Oilers boys and girls run well at Madison County Meet

East Alton-Wood River turned in a balanced day Friday at the Madison County Meet at Madison High School with both the boys and girls teams finishing seventh in the final standings and several Oilers athletes delivering medal-winning efforts, point-scoring relay races and personal records.

The top finish on the boys side came from Jasiah Brown, who claimed a Madison County championship in the triple jump with a winning mark of 42 feet, 0 inches. Brown also helped the Oilers score in the 4x200-meter relay, where Bennett McCormick, Brown, Lucas Heaton and Carson LeMond placed fourth. The boys added more team points in the 4x400 relay behind McCormick, LeMond, Taven Wardein and Deontre Breaziel.

The girls collected three medals during the meet. Brooklyn Rexford led that group by placing second in the long jump, while Kylah Wreath finished third in the shot put. Eleanor Brame also earned a third-place finish in a strong 800-meter race, then returned to run on the Oilers' 4x400 relay team with Ami Parsons, Tara Jones and Braelyn Hartkopf. Emalyn Murphy narrowly missed the podium in the shot put, taking sixth, one place out of the medals.

East Alton-Wood River also saw a number of personal-best performances across the meet. Blake Sorgea recorded his first 40-foot throw in the shot put and also posted a personal record in the discus. Matthew Bush added a PR in the discus, while Heaton set a personal best in the 200 meters. Breaziel ran a PR in the 400, and Gabby Johnson turned in personal records in both the 100 and 200.

Those results gave the Oilers production in the field events, middle distance races, sprints and relays, a sign of growing depth as the outdoor season continues. With Brown's event title, three girls medalists and a long list of personal records, East Alton-Wood River left Madison with several strong performances to build on in the weeks ahead.