Another meet, another strong showing by the Bridgeport High School track teams. This time, the Indians swept the Morgantown High School Invitational held Saturday at Clay-Battelle High School in Monongalia County.

 

The boys picked up a win by totaling 175 points to get past Morgantown with 161 points in the seven-team field. The girls also got past the Mohigans with 199 points to 132 for MHS in the eight-team field.

 

The boys were able to get to the winner’s circle thanks to dominating in the field events. In fact, the Tribe won all five of the meet’s events.

 

“That doesn’t happen very often, but it again speaks to our balance and senior leadership.  These guys are really stepping up and leading the way for the team.  When you can go out and be strong in all five field events and combine that with strong performances in the relays, you can become a very good team,” said boys Coach Jon Griffith. “Our field event coaches (Emilee Yurish – pole vault, Ali Curry – high jump, Jeff Weimer – long jump, Jake Griffith – shot, Lucinda Lindsey – discus) deserve a lot of credit.  They have had minimal practice time this year with the kids compared to years past, but they have managed to get them up to speed quickly this year.”

 

Christopher Trent was definitely up to speed. The senior won the shot put at 48 feet, 2.25 inches and came back to win the discus with a toss of 138 feet, 11.5 inches.

 

“Chris had an average meet, for Chris.  His discus went well, but his shot put was a little less than he is used to ta this point,” said Griffith. “you are winning by the margins Chris was at this meet (shot put by 8 feet and discus by almost 13 feet) it isn’t easy to get fired up.”  

 

Tristan Shaw also won a pair of field events. He took home first in the high jump at 5 feet, 10 inches and added a win in the long jump at 19 feet, 7.75 inches.  

 

“Tristan had a very good meet in all of his events.  The relays went well and his jumping was outstanding considering the temperatures.  At 36 degrees it isn’t very easy to high jump or long jump, much less win them,” said Griffith.

 

The final field event win went to Josh Osborn. Osborn took the pole vault by clearing 13 feet.

 

“Josh had a rough meet last week, so it was really good to see him come out strong this week.  His 13’ jump in that bitter cold ties the best in the state for ‘AA’ and is only 6 inches short of the top AAA mark right now; not bad,” Griffith said.

 

Bridgeport picked up four other wins in the meet. All of those wins came in the relay events. The Tribe won the 4x100, 4x200, 4x800 and the shuttle hurdle relays.

 

The 4x100 team of Maverick Eddy, Trenton Shaw, Kyle McCarthy and Braeden Oldaker posted a winning time of 46.06 seconds. The 4x200 team of Eddy, Trenton Shaw, McCarthy and Hayden Hess won with a showing of 1 minute, 36.32 seconds.

 

In the 4x800, Mark Duez, Coleton Marsh, Logan Carr and Cade Robinson were the winners with a time of 8 minutes, 53.69 seconds. And in the shuttles, Trenton Shaw, Tristan Shaw, Oldaker and Osborn were winners with a time of 1 minute, .51 seconds.

 

“We felt early on that one of the strengths of the boys’ team would be balance across all of the events.  The relays are good proof of that.  We are still juggling around a little bit in the relays to find the right set for each race,” said Griffith. “The chemistry is really good right now with the kids competing for those spots.  We just want to find the right combination of relay and open events to maximize our scoring potential.  Our relay coaches (Jeff Weimer – sprints, Nathaniel Lutyens – distance, Grant Burton –hurdles) do such a great job getting them ready for meets. They all are alumni of our program and understand the techniques and goals we are looking for in our relays.”  

 

 The girls saw a familiar name pick up a pair of wins in the relays. Isabella Bowen won both of the events she participated in – the 100 and 400 meter dashes – with times of 12.58 seconds and 58.67 seconds, respectively.

 

“Isabella is staying consistent with her times. She continues to improve each week which is what we want,” said girls coach Emilee Yurish. “She's exactly where she needs to be at this point of the season.”

 

In the 200, freshman Anaiya Jackson was the winner. She finished the event in 26.75 seconds.

 

“Anaiya had personal bests in all of her events on Saturday, so that it great for the team and for her confidence,” said Yurish. “She's doing a great job and works really hard.”

 

Julie Muller had a big day. She broke her own school record in the 800 with a time of 2 minutes, 24.18 seconds.

 

“Julia had a great day.  She broke her own school record in the 800, so she was pretty happy to see that result,” said Yurish. “She is a solid runner for our team and performs very well on race day.”

 

The hurdle events saw two names that have consistently been at the top finish in first place again. Emily Meade won the 100 meter hurdles with a time of 16.37 seconds and Ashton Miller followed up with a winning time of 51.78 seconds in the 300 meter event.

 

“Ashton and Emily are doing well in the hurdles events as they have continued to improve as well,” said Yurish.

 

The relay teams were also strong once again. Bridgeport won three relay events.

 

The first win came in the 4x100 where Jackson, Bowen, Juliet Hart and Kristen Crowder finished with a time of 51.32 seconds. In the 4x200, Catie Wilson teamed with Kirstin George, Hart and Crowder to win in 1 minute, 50.47 seconds. The final win came in the shuttles as Ashton Miller – the high point scorer – teamed with Maria Defino, Hailie Davis and Meade to win in 1 minute, 10.91 seconds

 

“I'm very happy with our relays. We had a little mishap in a couple exchanges, but that's to be expected early in the season,” said Yurish. Exchanges will continue to be worked on at practice and as we go through the season the girls will feel more confident in their relays.”

 

Bridgeport picked up three more wins in the field events. Madyia McCullough led the way with wins in the shot put (32 feet, 11 inches) and discus (104 feet, 3 inches).

 

“Madyia had a break-through meet this weekend.  She looked good, felt well and her results showed,” said Yurish. “I'm very proud of her focus and hard work.”

 

Crowder picked up the other field event win. Kristen won the high jump with a mark of 5 feet, 4 inches.

 

“Kristen is a solid athlete. She continues to improve with high jump and stays rather consistent across the board.  She gives 100 percent every single day and her teammates and coaches see that,” said Yurish.

 

Yurish is not only pleased with the showing, but where the girls are at early in the 2018 season.

 

“The girls are having a good year so far.  They do what we ask in practice and perform well when it counts,” said Yurish. “We just need to stay focused and continue to put in great effort each week.”

 

Even with the impressive showing, Bridgeport nearly didn’t take part. Weather almost stopped the team from attending.

 

The weather was originally supposed to be bitter cold with 4-8 inches of snow.  We seriously considered cancelling, which is something I avoid at all costs.  The kids were pretty much unanimously in favor of going anyway,” said Griffith. “As the week progressed the forecast improved, but it was still pretty cold at the start of the meet, right around 32-33 degrees.  Yet, they performed very well.  

 

“I think that is a result of our practice policy.  We go outside every day, no matter the weather.  We get down on the ground and do our stretching and exercises regardless of the conditions,” Griffith continued. “They are used to it.  So when it comes time to compete, they aren’t worried about the temperatures or the weather.  They have already experienced it before.”

  

Bridgeport is back in action Friday at 4 p.m. The Tribe will travel to the Dick Dunlap Winfield Classic. Dunlap is Griffith’s former prep coach and the BHS coach considers Dunlap his mentor.