Five teams met at Pepperell High School for an early-season track meet.
The Gilmer Bobcats and Lady Cats made the trip west last Thursday, and they combined for 29 placements inside the top five.
The Bobcats secured first-place finishes in field and running events. In the pole vault, they claimed three of the top four spots. Leading the way was Aspen Hataway, who won by 2’ with a mark of 13’. Teammates Matthew Grice (11’) and John Keener (10’) finished third and fourth, respectively.
Douglas Callihan heaved the shot put 39’ 8” for third. Hataway also landed in fifth place in the high jump (4’ 8”), as did Dylan Pospisil (36’ 3”) in the triple jump.
Dawson Richard’s time of 11:16 allowed him to win the 3,200-meter run by 1:30. He was a runner-up in the 1,600 meters in 5:26.45, and teammate Edward Marietta placed fifth (6:06.32).
Bobcat Michael Little (55.98) finished second in the 400-meter run, while Leeland Dantin was fourth in 57.48. In the 800 meters, Little (2:23.20) and Seth Turner (2:25.49) went on to take third and fourth, respectively.
In relays, the 4x100 team of Callihan, Bo Cronic, Hunter Britain and Grice placed third in 47.81. The team of Little, Keener, Dantin and James Beach were third in the 4x400 at 3:59.10.
The Lady Cats found the most success in throwing events. Lilyan Cook won the discus with a mark of 98’ 9”, which was 15’ 3” better than second place. Gilmer’s Maddy Patterson tossed the discus 66’ 6” for third.
Piper McCormick nabbed second in the shot put at 27’ 10”, and Cook placed third with a throw of 26’ 6”. The Lady Cats finished third in a trio of events and included Jayla Walker (16:50) in the 3,200 meters and Aliza Chastain (31.14) in the 200-meter dash.
The Lady Cat quartet of Amayah Jones, Addie Vick, Chastain and Maria Raymundo were also third in the 4x400 relay at 5:33.88.
Dulce Mares placed fourth in the 100-meter hurdles with a time of 23.70, and Esther Bowman finished the 1,600 meters in 7:08.42 for fifth.
Claiming fourth and fifth in the 400 meters were Vick (1:11.41) and Chastain (1:14.08). Bowman (3:16.14) and Stephanie Velasco (3:24.34) placed in the same positions, respectively in the 800.
The Lady Cats finished fourth as a team, and the Bobcats were third out of five boys teams.
Inclement weather lead to the cancellation of Gilmer’s home meet at press deadline.