The Hays Striders Track Club were in action on June 1 at the AAU District Qualifying meet in El Dorado. The Striders sent 26 athletes to the competition and all 26 qualified for the next round. The Top 16 finishers at the El Dorado meet qualify for the Regional AAU National Qualifier in Tulsa, Okla., on June 27 to 30. If the Striders finish in the Top 6 at Tulsa, they qualify to compete in the AAU Junior Olympic Games the last week of July held in Greensboro, N.C.
Competing in developmental meets in April and May helped prepare the Striders for the summer AAU meets. The Striders season started very early this year, having their first meet after only one week of practice.
“That early start led to some of our athletes battling injuries throughout the season,” coach Dave Haberman said. “We’re not going to compete that early next year. We have six fantastic runners who are running injured, Lacy Droegemeier, Makayla Lewallen, Morgan Armbruster, Zoe Brown, Briley Haynes, and Jade Beckman. They are frustrated because their times aren’t where they want them to be. Even with the injuries, they still performed well. The rest of our team also did great! We are proud of all of them.”
Many Striders set personal records at the District meet June 1. The team had a hefty 37 medals awarded — eight gold medals, twelve silver medals, and seventeen bronze medal winners.
Strider boys results include:
Jacob Leiker (8) – 800 run, 1st, 3:00; 400 dash, 2nd, 1:18
Tayte Lewallen (8) – 800 run, 2nd, 3:17; 1500 run, 2nd, 6:54; 400, 6th, 1:24
Emery Zimmerman (8) – 1500, 1st, 6:33; 800, 3rd, 3:19; 400, 3rd, 1:22
Brogan Albers (11) – 80 hurdles, 2nd, 31.35; 100 dash, 8th, 15.17; 200 dash, 7th, 31.19
Caleb Englert (11) – Discus, 3rd, 58’; Turbo Javelin, 3rd, 68’8”; Shot Put, 4th, 22’9.50”
Logan Leiker (11) – 1500 run, 1st, 5:40; 800 run, 3rd, 2:55
Hunter Molthan (13) – 800, 1st, 2:35; 1500, 1st, 5:17; 3000, 2nd, 11:28
Mario Valencia (13) – 800, 3rd, 2:51; High Jump, 3rd, 4’6”
Jack Zeller (13) – Discus, 2nd, 81’2”; Shot Put, 3rd, 31’5”
AJ Brown (14) – 200 hurdles, 2nd, 31.35; 100 hurdles, 3rd, 18.04; 400 dash, 9th, 1:04
Strider girls results are:
Paityn Armbruster (8) – Long Jump, 7th, 7’5.75; 400, 16th, 1:38; 200, 12th, 43.58
Sydney Lewallen (9) – 400, 1st, 1:16; 200, 4th, 35.54; Long Jump, 3rd, 10’5”
Grace Molthan (9) – 1500, 2nd, 7:23; 800, 5th, 3:47; 400, 10th, 1:36
Makayla Lewallen (10) – 1500, 2nd, 5:57; Long Jump, 3rd, 11’5.50”; 800, 7th, 3:05
Lyndi Zimmerman (10) – 400, 3rd, 1:16; 800, 5th, 3:04; 1500, 4th, 6:23
Morgan Armbruster (11) – Turbo Javelin, 3rd, 59’; 800, 3rd, 2:53; 400, 9th, 1:15
Kaliyah Bannister (11) – Long Jump, 2nd, 13’4”; 100, 10th, 15.26; 200, 10th, 32.01
Jade Beckman (11) – 100, 4th, 14.42; Long Jump, 4th, 13’00”
Brenna Fletcher (11) – High Jump, 4th, 3’4”; Long Jump, 13th, 10’9”
Lillian McGaughey (11) – Turbo Javelin, 1st, 68’7; Discus, 1st, 50’; High Jump, 3rd, 3’10
Jaylee Summers (11) – Long Jump, 8th, 11’4”; 400, 10th, 1:16; 100, 17th, 15.97
Zoe Brown (12) – 800, 3rd, 2:50; 1500, 5th, 5:57; Long Jump, 9th, 12’5.25”
Briley Haynes (12) – 400, 2nd, 1:08; 200, 8th, 30.26; 100, 9th, 14.71
Madison Morgan (12) – 100, 5th, 14.11; 200, 6th, 28.72
Lacy Droegemeier (14) – 200 Hurdles, 2nd, 34.02; 100 Hurdles, 3rd, 17.88; Long Jump, 6th, 13’00.25”; 100, 14th, 15.27
Brooklyn Lewallen (15-16) – 400 Hurdles, 3rd, 1:21; 100 Hurdles, 5th, 17.40
The Striders are coached by Dave and Elaine Haberman, Dustin and Wendy Armbruster, Darris and Meredith Lewallen, Tim McElroy, Maddux Winter, Anthony “Ace” Ventura, Rusty Klitzke, Rose McFarland, and Bob Threlkel.
— Submitted