendall Shada took home two silver medals in the 1600 and the 3200. In the 1600, Shada ran a 4:56.82, and in the 3200, he ran an 11:01.16, scoring 16 points for the team.
In addition to the medal by Theisen in the 300 hurdles, Caycen Ernst earned fourth with a time of 48.96.
High jump was a good event for the Bluejays, having two in the top six, where Parker Gaes finished in fifth with a 5-08 jump, while Sean Monroe also jumped 5-08, his personal best, placing him sixth.
In discus, Keaton Frazier finished in fourth with a throw of 142-04.
For shot put, Ethan Nordby had a good day getting his personal best of 47-09.5 and third place.
“The meet started with great weather, but conditions gradually worsened, making it more difficult for everyone to reach their goals. Despite this, the team competed well and still finished as runner-up,” head coach Les Painter said.
