Despite having two meets last week, the track team managed to dominate at home on Friday, taking home first place in both the boys and girls category by enormous margins. Boys won with a 90-point lead and girls with a 41-point lead.

While the boys are accustomed to taking home first on a regular basis, Friday was one of the few times this season that the girls team placed first. Senior Clara Mayfield not only placed first but she also broke the school record with a time of 10:36.

“It was a good race and all of my hard work in the off season came together and paid off,” Mayfield said. “I was really happy along with all of my coaches.”

Other first place finishes from the girls team include sophomore Bonnie Hegarty in high jump and junior Jasmin Johnson in triple jump. Senior Emily Keeley assisted the girls team to the top of the podium by being there herself, as she placed first in the girls 800 meter and second, by three seconds, in the 1600 meter.

“I felt pretty good in the 800,” Keeley said. “I’m still looking to run faster times but we’re on the right track and I’m excited for the rest of the season. Hopefully all our tough workouts and back to back meet start to pay off in quick times.”

As the girls enjoyed their break from the second place finishes, the boys continued to obliterate the competition, placing first in seven of the 17 scored events.

“[Finishing first is] what I’ve been practicing for,” junior Declan Weixelman said. “I was excited and exhausted because it was our home meet, everyone is here watching. It was really important to do good because i didn’t do very good last year.”

Weixelman placed first in the 800 meter. Other first place finishes include sophomore Daniel Harkin in the 1600 meter and 3200 meter, senior Max Lansdowne in the 300 meter hurdles, senior Reese Thamert in triple jump, sophomore Darius O’Connell in shot put and junior Kiefer Schmidt in javelin.  

The next meet for the team is in Lawrence at the Kansas Relays, which will take place on Friday and Saturday. Some have high expectations for those two days.

“Next challenge is the KU relays,” Keeley said. “We’d love to place in the Distance Medley Relay and of course we are looking forward to the postseason, hoping to peak at state.”