On Friday, April 29, the Bears and Lady Bears made the long trip to Salem for the SCA conference tournament.
Pointing for the Lady Bears were the 4×800 team of Kacy Longino, Kendra McCleary, Ashley Rieken, and Christina Shortt. Shortt and Rieken both ran in the 1600 and 3200 and placed in those events, as well.
In the 1600-meter run, both girls had their best times of the season. Shortt finished 5th with a time of 6:42 and Rieken finished 6th with a time of 6:55.
In the 3200-meter run, Shortt finished 3rd which earned her an honorable mention all-SCA conference award with a time of 14:19.57 and Rieken finished 4th with a time of 15:17.95. McCleary ran the open 800 with a time of 3:09 to place her 6th.
The 4×200 team placed 2nd for 2nd team all-conference honors with a time of 1:56.38. Members of the 4×200 are Kayley Watson, Nikki Rieken, Hannah Johnson, and Cheyanne Russ. Watson also triple jumped and placed 5th with her best jump of the season at 29 feet, 2¼ inches. Nikki placed 5th also in the long jump with 13’2½”.
Nikki Rieken also placed 6th in the open 400 with a time of 1:08.56 and Johnson earned honorable mention all-conference, which is 3rd place in the high jump with a vertical leap of 4’6″.
In the 4×100, the team of Kayley Watson, Amanda Greene, Cheyanne Russ and Hannah Johnson placed 5th with their best time of the season of 56.09 seconds.
Greene placed 6th in the long jump with a leap of 13″3/4″.
In the 4×400, Watson, Nikki Rieken, Courtney Mings and Johnson earned 2nd team all-conference honors by placing 2nd with a time of 4:34.22.
Unfortunately the Lady Bears were missing two key athletes, Lindsey Armour and Makenzie Watterson, who qualified and were performing at state band and choir competition in Columbia.
Both Armour and Watterson are accomplished throwers in field events.
In team results, Mtn. Grove won the meet with 165 points, followed by Willow Springs 103, Liberty 76, Salem 68, Cabool 51, Ava 47, and Houston 40. Thayer does not compete in track.
