Strong performances by Cardinals at Wildcat Invitational Track & Field championships

Sophomore Nicole Bond continues to lead a talented group of girls runners in the current track and field season.

On a cloudy, but dry Saturday the Cardinal track team traveled down to Mountain View High School for the Wildcat Invitational and for a third consecutive week experienced strong success against tremendous public and private school squads. Our Lady Cardinals placed 7^th out of 19 strong AAA and AA Virginia teams.

Paced by our relay teams, the Ireton 4x800m relay team of Marin Nolan, Madeline Thomas, Anna Wissler and Joanna Faletti placed 5^th in a fast heat that saw the winning team earn a qualifying time for nationals. The Ireton 4x400m relay team of Nolan, Nicole Bond, Ricca Graham and Shannon Gordon placed 3^rd in the meet ending relay to a season-best time of 4:17. Gordon had a big individual meet as well earning silver medals in both the 100m and 300m hurdles, while finishing in the top 10 in all jumping events. Bond earned 5^th place in the 200m final, while Thomas finished a strong 6^th in the tough eight-lap 3200m race.

The boys squad saw considerable success as well with junior BJ Townley leading the way with three medals in the triple jump (4^th), 110m hurdles (3^rd) and 300 hurdles (8^th). Season-leading times were also earned by Mike Andersen in the 800m (2:00) and Liam O’Connor in the 3200m (10:19). Coming off such solid performances amidst national-caliber competition, the Cardinals are looking forward to the future with the Penn Relays, Draper Relays, and WCAC/VISAA championship meets looming a month away.