May 09, 2018

The Doniphan West Junior High School Track Team competed at the Oregon Trail League Track Meet on Thursday, May 3rd at Seneca.    Athletes from the nine member OTL middle/junior high schools competed in the following four divisions: 8th Grade Girls, 8th Grade Boys, 7th Grade Girls, and 7th Grade Boys.

The Mustangs captured the 7th Grade Girls Championship by outscoring host Nemaha Central by 4 points. Seventh grader sprinter Avery Weathersbee and distance runner Chloe Clevenger each won OTL titles in two events while sixth graders Malaina Whetstine and Taygen Reno were also crowned OTL champions.

Weathersbee led the Mustangs with 34 points by winning both the 200 and 400 meter dash, placing second in the 100 meter dash, and by finishing third in the long jump. Clevenger took first place in both the 800 and 1600 meter runs.  Whetstine dominated the shot put field while Reno outran the field in the 100 meter hurdles. 

In the 8th Grade Boys Division, D-West finished in second place. Trent Spiker captured three OTL titles as he won the 100 meter, 200 meter, and 400 meter dashes along with a second place finish in the long jump.  Riley Schuneman finished with a second place finish in the discus along with a third place finish in the shot put. 

 In the 8th Grade Girls Division, D-West finished in 4th place.  Elle Williams outran the field by over one minute in the 3200 meter run to become the OTL Champion.  Sydney Smith finished third in the discus and fifth in the shot put.  Jaiden Taylor placed third in the long jump while Summer Smith finished in sixth place in the hurdles. 

In the 7th Grade Boys Division, D-West finished in 9th place.  Sixth grader Blake Robinson placed fourth in the 100m hurdles.

D-West head coach Craig Smith on the Mustangs 7th Grade Girls OTL Championship, “I am so happy for our kids.  They have worked hard and competed hard this spring.  That hard work paid off today with a team championship. We thought we had a chance to win in this division.  I am extremely proud of their efforts today.  This was truly a team win. In addition to Avery and Chloe having championship performances, Ali Foster and Lena Leatherman sacrificed competing in their regular individual events to help improve our relay teams. Sixth graders Taygen Reno and Malaina Whetstine dominated their competition in the hurdles and shot put.  Alyssa Amos, has placed in the top three in discus.  I am ecstatic for them their performances.” 

In addition to the 7th grade girls win, Coach Smith was excited for the 8th grade teams.  “We also had a very good day from our 8th graders.  The eight member boys team and six member girls team were very happy with how they finished.  We may not have the numbers that the other schools have in those divisions, but no one competes harder than our kids.  They go all out every time they compete. I am extremely proud of their efforts.”

This meet completes the season for the DWJHS track teams.  For the season, the seventh grade girls finished with four first place finishes in their seven meets.  The eighth grade boys finished with two first