As April drew to a close, the Central Heights track and field teams faced a grueling schedule. Between school ending for seniors and competing in five meets over just eight days, the Vikings had every reason to be tired. Instead, they dug deep, bringing home a haul of medals from Osage City and Prairie View.
With the Three Rivers League championships on the horizon, the Vikings are finding their stride at just the right time.
Osage City: JV Success
The week kicked off with a trip to Osage City for a JV invitational where the younger Vikings feasted on the competition.
Sawyer Thackeray was the definition of a “utility player,” medaling in four different events: the 100m dash, shot put, discus, and javelin. Meanwhile, Hayden Beets secured a silver medal in the high jump, clearing a personal record (PR) of 5-2.
On the girls’ side, Addison Lowderman had a standout day. She proved to be one of the fastest on the track, taking 3rd place in both the 100m and 200m dashes.
Prairie View: Weathering the Storm
The Varsity squad headed to La Cygne for the Prairie View Invitational. Despite a thunderstorm cutting the meet short and some heavy legs from a busy week, the Vikings still produced “gold medal” results.
Distance Dominance
The boys’ distance crew stole the show. Ben Wuertz had a career-best performance in the 1600m, smashing through the 5-minute barrier with a time of 4:55.51 to take bronze. The 4×800 relay team (Howland, Meyer, Wuertz, Johnson) also clocked a season-best time to earn silver.
The girls were even more dominant in the distance events. The 4×800 relay team and Lily Burkdoll (800m) both captured gold medals, while Makenzie Moon followed right behind Lily for a 1-2 Viking finish in the 800m.
Field & Sprints
- Max Chrisjohn threw his way to a silver medal in the Discus with a toss of 116-4.
- Ebony Hughes grabbed silver in the 400m dash, showing great speed in the one-lap sprint.
- Brynleigh Morrow continued her consistent season in the high jump, clearing 4-8 for a silver medal.
- Arabella Dunbar fought through the hurdles to snag a bronze in the 300m Hurdles with a season-best time.
Viking Performance Table: Top 3 Finishers
| Athlete | Event | Place | Mark/Time |
| Lily Burkdoll | Girls 800m | 1st | 2:40.37 |
| Girls 4×800 | Relay | 1st | 10:51.44 |
| Max Chrisjohn | Boys Discus | 2nd | 116-4 |
| Brynleigh Morrow | Girls High Jump | 2nd | 4-8 |
| Hunter Johnson | Boys 800m | 2nd | 2:12.99 |
| Ebony Hughes | Girls 400m | 2nd | 1:05.30 |
| Ben Wuertz | Boys 1600m | 3rd | 4:55.51 (PR) |
| Arabella Dunbar | Girls 300mH | 3rd | 55.01 (SB) |
Looking Ahead
The Vikings aren’t slowing down. Next week, the team travels to Northeast-Arma before heading to Oswego for the big Three Rivers League meet.
With only one week of school left, the team is looking forward to getting back into a steady practice routine to sharpen their fundamentals. If this week was any indication, Central Heights is going to be a problem for the rest of the league come championship time!
