It’s safe to say the track teams that left Wayne Jamison Field Saturday following the annual Harry Green Invitational felt they were treated well by their hosts, which is Bridgeport High School. Of course, those same hosts didn’t exactly roll over for their foes as the meet progressed.

 

Instead, the Indians rolled past the field Saturday. The girls dominated on their side of the ledger, while the boys were also impressive in winning as well.

 

The Indians steamrolled the field in the girls’ competition. In fact, the Tribe won the 11-team field with 189 points. The total was more than three times that of runner-up Fairmont Senior as the Polar Bears ended the day with 62 points.

 

Coach Emilee Yurish said it was a complete day by the Tribe program. And she pointed to strong showings on several fronts as the reason for the win.

 

“I was very happy to see so many girls get personal bests on Saturday. We had a few girls fill in spots in our relays and they did very well,” said Yurish. “It was good to see the team come together on our home field.”

 

Isabella Bowen came together as she has most of the year to win a pair of sprint events. She dominated the 100 and 400 meter events by winning the 100 in 12.35 seconds and the 400 with a time of 57.57 seconds – the only runner to post a sub-minute time.

 

“Isabella did well in her events.  Her times continue to drop and she remains in the top position for all three open sprint events,” said Yurish. “She has keep building her confidence and running smart in all her events for the upcoming weeks.”

 

Anaiya Jackson continued her strong freshman season. She won the 200 meter dash with a time of 26.41 seconds and added a winning time of 50.94 seconds in the 300 meter hurdles.

 

“Anaiya is doing a fantastic job.  She has come such a long way already and has a lot more room to improve. I'm very proud of her focus and efforts this year,” said Yurish.

 

In the 1600 meter run, Julie Muller did more than pick up a win. According to Yurish, she also picked up a record.

 

“Another school record goes to Julia Muller,” the coach said. “She has been focusing on breaking this for quite some time, so it's very rewarding for someone like her to achieve.”

 

While Muller keeps winning in distance, Ashton Miller has battled back to find a win in the 100 meter hurdles. This time she got the victory thanks to a time of 16.82 seconds.

 

“Ashton did well and seems to be ready for full action. She's been a little banged up recently and I believe she's ready for all her events again. It's nice to have her back,” said Yurish.

 

Bridgeport won all but one of the relay events. The team got things started with the 4x100 group of Catie Wilson, Bowen, Kristen Crowder and Juliet Hart posting a winning time of 50.66 seconds.

 

The second win was in the 4x200. Kirstin George, Anna Shaver, Crowder and Vaugh Vincent were the winners with a time of 1 minute, 53.56 seconds.

 

In the 4x800, Samantha Olivio, George, McKenna Eddy and Muller won with a time of 4 minutes, 25.91 seconds. The Indians wrapped things up with a win in the shuttle hurdle relay with the group of Maria Defino, Sarah Kinney, Hailie Davis and Miller finishing with a mark of 1 minute, 11.5 seconds.

 

Bridgeport managed one win in the field events. Claire Lohmann won the pole vault by clearing 9 feet.

 

“Claire is doing a nice job in pole vault. She's staying consistent with her jumps each week which is very important for self-confidence. She's a hard worker and it's paying off,” said Yurish.

 

The coach had words of praise for others as well. She was pleased the meet was able to take place after the entire track and field was under water the previous Monday due to flooding.

 

“This past week was good for our whole team to get to perform at home again.  I'm happy we had great weather and that we were able to have the meet from all the flood destruction,” said Yurish. “We are thankful for our administration and community for helping get our facility ready in time.”

 

Veteran BHS boys track Coach Jon Griffith was also amazed the meet was held.

 

“This past week was one of the most stressful of my career.  Just to be able to host a meet after the week we had was a miracle.  Monday’s flooding left us with a huge obstacle to overcome,” said Griffith. “Thanks to the City of Bridgeport, Bridgeport Parks and Recreation, Mike Osborn, Don Burton, Bridgeport High School, Mark DeFazio, Matt DeMotto, Jake Griffith, Jeff Weimer, Grant Burton, Panhandle Cleaning & Restoration, and the members of the BHS Track & Field team for getting our facility ready for Saturday’s meet.” 

 

The boys were impressive one the Saturday meet began, but did get a bit of a challenge from Parkersburg in the 11-team field. The Indians finished with 160 points, while the Big Reds were second with 113. The next closest team finished with 57 points.

 

Maverick Eddy took part in two of the closest events of the day. One of which he won and the other he finished second.

 

In the 100 meter dash, Eddy won with a time of 11.31 seconds. The race’s next three finishers were 11.34, 1nd two at 11.48. In the 200, Eddy had a time off 22.88, which was off the winning time of 22.85.

 

“Maverick had a great day of racing at the Harry Green Statewide Invitational.  He faced off against Parkersburg’s Tyler Moler in both the 100 meter and 200 meter.  The difference in both races was only three one hundredths of a second,” said Griffith. “ … Maverick has come in extremely focused this season and has worked very hard.  His progress has been excellent and we expect him to keep improving over the next few weeks heading into the state meet.”

 

While Eddy just missed a sweep in those two events, Braeden Oldaker managed to sweep the 110 meter hurdles and the 300. He won the 110 with a time of 15.34 seconds and came back to win the 300 with a time of 43.26 seconds. The wins helped him earn high point honors at 24.5 points.

 

“Braeden ran exceptionally well on Saturday.  His time in the 110 high hurdles (15.34) was really impressive, especially for a sophomore.  He is only .64 seconds away from Matt Wilson’s school record of 14.70 from 2006,” said Griffith.

 

Bridgeport was strong in the relays. The team took wins in the 4x200, 4x400 and the shuttles.

 

The 4x200 team consisted of Eddy, Hayden Hess, Kyle McCarthy and Trenton Shaw. The group posted a winning time of 1 minute, 33. 58 seconds.

 

In the 4x400, the Indians won with a time of 3 minutes, 34.93 seconds. Hess, Shaw, Tristan Shaw and McCarthy were the winners for BHS.

 

In the shuttles, The Shaw’s led things off, while Oldaker and Josh Osborn rounded out the unit. The group won with a time of 59.32 seconds.

 

“We should have also won the 4x100m relay, but we had a miscue on one of our exchanges.  We should have that fixed for next week,” said Griffith. “We are also still moving athletes around and hope to drop the times in each relay a little more as we get near the end of the season.”

 

Another meet, another win in the pole vault for Osborn. He cleared 13 feet on Saturday.

 

“Josh has been very consistent the last three weeks.  Three weeks in a row at 13 feet.  He would like to improve on that mark soon and make some attempts to break the school record,” said Griffith. “I think it is coming, it is just such a technical event. Coach Yurish is doing a great job with him and I feel confident he will get there.”

 

The Indians landed another win in the shot put. Christopher Trent managed the win with a toss of 50 feet, 5 inches.

 

“The throwers had a good day as a group.  Coach Lindsay and Coach Griffith are steadily moving the throwing group forward.  Chris has been hovering in the upper 40’s for a few week, but getting over 50’ again should help him mentally as we head to Charleston this week.  I hope that confidence will carry over to his discus throwing as well,” said the head coach. 

 

Bridgeport, Griffith said, got the win thanks to the one thing it’s relied on all year – depth. He hopes the formula keeps working.

 

“Depth continues to be huge for us.  Winfield is continuing to improve and I have no doubt that we will have all we can handle come time for the state meet.  They are well coached and have a strong tradition,” he said. “We will, as we always do, focus on steady improvement.  I think if we can stay focused and healthy, we will definitely be in the top 2 at the end of the year.  Where we finish is anybody’s guess.” 

 

Bridgeport is back in action Friday and Saturday. The teams will compete in the annual Gazette Relays that begin at 4 p.m. Friday and 9 a.m. Saturday at Laidley Field in Charleston.

 

Editor's Note: Photos by Joey Signorelli and Matthew DeMaria of www.benqueenphotography.com.