BERLIN- Stephen Decatur’s varsity indoor track teams enjoyed a strong week after turning in strong team and individual performances in first the Bayside Championships last Friday and the state 3A-East Region Championships on Tuesday.
The Decatur girls finished third overall as a team in the Bayside Championships last week with 96 team points behind Kent Island and North Caroline. The Decatur boys finished fourth overall as a team at the conference championships behind Kent Island, North Caroline and Queen Anne’s.
On the girls’ side in the Bayside Championships, Decatur’s Jenna Leitgeb was seventh in the 1,600, while Alison Alvarado was eighth. Alvarado was fourth in the 3,200 and Meya Chilengi was sixth. Layla Fowler was third in the 300, while Christina Romano was fourth. Fowler also finished first in the 500, while Lauren Bodolus was seventh. Emily Cook was third and Emily Kolarik was fourth in the 55-hurdles. Fowler also finished fifth in the 800.
In the field events, Romano was second in the high jump, Katie Collins finished second, Kacie Moore was third and Jillian Mitrecic was fourth in the pole vault. Takia Long finished ninth in the shot put. The Decatur girls were first in the 4×400 and fourth in both the 4×200 and 4×800.
On the boys’ side, Decatur’s Kevin Herbert was ninth in the 1,600, while Zach Elmer was 10th. Herbert was also sixth in the 3,200, while Chance Coley finished 10th. Jackson Mumford was second in the 500, while James Davidson was eighth. James Phillips finished third in the 55 hurdles. Ben Short was fourth in the high jump, while Hyun Chun finished sixth in the pole vault. Ernest Shockley, Gerardo Navarra and Montez Green finished fourth, fifth and seventh respectively in the shot put.
In the state 3A-East Regionals on Tuesday, the Decatur girls swept the pole vault event with Katie Collins finishing first, Kacie Moore finishing second and Jillian Mitrecic finishing third. Fowler finished second in the 500, Leitgeb was seventh in the 1,600, Alvarado was sixth in the 3,200 and Romano was ninth in the 300. Romano also finished fourth in the high jump. Cook was sixth in the 55-hurdles, while Kolarik finished seventh. Takia Long finished fifth in the shot put, while Michelina Sanders was seventh. In the relays, the Decatur girls finished fourth in the 4×400, fifth in the 4×800 and eighth in the 4×200.
The Decatur boys were also strong in the 3A-East regionals. Chun won the pole vault event, continuing a long tradition of pole vaulters at Decatur on both the boys’ and girls’ sides. Ben Short finished second in the high jump, and Shockley, Navarra and Green finished ninth, 10th and 12th in the shot put. Jackson Mumford was second in the 500, John Neidfeldt was sixth in the 800 and Herbert was sixth in the 3,200. In the relays, the Decatur boys finished fifth in both the 4×400 and 4×800 and seventh in the 4×200.