Clinton grabs first place at 47th annual Fulton Lady Steamer Invitational; Fulton takes second
Apr. 17—FULTON, Ill. — The Clinton River Queens and Fulton Steamers track teams battled it out all evening long on Wednesday at the 47th annual Fulton Lady Steamer Invitational.
However, Clinton just got the edge by tallying 150 total team points for the first-place finish. Fulton was right behind with 132 points.
The Steamers started out strong in the field events, especially in the long jump as Miraya Pessman and Paige Cramer took first and second place. Pessman jumped 16-9.25 and Cramer 16-5.75. Clinton's Joselyn Petersen finished in third with a distance of 15-6.75.
Fulton's Emery Wherry and Olivia Knott also did well in the triple jump, landing a 32-0.25 and a 32 flat respectively for a second and third place finish. Clinton's Elle Lonergan and Fulton's Jordin Rathburn each cleared 4-11.75 in the high jump, but Lonergan did it in less tries to get the first place finish.
Clinton got a nice performance out of Arie Russell in the discus throw, taking third with a 91-08. Fulton's Kylie Smither got fourth and Clinton's Kendie Huizenga fifth.
Smither was also able to take third in the shot put with a throw of 34-04 and Huizenga was fourth with a 32-09.
The track events brought even more tight races, especially in the shorter distances, but Fulton started off strong behind Jasmie Morelan, Madison Bolton, Rathburn and Jessa Read who took first in the 4x800 with a time of 11:10.32.
Clinton then just barely edged out Fulton in the 4x100 meter relay as Quinn Nielsen, Hannah Malli, Aumree Russell and Kanijah Angel finished in 50.70 seconds. Fulton's Brooklyn Thoms, Annaka Hackett, Grace Dykstra and Miraya Pessman recorded a 50.95.
Sophomore Aubrey Rivers ran a nice race for Clinton in the 3200-meter run, taking first with a time of 13:13.08. Senior Kara Klinkhammer took third with a 14:23.02. Rivers later took third in the 1600-meter run, running a 6:21.98.
Wherry was able to get the Steamers 10 more points in the 100 meter hurdles, taking first place with a time of 16.26 seconds.
The 100-meter dash was one of the closest races you will ever see and it was between two teammates. Clinton's Angel and Nielsen both finished with a 12.62 but it came down to milliseconds as Angel ran a 12.615 to take first and Nielsen a 12.618 to finish in second.
It was a similar story in the 800-meter run, but it was sisters Camryn and Carryn Sattler taking first and second place respectively. Camryn finished in 2:24.96 and Carryn in 2:29.61.
Clinton later edged Fulton once again, this time in the 4x200 with the only different member from the 4x100 being Clinton's Sescie Haan. This one came down to the final stretch and it looked like Fulton's Pessman was going to catch Clinton's Angel, but Angel turned on the jets to squeak out the first-place finish. Clinton ran a 1:47.90 and Fulton a 1:47.95.
Haan was able to get the win for Clinton in the 300-meter hurdles with a time of 50.09 seconds, just besting Fulton's Wherry who took second with a 51.31.
Malli and Petersen were able to grab second and third for Clinton in the 200-meter dash, running respective times of 28.40 and 28.66. Fulton's Hackett took fourth with a time of 28.80 seconds.
Finally, the night was capped off with one last nail biter in the 4x400. Clinton's Calire Unke, Haan, Carryn Sattler and Julia Suessmith got the win over Fulton's Thoms, Read, Dykstra and Pessman. Clinton ran a 4:21.45 and Fulton a 4:22.64.
