Megan Tracy
Columbus East had to battle one of the state’s top track programs in Saturday’s season opener, and both teams had to battle another formidable opponent.
The wind.
Gusts of up to 40 MPH played havoc with times and distances for the Olympians and visiting Bloomington South. Some events, such as the short sprints and long jump, were boosted by a tailwind, but the other races were slowed.
“This is probably the windiest I’ve ever seen it been in a meet,” East boys coach Jerone Wood said. “This cold generally doesn’t do well for sprinters, so when you add that in on top of the wind, it was pretty tough.”
Bloomington South won the boys meet 103-28. The 19th-ranked Panther girls prevailed 94-37.
Megan Tracy was a double winner for the Olympian girls, taking the shot put (33 feet, 5 1/2 inches) and discus (106-0). Gabbie Meier won the long jump (15-4), Emma Gray took the 100-meter hurdles (17.21 seconds) and Taylor Scott captured the 100 (13.12).
Gray also finished second in the 300 hurdles (51.23). Carly Otte was second in the 1,600 (6:08.87).
“For the wind and everything, I thought we had a very good effort out of everybody,” East girls coach Glen Brown said. “We had some good efforts. The weather wasn’t cooperating like we hoped, and it just turned so cold that and the end of the meet, there weren’t going to be any good times or anything. We were competing, and that’s what we came out here to do.”
Winners for the Olympian boys were Jacob Guse in the shot (47-0), Ethan Duncan in the long jump (19- 1/2) and Henrique Carvalho in the 300 hurdles (44.17). Brayden Isbell finished second in the 110 hurdles (19.52).
“The guys that did perform did pretty well,” Wood said. “We had quite a few guys that had some cramping issues due to the weather. I’m excited to see what our 4×100 and 4×400 teams can do when they’re healthy.”
