Friday was a day of first for the Bridgeport High School boys and girls track teams as they took part in the Dick Dunlap Winfield Classic in Putnam County. Neither are the type of first the Indians were hoping for on a beautiful spring day.

 

For the BHS boys, it marked the first time this season they were beaten by a Class AA team. For the girls, it marked the first time this year they lost to a track meet to any team regardless of classification.

 

The winners Friday on both sides of the ledger were the host Generals. The boys were close, but fell 161 to 144. The girls were a distant second with 102 points to 209 for Winfield.

 

There were 12 teams in both fields. And despite falling to just one of those teams, neither coach was completely dismayed about the setback.

 

“Winfield is a very good team, year in and year out.  They are very balanced, well coached and have great community support.  I told (BHS girls Coach) Emilee (Stout) as well as the Winfield coaches (Dave Bailey and Shawn Anderson) that I see a lot of parallels between our two programs;  long established head coaches, former athletes coming back to coach, great communities and families, and the list could go on forever,” said Bridgeport boys Coach Jon Griffith. “Sometimes it’s like looking in a green mirror.” 

Stout agreed on the strength of the WHS program.

 

“We had a few (athletes) out that could have made a difference. Winfield is extremely talented and has a lot of depth,” said Stout.

 

Once again for the boys, Bridgeport got a pair of wins from Jimmy Lacaria. The senior won the 800 and 1600 meter races and did it against one of the top runners in the state in Winfield sophomore Aaron Withrow. Lacaria won the 800 with a time of 2 minutes, 3.14 seconds, while winning the 1600 event with a time of 4 minutes, 27.88 seconds.

 

“Jimmy was on fire Friday evening.  He looks very strong right now.  We want to keep him running well and making gradual improvement into the end of the year,” said Griffith.

 

The Indians got a win from junior Maverick Eddy in the 200 and a second place in the 100. His winning time was 23.4 seconds.

 

“Mav did a great job in all of his races Friday.  He set personal records in both the 100 meter and 200 meter,” said Griffith. “He looks to keep improving as well as the season progresses.”

 

The Indians got another individual win from Josh Osborn in the 300 meter hurdles. The junior won with a time of 43.56 seconds.

 

“Josh wasn’t happy with the time, but we will always take a win,” said Griffith. “He wanted to set a new personal best, but missed by a little.  I think he will drop his time in the next few meets.”

 

Bridgeport’s final two wins came in the relays. The Indians won the hurdles relay and also captured the 4x800. Osborn, Braeden Oldaker, Tristan Shaw and Trenton Shaw posted a winning time of 1 minute, .78 seconds.

 

The 4x800 team, which has dominated all year, continued its year-long tour of wins. The 4x800 team of Lacaria, Mark Duez, Coleton Marsh and Tristan Shaw got the win with a time of 8 minute, 31.29 seconds.

 

“The shuttles team ran a great race, but we can still improve so many things.  I look to see them keep improving and be among the best in the state by the end of the year,” said Griffith. “The 4x800 meter relay is looking good.  There are several teams around the state that will challenge them when they put all of their best runners into their relays.  Winfield and Berkeley Springs look like the teams to beat in that event.”

 

Although not winning, Chris Trent had a big day. In fact, it was a landmark showing for the BHS athlete in terms of school history.

 

“Chris Trent had a great set of throws in the shot put, capped with a 50 foot throw to take second.  Chris is now only the second Bridgeport Indian to surpass the 50 foot mark,” said Griffith.

 

As a whole, Griffith was pleased with the showing.

 

“We had a very good outing; lots of season and personal bests across the board.  We are still shifting some things around and will continue to do so for the next couple of weeks I think at the start of the meet, we were a little apprehensive about the teams we were competing against,” Griffith said. “Winfield, and Hurricane are perennial powers in track & field. Plus former AAA’s Point Pleasant and Nitro were there.  It seemed to take a little while to realize we can compete with them.  Once we got comfortable, we were fine.”

 

The girls were once again led by McKenna Smith. Smith took a trio of first place finishes on the day including wins in the 100 meter dash, 200 meter dash and the 300 hurdles.

 

Smith posted a time of 12.09 to win the 100 and came back with a time of 24.62 seconds in the 200 to capture the title in that event. In the hurdles, she cruised to the win with a time of 45.42 seconds. Smith didn’t win the 400 meters, but she didn’t compete in it.

 

“McKenna only ran three races to keep her fresh for the upcoming weeks,” said Stout. “We knew we would have a few girls out, so it wasn't necessary for her to run everything.”

 

Julie Muller had a strong day as well. The sophomore posted a winning time of 5 minutes, 30.77 seconds in the 1600 meter run.

 

“(Julia) ran very well in the 1600.  Running in the high heat was a bit of an adjustment, but she did well for the day,” said Stout.

 

Stout was also pleased, despite not winning a few events, the progression shown in those events. She singled out the pole vault and shot put as two areas where she liked what she said.

 

“Our pole vaulters had an excellent day (Claire Lohmann and Sophie Delgreco – both at 8 feet), along with Madya McCullough (30 feet, 5 inches) hitting a personal best (in shot put),” said Stout.

 

Overall, Stout was not dismayed with the showing.

 

“Our team really did well Friday. Several girls had personal bests and we did a nice job with girls subbing in the relays,” said Stout. “I’m pleased thus far in the season, but we have a lot of work to do to match up with Winfield again.”

 

The Indians host the annual Harry Green Invitational this Saturday. The meet begins at 11 a.m.

 

More on that meet later on Connect-Bridgeport.com.

 

Complete results from the meet can be found HERE.