BURLINGTON — Iola High’s Fillies had more than their opponents to contend with Tuesday afternoon.
With a strong south breeze, runners in practically every event were negatively affected, Iola coach Marvin Smith said.
“With a fully automatic timing system, you can’t move things around,” he said. “The sprinters and hurdlers ran directly into the wind.”
Even with the gusts, Iola still was able to pull in several top finishes.
Breanna Stout took home gold in the pole vault, clearing 8 feet, 7 inches, a bronze in the javelin, throwing 101’1” and bronze as a member of the 4×100-meter relay team, along with Emery Driskel, Cassie Delich and Ashley Campbell. Campbell, meanwhile, was edged out by Anderson County’s Alexandra Garbarino in the 200-meter dash, losing by less than a tenth of a second. Abigail Taylor also earned a bronze in the 3200-meter run, with a personal-best time of 12 minutes, 30.6 seconds.
“Even with the wind,” Smith noted.
The Fillies had several other performances of note.
Freshman Olivia Bannister set a personal-best mark of 14’6” in the long jump, even though “I do not remember the last time we got to practice that event,” Smith said.
Valaree Burtnett also took ninth in the pole vault at 6’7”, not a personal best, “but good for how little we have practiced.”
Smith also praised Taylor, who gave up a certain medal in the 1600-meter run in order to help with the 4×800-meter relay. She ran with three “rookies” — Olivia and Trilby Bannister and Shannon Vogel. The squad finished ninth.
“We could have dropped the relay, but we subbed Taylor so the others could run,” Smith said.
Sophomore Emery Driskel, coming back from injury, took fifth in the 100-meter hurdles but did not race in the 300-meter hurdles or the 4×400-meter relay.
200-meter dash
2. Ashley Campbell, 27.76
400-meter dash
5. Ashley Campbell, 1:04.20
800-meter run
4. Abigail Taylor, 2:33.74
21. Shannon Vogel, 3:06.51
3200-meter run
3. Taylor, 12:30.60
100-meter hurdles
5. Emery Driskel, 18.14
Cassie Delich, 19.76 (DNQ)
300-meter hurdles
17. Cassie Delich, 58.12
4×100-meter relay
3. Iola (Driskel, Breanna Stout, Delich, Campbell), 54.46
4×400-meter relay
6. Iola (Taylor, Campbell, Delich, Olivia Bannister), 4:33.94
4×800-meter relay
9. Iola (Abigail Taylor, Olivia Bannister, Shannon Vogel, Trilby Bannister), 11:55.10
Pole Vault
1. Stout, 8’7”
9. Valaree Burtnett, 6’7”
Long jump
14. Olivia Bannister, 14’6”
Shot put
6. Darci Collins, 34’2”
Discus
11. Collins, 85’10 1/2”
20. Jessica Oakley, 61’7 1/2”
Javelin
3. Stout, 101’1”
Fillies show mettle
