Oilers post strong individual marks at Buzz Bradley Invitational
The East Alton-Wood River track and field teams turned Friday’s Buzz Bradley Invitational in Sparta into a productive night of points and progress, with the girls finishing second and the boys taking third while piling up winning performances and personal records across the meet.
The invitational served as a chance for the Oilers to manage a busy stretch of the schedule. With some athletes rested after heavy use over the previous two weeks, East Alton-Wood River used the meet to give others expanded opportunities, and several made the most of them. On the girls side, Brooklyn Rexford delivered one of the top all-around showings of the night. The freshman posted a personal record of 15 feet, 11 inches in the long jump, then added strong sprint times of 13.5 seconds in the 100 meters and 28.4 in the 200. Kylah Wreath also stood out with a victory in the shot put, again clearing 30 feet.
The Oilers also found depth in the throws. Emalyn Murphy recorded a personal record in the shot put, while Addison Roethe doubled up with PRs in both the shot put and discus. Avery Raymer matched that feat with personal bests in both throwing events as well. In the distance events, Eleanor Brame produced a major drop in the 1,600 meters, finishing in a personal-record 6:28. The girls also saw a wave of improvement in the 400, where Ami Parsons, Braelyn Hartkopf, Tara Jones and Gabby Johnson all turned in personal records.
The boys side produced two event wins. Jasiah Brown claimed first in the triple jump, and the 4x200 relay team of Brown, Tavis Brown, Lucas Heaton and Carson LeMond also finished first while setting a personal record. That relay result gave the Oilers one of their clearest highlights of the meet and underscored the group’s speed and balance.
There were more gains in the field and middle-distance events for the boys. Matthew Bush set a personal record in the discus, and Ryan Burney did the same in the shot put. LeBron Reed delivered one of the team’s best individual times of the night with a lifetime personal record of 2:06.5 in the 800 meters, another sign that East Alton-Wood River is still trending upward as the postseason portion of the schedule comes into view.
With clear skies and warm conditions in Sparta, the meet offered another encouraging checkpoint for the Oilers. East Alton-Wood River now turns its attention to the next major test, with the teams set to travel to Madison High School on Monday for the Madison County Championships.
