SOV’s Lauren Taylor sets the pace
by Matt Rennels
mrennels@newsprogress.com
Sullivan-Okaw Valley’s Lauren Taylor has been aiming high this track season, and though she came close this week at Monticello, she still wants to reach her mark.
Taylor won the 400-meter dash at the April 30 22-team meet with a very impressive time of 1:02.6, and she also won it last year in 1:01.8, but she said at the start of the year that her goal was to set the school record, 1:01.6, which she tied at last year’s regionals.
”It was real windy,” she said about the meet. “But I won it last year, so it was pretty neat to win it again.”
Taylor is on a small, young team, and the Lady Redskins tallied only 15 points for 14th place, two points behind the Arthur-Lovington Lancers, who tied for 12th. The Lancers were absent several runners who are on Arthur’s senior trip.
Taylor said she is starting to warm up and is ready to take on this challenge.
“I’m always ready to break the record,” she said. “I’m pretty confident about sectionals. I think everything will fall into place.”
A-L’s Tiffany Beachy won the high jump (5-6), and she was a member of A-L’s 4x100 team that tied for third, only a tenth of a second behind first place Tolono Unity.
The S-OV boys’ and girls’ teams both had a tough day at home Monday at the Okaw Valley Conference Meet. The Redskins came in eighth in the Men’s meet with 15 points, compared to first place Monticello’s 142, and the girls’ team came in last in the 11-team meet with 16 points.
The Redskins’ highlight was the 3200 Meter Relay team of Alex Bone, Dalton Shasteen, Nate Harshman and Kyle Harvey, who ran their race in 8:26, second to Monticello’s 8:23. Kyle Harvey also came in fourth in the 1600 (4:44).
For the Lady Redskins, Taylor didn’t break the 400 record, as she ran it in 1:02.8, qualifying for fourth, but she set a school record in the long jump, reaching for 16 feet, eight inches, which qualified her for third at the meet.
She also placed third in the 200 Meter Dash (27.54).
At Arthur High School on Thursday, the Arthur-Lovington Lancers won a three-team meet at home Thursday with 54 points, and the Knights took second with 45.
For the girls,' Stacie McMillan won the 100 (13.40), Carson Day won the 1600 (6:00.16), Amanda Phelps took first in the 100 Meter hurdles (20.25) and 300 Meter Hurdles (54.28), and Arthur won the 4x100 (53.56).
In the field, Tiffany Beachy won the high jump (5-04), and Ruthie Wheelock was first in shot put (31-09).
For the boys,’ Jake Cohan won the 1600 (5:22), Paul Blackmore won the 100 Hurdles (21.1) and Arthur’s team won he 4x800 (9:57). Jesse Daily won the high jump (5-6) and the triple jump (36-2.5).
Tuscola took first in the men’s meet with 73 points.