Mount Pulaski Junior High athletes headed to State track competition

[May 10, 2017]   This Friday and Saturday Mount Pulaski Grade School will send a number of athletes to compete in the IESA State Finals in Track and Field at EastSide Centre in East Peoria. A number of these athletes have previous state experience, with 8th graders Konjit Mott and Drew Martin leading the way. This will be the fourth consecutive state appearance for Mott and the third state appearance for Martin.

First year track coach Samantha Brown has brought a lot of enthusiasm to the sport along with fellow veteran girls basketball coach turned track coach Jamie Anderson.

According to Brown, “Oh what a season it has been. We started off with many canceled meets and disappointed track-letes. Every chance they got to run or throw, jump high or jump far, each and everyone of them gave it their all. They were such a great group to work with. Coach A and I were both new track coaches this year. He's a seasoned coach and here I was preparing to start my first coaching position. The athletes were so great to work with, and the parents, some just as new as us, were so great to the kids. I am super excited for many more seasons of junior high track! It is the forgotten sport, I feel like. I hope to get kids excited and wanting to participate as we move forward.”

Moving forward is just what these kids are doing. The list of names of those students headed to state competition includes:

Konjit Mott
Drew Martin
Noah Woodford
Grant Davis
Josh Lawson
Lucas Kuhlman
Aidan Schneider
Jordan Benner
Luke Farris
James Orinick
Cassidy Clark
Alexis Wade

Coach Brown kindly provided several stats of these athletes, all of which are quite impressive. The following will include mention of each athlete along with quotes from Coach Brown.

Eighth grader Drew Martin is a three-time state qualifier. First in the Long Jump, Martin jumped 18'2-1/4” and he qualified in the prelims and took first in the sectional. Martin also qualified in the 400 meter with a time of 57.92 and his 4 x 1 relay team qualified for state as well with a time of 51.87 seconds.

The relay team is made up of Noah Woodford, Grant Davis, Martin,  and Josh Lawson.

Seventh grader Lucas Kuhlman is a two-time state qualifier. He qualified in the prelims of Long Jump as well with a jump of 15’9.

Lukas Kuhlman, Jordan Benner, alternate Luke Farris, James Orinick and Aidan Schneider (and the lucky baton) are the 7th grade 4 x 1 relay team headed to State on Friday.

The 7th grade 4x1 relay team qualified also but according to Brown, “Unfortunately, I haven't been able to get a time on these boys because they haven't posted them yet. These boys, they got in a good groove with a certain baton. A baton that we happened to borrow from a school at our first track meet and never gave back... that was my fault. However, Aidan Schneider held on to that every meet, dubbed it the state baton and no one was allowed to use it! That baton will probably be cased and displayed because they made it to state with it. I'm sure he took it home with him.” That 4x1 relay team is Lucas Kuhlman, Jordan Benner, alternate Luke Farris, James Orinick and Aidan Schneider.

These girls got it going on:

 

Seventh grader Cassidy Clark qualified with a throw of 82-01 in Discus in prelims. "This was her first year participating in track,” said Brown. "She just wanted to throw. Gale (Cassidy’s dad) researched the art of throwing discus and they practiced all the time. He came to practices and boy did they create something phenomenal. She's a heck of a thrower. She makes it look so easy! She was determined to break the school record and she is less than three feet away."

Sixth grader Alexis Wade qualified for State in the 800m with a time of 2:43.84. "She is also a great athlete,” said Brown. "She’s determined! She excelled at every meet. I’m excited to see the great things she will do. She has some endurance!"

MPGS Track Coach Sam Brown gives four-time state qualifier Konjit Mott a piggy-back ride following her 400m run.
 

Last, but not least, 8th grader Konjit Mott. "She qualified in the 400m with a time of 1:09.90. This will be her 4th year going to state in the 400 meter,” said Brown. The first year coach couldn’t stop praising the talented runner. "She’s a quick one! And so competitive. I remember catching her at the end of her first 400 meter this year and feeling so helpless. I used to run track and the feeling of sprinting the 400 rushed back to me and I wanted to throw up as much as she did,” Brown said, laughing. "I told her to get on my back and I gave her a piggy back ride back to camp. It's kind of always been our thing. She gives it her all and I pick her up at the end.”

This weekend at EastSide look for many of these athletes to pick up more medals to add to their already impressive collections and who knows maybe the whole team will pick up their first-year coaches in all the excitement.

Good luck to all the athletes participating. Run, kids, run!


The 8th grade boys track team that placed first in the Logan County Track Meet.

The 7th grade girls with their first place Logan County Track Meet plaque they earned on May 3, 2017.

The 8th grade girls with their second place Logan County Track Meet plaque they earned on May 3, 2017.

[Teena Lowery]