By Giovanni Coronel
WAYLAND
Taking their talents on the road, the Ravens headed to WACO, the home of the Warriors, to battle it out in the annual Ekstrand Relays on April 25.
Despite fielding one of the smaller teams at Wayland, the Hillcrest girls track and field team still finished at the top of the team rankings.
Competing in the Class B division with seven other schools, the Ravens placed 2nd with 91 team points.
The key component to their runner-up finish was being able to take the 1st and 2nd place spots in three events.
It was an outstanding day for Hillcrest’s Rya Scott. Scott, a sophomore, placed first in not one, not two, but three individual events to lead the Ravens in the Ekstrand Relays.
Showcasing her speed, Scott sprinted past all the competition to win the gold in the 100m (13.09) and the 200m (26.54). Her time in the 200m is a new personal best. Teammate Niva Helmuth also raced in the 200m, placing 3rd in 29.35.
Scott’s third gold worthy performance came in a field event. In the long jump she placed 1st with a jump of 15-11. Teammate Delaney Shaw was the runner-up, with her first attempt of 14-04 securing second place.
Hillcrest also had some strong performances in the long-distance running events, winning the gold in the 1500m and the 3000m.
The talented duo of Marie Yoder and Siena Stanerson placed 1st and 2nd, respectively, in the 1500 and the 3000.
Yoder, a freshman, ran fast enough in the 1500 for a new PR of 5:19 and Stanerson, a sophomore, earned a PR of 11:50 in the 3000.
Another noteworthy finish for the Ravens at WACO came from the four-person team of Scott, Stanerson, Yoder, and Shaw. This Raven quartet ran the 4x400m relay in 4:50 to take the runner-up spot.
Up next for the Ravens is heading back to Wayland to compete in a conference meet at WACO on May 2.
Class B results
100m: 1, Rya Scott, Hillcrest, 13.09; 6, Morgyn Nafziger, Hillcrest, 13.81
200m: 1, Rya Scott, Hillcrest, 26.54; 3, Niva Helmuth, Hillcrest, 29.35
4x200m relay: 1, Lone Tree, 1:51.22; 6, Hillcrest (Morgyn Nafziger, Niva Helmuth, Natalie Meganathan, Delaney Shaw), 2:05.04
4x400m relay: 1, HLV, Victor, 4:26.82; 2, Hillcrest (Rya Scott, Siena Stanerson, Marie Yoder, Delaney Shaw), 4:50.15
1500m: 1, Marie Yoder, Hillcrest, 5:19.98; 2, Siena Stanerson, Hillcrest, 5:44.84
3000m: 1, Marie Yoder, Hillcrest, 11:28.32; 2, Siena Stanerson, Hillcrest, 11:50.50
Long jump: 1, Rya Scott, Hillcrest, 15-11; 2, Delaney Shaw, Hillcrest, 14-04
Shot put: 1, Hayden Yoder, Lone Tree, 31-02; 6, Niva Helmuth, Hillcrest, 26-00