Coldwater LMS boys take 2nd, girls finish 3rd at I-8 MS Track Championship

PARMA, MI. - The Coldwater Legg Middle School track and field teams traveled to Parma Western High School on Wednesday night for the Interstate 8 Middle School League Championship.

In the boy’s portion of the competition the LMS Cardinals finished with runner-up honors, taking second place with a team score of 113 points. Coldwater finished behind only the Lumen Christi Titans who won the conference crown with 131 points. Following Coldwater’s second place finish was Parma Western in third place with 97.5 points, followed by Harper Creek in fourth place with 69.5 points. Marshall finished in fifth place (55 points), followed by Pennfield (34), Northwest (14), and Hastings (9).

The LMS Cardinals had one individual conference champion in addition to two relay teams bringing home gold.

Pacing the Coldwater effort with an individual championship was seventh grader Travon Mitchell who won the 200-meter hurdles in a personal best time of 28.99 seconds. Mitchell also finished in second place in the 55-meter hurdles in a time of 9.17 seconds.

Bringing home relay gold for Coldwater was the 800-meter relay team of Landon Dirschell, Dracyn Foster, Dayton Ennis and Evan Lewis who won in a time of 1 minute, 41.32 seconds while the 1600-meter relay team of Dirschell, Ennis, Drew Vanderpuyl and Mason Sabaitis brought home gold in a time of 4 minutes, 1.94 seconds.

Helping pace the LMS Cardinals with a top six finish in their respective individual event was Logan Rus, fourth place in the 70 and third place in the 100; Evan Lewis, second place in the 200; Mason Sabaitis, fourth place in the 400; Drew Vanderpuyl, second place in the 800; Joseph Hayward, fifth place in the 55 hurdles and fourth place in the 200 hurdles; Dayton Ennis, second place in the shot put; Cooper Golematis, third place in the shot put; Thad Timer, fourth place in the shot put; Carter Shaffer, fourth place in the high jump; and Dracyn Foster, sixth place in the long jump.

Relay teams earning runner-up honors for Coldwater was the 400-relay team of Landon Dirschell, Dracyn Foster, Evan Lewis and Logan Rus with a second place finish in a time of 50.19 seconds while the 3200-relay team of Joseph Hayward, Travon Mitchell, Trevor Mitchell, and Drew Vanderpuyl took second place in a time of 9 minutes, 55.01 seconds.

On the girl's side of the evening, it was the team from Parma Western winning the league title with a score of 138 points, followed by Hastings in second place with 106 points. The Coldwater LMS Lady Cardinals finished in third place with a team score of 89 points, followed by Lumen Christi in fourth place with 60 points. Harper Creek finished in fifth place (57 points), followed by Marshall (40), Northwest (18), and Pennfield (15).

The LMS Lady Cardinals were paced by three individual wins and two relay victories.

Taking individual gold for Coldwater was Ella Thompson who won the 70-meter dash in a time of 9.99 seconds to go along with a second place finish in the 100-meter dash in a time of 13.69 seconds.

Eighth grader Miyah Moore also brought home a victory, winning the 200-meter dash in a personal best time of 29.16 seconds while also bringing home the bronze medal in the 100-meter dash in a personal best time of 13.88 seconds.

The final individual gold medal came in the field events as eighth grader Ella Grabowski brought home the win in the long jump with a jump of 15 feet, 10 inches.

Bringing home relay wins for the LMS Cardinals was the 400-relay team of Ella Thompson, Ella Grabowski, Miyah Moore, and Harper Anglin who won in a time of 55.24 seconds while the 3200-relay team of Harper Anglin, Adriana Hernandez, Gwen Eby and Annika Johnson won in a time of 11 minutes, 29.53 seconds.

Rounding out the Coldwater effort with a top six finish in their respective individual event was Gwen Eby, fifth place in the 800 and fourth place in the 1600; Adriana Hernandez, sixth place in the 1600; Annika Johnson, fifth place in the 3200; Khloe Tawdell, fifth place in the 200 hurdles; Maria Powers, second place in the shot put; and Brooklyn Closson, fourth place in the shot put.

Rounding out the relay effort for the LMS Lady Cardinals was the 800-relay team of Camryn Cockrell, Paisley Harvey, Elizabeth Newberry, and Kesley Price, fifth place.

The Coldwater LMS Cardinals will see the track one more time in the 2023 season as they will head to Comstock on Monday for MHSAA (Michigan High School Athletic Association) Middle School Regional action.

This article originally appeared on Coldwater Daily Reporter: Coldwater LMS track competes at I-8 MS Conference Championship