The Sun and Raiders Shine at Portland Track Invitational

The Portland Spring Carnival will be the only home Track Meet this season for the Raiders, so they decided to make it count in front of their home crowd.   The weather started out nice and hot and so did the Raiders.   All in all, Portland collected 35 medals on the day, by 20 different boys, and 14 different personal bests, spread out in the 15 of the 16 events Portland competed in.   That is some of the best diversity our Track program has seen in a while.    

The 4x100 of Baron Seal, Ethan Patrick, Reiss Phillips, and Andrew Maynard took 1st, Ethan grabbed a 2nd in the 100m, wtih Seal 3rd in the 100m.   The 4x200 of Dustin Wolf, Michael Almy, Phillips, and Maynard also grabbed a 1st with a time of 1:38.57. Maynard and Brett Beard took 1st and 3rd in the open 200m with two personal bests.   The 4x400 of Caiden Pelc, Ben Wassmus, Dylan and Dustin Wolf collected Portland’s 3rd Relay 1st, while Pelc, Wassmuss, and Dylan Wolf finished 2nd, 3rd, and 4th in the open 400m.   A freshman/sophomore 4x800 Relay of Boden Nye, Jacob Rensberry, Nate Pianosi, and Jake Olsen took home a 3rd Place medal, while Olsen scored in the open 800m.   Zach Underwood finished up Portland's running medals in both the 110 & 300 Hurdles.  

Evan Bower had a day taking 1st in both Shot and Discus, while Noah Simpson grabbed second in the Discus. Braiden Kehr and Jordan Klein took two more medals in the Shot Put.   Jacob Vroman tied with but had an extra miss, so ended in 2nd Place in the Pole Vault. Brett Beard hopped to 3rd Place in the High Jump, while Maynard, Patrick, and Beard Long Jumped to 2nd, 4th, and 5th Place and finished up the Field Events medals.   

At the end of the meet, all the coaches met to select the Top Athlete of the day and that honor went to Portland’s Andrew Maynard with three 1st Place medals and one 2nd Place finish for the junior.   Many different athletes spread the point out across the board for their schools, but when all the points were tallied, then tallied again with different results, then a third and fourth time to be sure, Portland celebrated, taking home the Runner-up Trophy.   With the depth and youth in the program, this shouldn’t be their last piece of hardware.

Great Weather makes for a great Track Meet in Eaton Rapids   

Mandatory Covid testing has turned up very few positives this spring, but “contact quarantines” have shaken numbers a bit.   That was the case for the Portland boys Track Team this week, however the attitude is “LET’S COMPETE”!   The young Raider did just that.   Depth affects Relays as well as 2nd and 3rd place points, so the Raiders knew they had to count on “individual firsts” if they wanted to take a shot at the Greyhounds this week.   

Raider Sprinters started out well, with Andrew Maynard and Ethan Patrick grabbing 1st and 2nd in the 100m and 200m, and Brett Beard, Baron Seal, and Michael Almy finished things racing to 3rd, 4th, and 5th in the 200m.   Ben Wassmus and Seal shedded seconds off their season bests times in the 400m, running a 53.8 and 54.5, but getting nudged and finishing 2nd and 3rd.   

Caiden Pelc posted 2:16, but got nipped by a great Greyhound finish in the 800m.   Jake Olsen got passed on the last lap in the 1600, but turned in his 2nd best tme of the year.   Boden Nye dropped another 10 seconds off his 3200m and just got nudged in the final 50m in another great race.   The Portland 4x100 Relay of Drew Miller, Noah Simpson, Reiss Phillips, and Andrew Maynard took care of business out running the Greyhounds and posting the 2nd best time of the year with a 48.3.   While Portland’s 4x200 Relay of Maynard, Patrick, Phillips, and Almy ran a 1:39.5 time, dropping 2 seconds of a season best and another 1st place finish.   

In Throwing Events, Evan Bower grabbed 1st in the Shot and 2nd in the Discus, with Noah Simpson taking 3rd in the Discus.   Brett Beard had a new personal record (PR) and 2nd place at 5’6” in the High Jump, with Jacob Vroman leaping to 3rd place.   Collin Calley and Cooper Hoskins both PR’d finishing 2nd and 3rd in the Pole Vault, while the Portland Long Jumpers Maynard, Patrick, Seal, and Almy took 1st thru 4th place, with Conner Kazamare, Dustin Wolf, and Issac Dakin each having season records in the Long Jump as well.  

The meet wasn’t decided until the final two races and although Portland’s 4x400 Relay of Dustin Wolf, Dylan Wolf, Caiden Pelc, and Jacob Rensberry dropped 3 seconds off the season best, it was not enough for a Raider win.   BUT, it was a great night filled with exciting finishes and athletes improving everywhere.   The Raiders hope that is the case in front of their home crowd at the Portland Track Invitational on Saturday May 1st.