Oilers use triangular meet to post PRs across boys and girls lineups
East Alton-Wood River’s boys and girls teams competed Wednesday night in a triangular meet at CM that also included Columbia, but the Oilers left Bethalto with the kind of progress they wanted heading into Saturday’s invitational. Coaches used the meet to test athletes in different events, and the result was a long list of personal records, a pair of event wins in the jumps and steady scoring across the track and field lineup.
The top finishes on the boys side came in the horizontal jumps. Wyatt Schneider won the long jump, and Jasiah Brown took first in the triple jump. Brown also turned in one of the strongest sprint performances of the meet, winning the 200 meters in 24.0 seconds. Carson LeMond added a second-place finish in the 400 with a personal record, while Noah Willeford placed third in the 1,600 with a lifetime best. Taven Wardein also posted a lifetime best in the 800, and Carson added points in the high jump with a fourth-place finish.
The Oilers also made major gains in the relays. The boys recorded personal records in all four relay events, the 4x100, 4x200, 4x400 and 4x800, with Bennett McCormick, Schneider, Lucas Heaton, Brown, Wardein, Noah, Peyton Shaw and LeBron Reed contributing to those drops. On the girls side, the 4x100 relay ran a strong 54-second race. Gina Truax capped that effort on the anchor leg after also finishing second in both hurdle races, giving EAWR a dependable point producer in multiple events.
EAWR’s girls also saw several individual breakthroughs. Brooklyn Rexford finished second in the 100 and third in the 200, then added another strong mark in the field by taking second in the long jump with a personal-record 15 feet, 4 inches. Tara Jones also set a PR in the long jump at 11-8. Mackenzie Minner won the 800 comfortably, while Eleanor Brame placed fourth in the same race with a PR. Minner later added a fourth-place finish in the 200. Gabby Johnson and Dyari McGee both posted PR races in the 100 and 200 meters.
The field events produced more scoring chances for the Oilers. Blake Sorgea took third in the shot put with a personal record, Matthew Bush posted PRs in both the shot put and discus, and Averi Gilliam scored with a fourth-place finish in the shot. Deontre Breaziel earned his first varsity point by placing fourth in the 100 with a PR and also set a personal record in the 200. Isaiah Carmen added PRs in both the 100 and 200 as the Oilers continued to stack up improvements across the sprint group.
For EAWR, the final team placements mattered less than the momentum built throughout the night. With both squads finishing third, the meet served its purpose as a tuneup and evaluation opportunity before the weekend invitational. The Oilers got victories from Schneider, Brown and Minner, relay drops across the board on the boys side, and a steady stream of lifetime bests that gave the coaching staff plenty to build on before Saturday.
