The Manchester Enterprise
A Heritage Newspaper
Weekly Publication
Passing Marks
Girls team finishes fourth and boys take fifth at Stockbridge
By Ed Patino, Staff Writer
PUBLISHED: May 8, 2008
With the season reaching its halfway points and the conference and regional meets on the horizon, the Manchester varsity boys and girls track teams are looking to peak at the right time.
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Both squads made a jump in that direction May 2 in the Stockbridge Invitational, as the girls team placed fourth and the boys team earned a fifth place finish in the 15-team event.
State powerhouse Williamston took first overall in both the boys and girls competition, while Albion placed second in both. The meet also featured some teams familiar to Manchester, including Cascades Conference foe Addison and area rival Clinton.
"Myself and the kids thought this was the best competition we would see until regionals," Manchester coach John Bancroft said. "Williamston is a powerhouse and I think everyone was a bit in awe of them. But both of our teams did well against quality teams in a tough meet."
Senior Laura Coltre and sophomore Tracy Schaible each earned a second-place finish individually to lead the Manchester girls. Coltre was second in the long jump with a distance of 16-7, while Schaible ran a time of 27.9 seconds in the 200-meter dash. The two also teamed up with Brooke Fuller and Amanda Mutchler to give the Flying Dutch a fourth place finish in the 800-meter relay with a time of 1:50.4.
Schaible also helped Manchester score a third place finish in the 1,600-meter relay, teaming with Fuller, Mutchler and Taylor Heldt for a time of 4:22.4. She also participated in the long jump, finishing seventh at 14-11. Meanwhile, Coltre teamed with Heldt, Myra Sandford and Haley Cook to place seventh in the 400-meter relay.
"Schaible is a tiger who came in second in a tough competition against good talent, and Laura is a great long jumper," Bancroft said.
Coltre set the Manchester girls long jump record earlier this season with a jump of 16-9 1/2. She joins older brother Mike Coltre, who holds the school record in the boys long jump.
"The school records in the long jump are their family possession," Bancroft said.
Kyla Wilberding scored a pair of top-four finishes for the Dutch. The junior took third in the shot put with a throw of 32-4 and earned a fourth place finish in the discus at 93-10. Ginny Girbach also placed fourth in the high jump at 4-8.
"Kyla has been consistent in the shot and disc and is having a great season for us," Bancroft said. "Ginny, Taylor (Heldt) and Shelby Lalik get along well and give us a good group in the high jump. They've been trading off wins in that event."
Brooke Fuller gave Manchester a fourth place finish in the 400-meter dash (1:01.4) and Presly Hone was fifth in the pole vault with a height of 8-6. Liz Timosyzk took seventh in the 3,200-meter run for the Dutch with a time of 12:48.
"Presly's best jump last year was 8-6, and she's hit that four times already this season," Bancroft said.
Nick Ross had two of Manchester's three third place finishes to lead the boys team. He placed third in the shot put at 46-4 and was third in the discus with a throw of 132-7.
"Nick has been strong for us every week in the disc and shot," Bancroft said.
The Flying Dutchmen's other third place finish came from the 1,600-meter relay team of Brian Fargher, Carl Wharam, Corwin and Clayton Every, which finished in 3:35.4. Fargher also placed fourth in the 400-meter dash with a time of 52.4 seconds and teamed with the Every brothers and George Kelly to place fifth in the 800-meter relay at 1:36.5. The Everys and Kelly also teamed with Zach Margraves to place seventh in the 400-meter relay (46.9 seconds).
Kelly also ran the 200-meter dash in 24.2 seconds, giving Manchester a fifth place finish.
"Brian is steady in the quarter miles, and Corwin and Clayton give us a strong mile relay," Bancroft said. "George is having a great senior year and is getting better every week."
James Hughes and Carl Wharam led the way for the Dutchmen in the distance events. Hughes placed fourth in the 3,200-meter run with 9:48.9 and was fifth in the 1,600-meter run with a time of 4:30.8. Wharam placed seventh in the 800-meter run for Manchester with a time of 2:02.7.
"The boys are starting to feel like they're hitting their stride. The girls just keep coming and are getting better," Bancroft said.
Manchester hosted Napoleon for a Cascades Conference dual meet Tuesday after the newspaper's deadline. The teams return to action Saturday morning when they host the Manchester Metric Relays. The Division 3 regional meet takes place May 16-17 and the Cascades Conference meet is scheduled for May 20 at Grass Lake.
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