BERRIEN SPRINGS – (Editor’s Note: Due to technical difficulties the write up for Coldwater’s efforts at the Berrien Springs Track Invitational last Friday was lost and never printed. We sincerely apologize for missing this tremendous effort by the Cardinals. Here is the write up regarding Coldwater’s efforts at the Shamrock Invitational)
The Coldwater track and field program traveled to Slyvester Stadium at the Muhamed Ali Complex in Berrien Springs on Friday for action in the Shamrock Track and Field Invitational.
The Coldwater girls won five of the 17 events to bring home the top spot, winning the championship with a score of 136.33 points. The host team from Berrien Springs took second with 126 points followed by Kalamazoo Hackett and Harper Creek in a tie for third with 73 points.
Top Performances
Elli Foley, Sr. – Foley appears to be hitting her peak form at just the right time, dominating down in the throwing pits on Friday. Foley won the shot put with a throw of 38 feet, 9 inches while taking second place in the discus with a throw of 117 feet, 1 inch.
Ella Grabowski, Soph. – Grabowski is a points machine and continues to help the Cardinals do big things in 2025. Grabowski garnered one win on Friday night, winning the long jump with a personal best jump of 17 feet, 8.5 inches. Grabowski also took fourth place in the 400-meter dash in a personal best time of 1 minute, 1.90 seconds.
Grace Huff, Sr. – Huff continues to show why she is considered one of the best half mile runners in the state, winning the 800-meter run in a tough field, winning with a time of 2 minutes, 26.08 seconds.
Three of Four Relay teams medal – Three of Coldwater’s relay teams picked up key points for the Cardinals, with two wins and one runner-up finish. Coldwater kicked off the invitational with a win in the 3,200-meter relay as the team of Huff, Harper Anglin, Morgan Baker, and Gwen Eby won in a time of 10 minutes, 13.98 seconds. Capping off the tournament victory was the 1,600-relay team as the team of Ella Thompson, Eby, Grabowski, and Huff won in a time of 4 minutes, 11.36 seconds. Rounding out the relay effort was the 800-relay team of Thompson, Grabowski, Huff and Miyah Moore with a second-place finish in 1 minute, 46.48 seconds.
The tournament medaled to eighth place in each event, meaning a number of Cardinals brought home some hardware from the long trip. Bringing home a medal from the Shamrock Invitational was Miyah Moore, sixth place in the 100 and fourth place in the 200; Harper Anglin, sixth place in the 400; Gwen Eby, third place in the 800 and third place in the 1,600; Isabella Angevine, eighth place in the 3,200; Madilynn Persails, sixth place in the 100 hurdles; Elizabeth Torres-Ojeda, fourth place in the 300 hurdles; Morgan Baker, sixth place in the 300 hurdles; Marie Powers, second place in the shot put and sixth place in the discus; Danika Cox, fifth place in the shot put; Elli Anderson, sixth place in the high jump; Ava Longstreet, second place in the pole vault; Abigail Robison, sixth place in the pole vault; and Aubrey Gebbink, seventh place in the long jump.
Coldwater boys finish fourth at Shamrock Invite
The Coldwater boys finished in fourth place at Friday’s Shamrock Invite, scoring 75 points. Harper Creek brought home the championship with 144 points, followed by Berrien Springs with 126.5 points and Mishawaka with 88 points.
While Coldwater did not boast any gold medal finishes, a number of Cardinal athletes finished inside the top eight to earn a medal.
Pacing the Coldwater effort was Evan Lewis, fourth place in the 100; Dayne Knap, third place in the 200 and fifth place in the long jump; Landon Dirschel, seventh place in the 400; Drew Vanderpuyl, fifth place in the 800; Luke Aerts, sixth place in the 1,600; Kendall Austin, fifth place in the 110 hurdles, third place in the 300 hurdles and fourth place in the long jump; Bennett McDonald, seventh place in the 110 hurdles and eighth place in the 300 hurdles; the 400 relay team of Knap, Kaden Lewis, Evan Lewis, and Naseem Taha, fifth place; the 1,600 relay team of Landon Dirschell, Aerts, Vanderpuyl, and Claudel Wischmeyer, fifth place; the 3,200 relay team of Wischmeyer, Vanderpuyl, Sebastian Ocampo, and Aerts, second place; Garrett McVicker, third place in the shot put; and Jackson Reilly, fourth place in the shot put and third place in the discus.
What’s Next?
Coldwater will travel back to Sylvester Stadium in Berrien Springs on Friday to compete in the Michigan High School Athletic Association (MHSAA) Division 2 Regional Invitational with an eye on advancing to the state finals to be held on May 23. The Interstate 8 conference championship will be held May 20 at Harper Creek High School to cap off the season.
This article originally appeared on Coldwater Daily Reporter: Track: Coldwater girls wrap up win at Berrien Springs, boys finish fourth
Reporting by Troy Tennyson, Coldwater Daily Reporter / Coldwater Daily Reporter
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