Independence’s track team finally kicked off the 2018 season on Saturday with a strong performance at the Bill Dodd Invitational in Parma.
Junior Robert Artrip and freshman Makenna McGhee both earned top three finishes to pace the Blue Devils.
Artrip won the pole vault and finished 10th in the shot put and 13th in the discus.
“I’m not completely satisfied with my throws,” Artrip said. “While I didn’t do horrible in the discus, I would’ve liked to start the year off with a (personal record), and while shot put was a new personal best I’ve been throwing further in practice so I know I could have done better.”
Artrip cleared 12-feet, 3-inches in the pole vault. He threw the shot 40-feet, 3-inches and the discus 115-09.
“Starting off with a strong performance is very important to boost my confidence on my poles,” Artrip said. “I’ve had some trouble in practice but performing well and setting a personal record at the beginning of the season is going to keep me pushing for improvement in all of my events.”
McGhee finished third in the two-mile (13:05.25) and also helped the Blue Devils finish fourth in the 4×800-meter relay with a time of 11:14.18.
“Overall, I was satisfied considering it was my first high school two-mile race,” she said. “The wind definitely slowed the pace down but I learned a lot. Starting the season with a third place finish and a fourth place in the 4×800 gives me a lot of motivation for the season.”
Senior Christina Brunsman, sophomore Emily Skoczen and freshman Paige Westerburg also ran in the 4×800.
Brunsman, Skoczen, Westerburg and sophomore Josie Lee teamed up to finish fifth in the 4×400-meter relay with a time of 4:48.22 and senior Ryan Zygmunt, freshman P.J. Oschmann and senior Mason Crist also scored for the Blue Devils at the meet.
Zygmunt finished fifth in the 400-meter dash (56.03), Oschmann was fifth in the two-mile (11:23.65) and Crist was sixth in the 300-meter hurdles (44.49).
