Never mind the frying pan, the Merrill girls track team jumped right into the fire when they competed in the 26-team Stevens Point Invite on Monday.
The Bluejays returned from spring break to finish 18th in the event. Kimberly ran away with the meet, scoring 99.5 to top LaCrosse Logan (46), Appleton North (39) and Neenah (36).
“Our athletes competed with a lot of promise Monday night running against some larger schools,” MHS coach Bethany Martinovici said. “We shook the nervous approaches to each event and competed as though we didn’t have spring break last week.
“Starting two weeks ago, we had to deal with conflicts between basketball and other school functions that separated the team. We haven’t been able to practice as one squad yet. We look forward to getting back into the groove this week.”
Merrill scored points by placing third in two events, the triple jump with Morgan Marnholtz and the 55M hurdles with Hannah Marrier. Entrants needed to be in the top eight to earn points.
Marnholtz qualified for the finals with a second-best jump of 34’ 11”, but didn’t improve in the finals and was passed up by four inches. She was just 5.5” behind Kimberly champion Amandaz Schaefer.
“Morgan Marnholtz placed third in the triple jump,” Martinovici said. “With the first meet under our belts, Morgan felt okay about her attempts. There were a couple of phases she would like to work on now to further her jumps.
“Ashley Berton also competed in the event and was a huge support to her teammates. Ashley is a great competitor, leader, and team player. She puts others in front of her and is very supportive of the girls. I think many of them think of her like a ‘mother hen.’ ”
Berton hit 32 feet in the jump, narrowly missing the finals.
Marrier reached the finals with a tied for fourth-best time of :09.61. She cut her clocking to :09.48 in the finals to slide past two competitors. Appleton North senior Halle Giaimo won in :08.96.
“Hannah Marrier had the meet in her hands yesterday,” Martinovici said. “She competed well in both her events.”
The Jays were unable to crack the finals in any other events, but still came up with strong showings in others.
“Some standout performances included the 4×200 relay- Hannah Marrier, McKenna Folz, Kennedy Soderberg, and Kaitlin Berry,” Martinovici said. “Their splits were faster than we thought they would be at this point in the season. The work now needs to be put into their hand-offs.
“Kaitlin ran a smart 55 dash. She is stronger and more competitive this year. I think that the sky is the limit for her if she continues to put in the work. She has become more upright in her race and looks more powerful. She needs to focus more on the finish and pushing her race through the finish.
The 800M team was clocked in 1:59.53, three-quarters of a second out of the finals group.
Berry was timed in :08.04 in the 55M dash, three-tenths slower than needed to reach the finals.
The Bluejays will return to competition in a lower-key meet on their home turf at 4:00 p.m. on Thursday. Quality opponents Wausau East, Wausau West, Edgar and Antigo will test their mettle.
“Thursday’s meet in Merrill will prove to be more exciting as we get some new athletes competing in different events,” Martinovici said.