MARYSVILLE — Arlington seniors Kjirsten Jensen and Marcus Dolan were multiple-event winners, leading the Eagles to a strong showing as M-P hosted the annual Tomahawk Track and Field Classic, April 26.
With wins in the boys 100- and 200-meter dashes, Dolan helped lead the Arlington boys to a second-place team finish. Dolan edged Marysville’s Andy Abadam to win the 100 with a time of 11.22 and pulled off an even closer squeaker as he beat Lakewood’s Devon Smith in the 200, where they finished in 22.86 and 22.97 respectively. Dolan’s 400 relay teammate Bryan Mack pulled an event championship of his own, winning in the boys triple jump with a leap of 43-3 1/2.
Mack was all over the place for Arlington, with a leg of the mile relay that took fifth and a notable finish in the long jump as well, his 21-0 mark good for fourth place, two spots behind teammate Brandon Gunter’s 21-4 1/2. Gunter also proved a multi-threat for Arlington, running with Dolan, Mack and Kellen Botten in the 400 relay, and placing fifth in the high jump with a best jump of 5-8.
Fellow Arlington jumper Ryan Schimpf edged Gunter in places and inches in the high jump, taking third with a six-foot leap.
Arlington went 1-2 in the boys shot put as Jurell Frank’s best throw of 45-2 took second to senior Kurtis Hampton’s winning 50-1. Hampton also took fifth in the discus, hitting 130-9.
The field proved strong for the Arlington girls as well, who took third place as a team.
Jensen hit marks of 38-2 in the shot put and 119-10 in the discus to continue her series of wins in the two events.
Two Eagles had notable finishes in the girls javelin, as Stephanie Van Slageren took third place with a throw of 112-4. She was followed closely in the standings by Brittany Covey, whose 104-8 was good for fifth place.
Ginny Wilson took fourth place in the high jump, clearing 4-10. She also earned team points in the long jump and ran a leg of the girls mile relay that finished fourth. She was joined in that 4:18:06 relay by Katie Anderson, Erin Taylor and Amanda Wreggelsworth, a largely veteran squad from last year’s state-qualifying relay.
Wregglesworth showed in the girls 300 hurdles, where her 49.03 time was good for fourth place, edging M-P’s Alex McDonald.
Arlington athletes also popped up in the boys distance events, where Sean Gregory followed a fifth-place finish in the 800 (2:02.50) with a fourth-place time in the mile (4:33.65). Senior Paul Simbeck took fourth in the 3,200 with a time of 10:08.69 and Luke Passalacqua trailed Gregory in the 800 by half a second.
Arlington coach Judd Hunter said he was happy with his team’s performance as they begin to look past the regular season and toward districts.
“Right now we are performing ahead of where I thought we would be in the beginning of the season,” he said. “We are entering our rest and recovery stage to have fresh legs before league, districts and state.”
The state-qualifying district meet will take place over two days at Shoreline Stadium May 14 and 16.