Whitehall’s boys track team sent an early message that it intends to once again be among the top groups in the state Friday with an impressive win in the Newaygo Invitational.
The Viking boys scored 165 points, eking out a 3-point win over Reed City among 10 scoring teams. The Whitehall girls finished fifth.
Several event wins propelled Whitehall to the top of the podium, including three individual running victories. Returning 400-meter state champion Trannon Aylor unsurprisingly dusted the field in that event, winning by over three seconds over the nearest competitor with a time of 53.35 seconds. Malcolm Earvin picked up a win in the 100 meters, finishing in a time of 11.01 seconds, and Stewart Waters overwhelmed the competition in the 3,200 meters, coming across in 10:15.99, 36 seconds ahead of anyone else in the field.
Kal Koehler picked up the team’s fourth individual win by topping the field in long jump with a leap of 19-7.5. The Vikings also earned a pair of sprint relay wins; Kyler Frees, Logan Sines, Ca’Mar Ready and Malcolm Earvin won the 400 relay (45.29), and Frees, Ready, Koehler and Aylor won the 800 relay (1:35.8).
Also for Whitehall, sophomore Caden Bowyer made his varsity debut with a second-place finish in discus (139-10), and Jason Smith was second in shot put, setting a new personal best (44-10). Ayden Mendoza took second in high jump (6-0). Sines was second in the 110 hurdles (16.84).
Returning high jump state finalist Arianna Black highlighted the Whitehall girls’ day, taking second in that event (4-10).
