Peterson, Parman lead squads to strong finishes

BAXTER — Collins-Maxwell-Baxter junior Zeah Peterson owned the field events, while Colfax-Mingo senior Allyson Parman dominated on the track Monday during the Raider Invitational in Baxter.

Peterson claimed wins in the shot put and discus as the Raiders claimed third place overall. Parman was just as good on the track, claiming a win in the 100-meter dash and anchoring the Tigerhawks to victory in the 400-meter relay.

“We expected a top-three finish,” CMB coach Jerry Meinerts said. “We knew Gilbert was good, but it was good to see our kids score 100 points tonight.”

Gilbert won the meet with ease, finishing with 180 points. West Marshall was second with 117.5, while CMB claimed third with 100. Colfax-Mingo did come in fourth behind two more second-place finishes from Parman.

“She’ll run anything you put her in,” Colfax-Mingo coach Zach Tomas said of Parman. “Just missing out on state the last two years is driving her this year.”

The Raiders’ third-place team finish was led by Peterson’s big night, but it also featured a career-best and second-place shot put toss from senior Ashley Fricke, three second-place finishes by freshman Alex Broderick, a silver medal in the distance medley and two individual bronze medals from sophomore Sarah Galbraith.

Peterson and Fricke both threw for career-bests tosses in the shot put with Peterson winning with a throw of 37 feet, 9.25 inches and Fricke taking second with a toss of 35-11. Peterson also won the discus with a 108-2 into a pretty stiff wind.

“It was good to see them both throw well tonight because neither one of them threw as well as they wanted to on Friday,” Meinerts said. “They both had career-bests in the shot put. They had good nights.”

Broderick’s first silver medal came in the high jump where she hit 4-10. She then turned in a personal-best time in the 100-meter hurdles (17.02) and then captured second in the 400 hurdles.

“The thing that stands out the most tonight was her 100 hurdles time,” Meinerts said. “That is an awfully good time for a freshman. She keeps getting better and better, and she is on the verge of three-stepping the hurdles.”

The other second place finish came in the distance medley relay where Leeanna Smith, Hayley Leonard, Ashley Girard and Emmeline Huffaker crossed in 4:53.96.

Galbraith’s third-place tallies came in the 400-meter dash and long jump. Also finishing in third was the shuttle hurdle relay team of Brittany Peterson, Jenna Ziesman, Leonard and Broderick, the 1,600-meter relay team of Anne Deutsch, Girard, Huffaker and Galbraith and the 3,200-meter relay foursome of Deutsch, Smith, Kayla Hennick and Huffaker.

“The team is continuing to improve, and that is all you can ask for at this point in the season,” Meinerts said.

Parman highlighted the Tigerhawks’ night, but three other runners made up the 400-meter relay team. That foursome included Danielle Beals, Breanna Trainor, Meghan Parman and Allyson Parman, and they won the race with a time of 53.37.

“We are real close to the Drake Relays qualifying time,” said Tomas, who was really excited after the victory. “We spent about an hour and a half on Sunday working on nothing but handoffs.”

Parman’s win in the 100-meter dash was clocked at 13.08. She was just 0.16 seconds from winning the 200-meter as she crossed in 26.98, which would have been a new record had she won the race. She also was second in the 400-meter dash as she crossed in 1:05.40.

Megan Russell claimed third in the 400 hurdles as she crossed in 1:12.98, which easily bested her previous personal best.

The girls portion of the Raider Invitational featured nine teams. Ballard and Madrid tied for fifth with 35 points, South Hardin was seventh, Colo-Nesco finished eighth and Saydel scored just eight points in ninth place.