How Saugatuck girls track surged to regain SAC conference title
GOBLES - The Saugatuck girls track and field team claimed the Southwestern Athletic Conference championship on Tuesday.
The Trailblazers scored 96 points to push past Gobles (77) and the other teams in the 17-team field.
Saugatuck's Brook Simpson won the 100 meters in 12.88, while teammate Novella DeGraaf was third (13.05). Simpson also won the 400 (59.24) and was third in the 200 (26.23). DeGraaf won the pole vault (10-0) and was second in the long jump (16-0 1/4).
Mazie Robison won the 100-meter hurdles (15.68).
More: Saugatuck girls race to regional title with legion of state qualifiers
Kamryn Sixberry took fourth in the 1,600 (5:42.71). Niki McNeil took third in the discus (102-7).
DeGraaf, Vivian Vallarsa, Robison and Simpson won the 4x100 (50.37).
Saugatuck had won seven SAC titles in a row but missed out the past two seasons in a rebuild.
"It is a big deal beacuse the girls wanted to get it back. So that was pretty significant for them," Saugatuck coach Angelina Bauer said. "We had this huge wave at regionals and we kind of came out flat to start the meet and we had to light a fire, but everything came together and we did what we needed to do."
The Fennville girls finished 13th with 23. Isabelle Sliter took second in the 1,600 (5:36.13) and third in the 800 (2:28.72). Elia Ruiz-Izquierdo took fourth in the long jump (15-0).
The Saugatuck boys finished tied for 10th with Fennville (21). Black River was 14th with 16. Kalamazoo Hackett won the boys title with 118.
Saugatuck's Will Doucette was fourth in the 100 meters (51.89).
Fennville's Quinn Rosema won the long jump (20-2 1/4) and took fourth in the 100 meters (11.54).
Black River's Jonas Ballard was second in the 3,200 (10:28.54). Charlie Reither was third in the high jump (6-0).
Contact sports editor Dan D’Addona at Dan.D’Addona@hollandsentinel.com. Follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter @DanDAddona or Facebook @HollandSentinelSports.
This article originally appeared on The Holland Sentinel: Saugatuck girls track and field surged to regain SAC conference title
