CUMBERLAND – The Freeport girls placed third with 58 points, just behind Lake Region, Friday afternoon, while the boys took second with 104 points, squarely in front of the Lakers. Kelsey Grant’s victory in the 100m and Harry Stivers’ in the 400m helped secure the standings.

“It’s going well; a lot of kids are trying to qualify to get into states,” Freeport head coach Brian Berkemeyer said during the meet. “Kids [are] coming and going, doing a lot of different events, too. Some kids have already qualified, so you’re going to do some speed work, and a lot of other kids are doing some distance work.

“Like Harry Stivers – he just ran the 400 today, because he wanted to get some competition, but he sort of walked away with that too. Same thing with Lexi Dietrich…in the 200. Those two, I think they’re both ranked no. 1 in Class C.”

“We’re having a good meet, for the most part,” Berkemeyer said. He briefly explained one complication for Freeport of fielding relatively small team: while individuals can perform very well, team standings don’t always reflect that. “We don’t have a big team, so we don’t score too high.”

In the girls’ running events, Falcon Kelsey Grant won the 100m dash in 13.64, ahead of Greely’s Sarah Ingraham (13.98). Grant also took second (18:44) in the 100m hurdles. Dietrich one the 200m dash in 27.54, beating Lake Region’s Zsofi Kaiser by nearly two seconds. Hayley Steckler (1:07.93) and Maddie Squibb (1:10.00) took second and third respectively in the 400m dash, while Chloe Hight (2:35.52) placed second in the 800m. Sydney Ambrose (5:52.76) and Ciera Wentworth (5:53.28) finished second and third in the 1600m. The Falcons took top honors in both the 4x100m and the 4x400m relay races, Dietrich and Hight both participating on both teams. Lucy Zachau finished third in the 1600m race walk (9:41.47).

“Ciera Wentworth,” Berkemeyer said, “she’s qualified for a lot of things already, so she’s just working on the last half of her races today – how to catch people.”

On the boys’ side of the running, Eric Wentworth finished third in the 100m, with a time of 12.34. Stivers took first in the 400m (52.06) and teammate Chandler Vincent took third (56.78). Similarly, Falcons Zach Merrill and James Saucier finished first (2:09.44) and third (2:17.56) respectively in the 800m. Mark Donahue took second in the 3200m, in 10:49.24. In the 300m hurdles, Braden Marstaller came in second, in a time of 51.32. The boys took second in both the 4×100 (50.14) and 4×400 (4:07.01) relays. Luke Spaulding took second in the 1600m race walk (9:37.40).

“My relay teams have been really good – the 4×100 teams have both been surprisingly good,” Berkemeyer said. “The girls keep getting better. I think both the boys and girls are fourth or fifth in Class C, and I think the girls may have moved up today.”

In the throwing, Darnel Strother and Ben MacMillan finished second and third in the shot put, while Macmillan, Austin Williams, and Strother went 1-2-3 in the discus.

Freeport Falcon Harry Stivers launches into a sprint Friday afternoon at Greely.
Freeport’s Chandler Vincent, right, readies himself to race.
Freeport’s Mark Donahue surges towards the finish line in a race Friday afternoon at Greely.