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KMS girls track team brings home the gold

By Sandy Ketterer

On a recent Saturday at Hamilton High School, the Kyrene Middle School track team capped an unexpectedly brilliant season, with the girls winning first place at the state meet. The boys won third, despite absences by several top runners.

Prior to this, for the first time in school history, both the boys and girls won the District Track Championship which had been held at Mountain Pointe.

Before the first practice the coaches did not expect such outstanding team results, although they did anticipate some top individual performances.
What happened in the meantime? Hard work, good sportsmanship, team effort and kids just having a good time.

Of course, a motivating, dedicated coaching staff consisting of Mike McDonald, Colleen Cozzetto, Juvenal Lopez, Steve Stoltenberg, Coach Drown, Coach Drew and Pam Morrison played a huge role.
In the girls' high hurdles, eighth grader Erin Malone was first at district and second at state.

Fellow eighth grader Katie Cartwright was second at district and third at state. A strong showing at district was made by sixth grader Stephanie Phillips, who finished sixth.
Rounding out a great season, Katie Cartwright also had first place finishes in the 100-, 200- and 400-meter runs at district.

In the 400 she sprinted to a district record of 61 seconds. At state she finished second in the 400.

Another up-and-coming sixth grader to watch is Alexis Burkhart, who finished second in the 1,600 meter at district and earned first at state. She also scored a second-place finish in the 800 at the district meet.

Erin Malone rounded out her district meet with a third place finish in the 100 meter, and a fourth in the 200.

A newcomer to the team this year, eighth grader Briana Ketterer, jumped to a second place finish at the district meet.

Also new to track this year fellow was eighth grader Meg Anderson, who soared tosixth place in the high jump at the district meet.

The 4X100 relay team comprised of Paris Booker, Stephanie Schobert, Paige Bau and Erin Malone finished second at district and 6th at state. The 4X400 relay team of Stephanie Phillips, Ashley Perez, Ashley Baggett, and Paige Bau were 3rd at districts.

Paige Bau also had a 3rd place finish in the 800 at districts.

Not to be outdone by the girls, we had many top performances by the boys this year. Eighth grader Keegan Thompson sprinted to a district record with his first place finish in the 100 (11.44 sec).He also finished first in the 200, and 2nd in the long jump at districts. He capped a great season with a 2nd place finish at states in the 100 and a 3rd in the 200.

In the district meet eighth grader Derek Lafferty placed 3rd in the hurdles and fellow eighth grader Matt Ortiz was 5th.

In the 400 Matt placed third, with eighth grader Patrick Brice placing 4th. Matt went on the place 4th in the 400 meters at states.
Eighth grader Justin Christjaener scored 3rd in both the 100 and the long jump at districts.

Shot putter Robert Holbrook, an eighth grader, surpassed the field finishing 1st at both the district and state meets. In the discus he threw to a 2nd place finish again at both the district and state meets.

The undefeated eighth grade 4X400 relay team of Derek Lafferty, Justin Christjaener, Matt Ortiz and Luis Flores dominated with a district record of 3:58.6.
The 4X100 relay also won 1st place at districts. Runners on that relay team were Patrick Brice, Justin Christjaener, Blake Farris, and Kiegan Thompson.

These great individual performances however were surpassed by the superior Team Spirit displayed by this unique group of student athletes. Many of these students will represent our various high schools next year. It is their gain and a great loss for KMS.We hope the legacy they leave behind will inspire next year's team to continue in the pattern they set.

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