Submitted by PLT Coach Karen Miles
The PLT sixth graders shined at the eight team Middle School Track and Field Sectional Meet that was held on Saturday in Erie on a gorgeous day.
6th grader Sarah Link won the 1600/Mile with a time of 6:23 for the 7th grade team. She broke the school record earlier this season with a time of 6:11.13; plus she was the Conference Champ earlier in the week. She repeated getting first place in the 800 with a time of 2:57; also breaking the school record this season with a time of 2:45.87. Brooke Lalley owned both of those records before Sarah broke them.
Sixth grader Tristin Hovey ran the 1600/Mile to bring home first place with a time of 5:52.75; he lead most of the race until the last ¾ lap where he was passed, but with 100 meters left he sprinted to the finish line to capture the sectional title. He was also the first male middle school pole vaulter for the PLT program and placed second.
Also pole vaulting for PLT was 8th grader Gracelynn Abell and she tied for first place with a vault of 6’3”. Thanks to Coach Tom Unruh for helping these pole vaulting athletes prepare for this event.
Maddi Porter, another 6th grader, finished first in the shot put with a toss of 22’ 6 ½”.
Finally, Wyatt Goossens ran the 800 with a time of 2:41 to earn a blue ribbon for first place.
In a normal season these athletes would have earned a place in the State Meet in East Peoria, but due to Covid the state meet is not taking place.
We are so proud of the entire team at Sectionals and doing so great all season; especially when they only had four weeks to train, learn, and compete in this abbreviated track season.
The team has their final meet in Morrison on Tuesday at 4:00 pm.
