Pioneer’s Moolenaar wins 4 events, wins Star of Stars at Cass County Meet

Bowditch wins 800, 1,600, 3,200 helps Panthers finish 3rd

BY VAL TSOUTSOURIS

Sports Editor, RTC

Pioneer senior Aspen Moolenaar won the Fred Kinder Star of Stars Award at the Cass County Meet at Logansport Saturday after winning titles in the 100 hurdles, 300 hurdles, long jump and pole vault.

LOGANSPORT — Pioneer senior Aspen Moolenaar might have a trophy case full of blue ribbons in track, but her win in the 100 hurdles at the Cass County Meet at Logansport Memorial Stadium might stand out.

Flying ahead of the competition, she tripped and fell over the final hurdle but rolled over and willed herself to cross the finish line for the win. Add wins in the 300 hurdles, long jump and pole vault, and Moolenaar won the Fred Kinder Star of Stars Award, the highest individual honor at the meet.

Moolenaar was officially timed in 17.53 seconds in the 100 hurdles. She suffered cuts and abrasions to her hands when she fell, leaving her unable to grip a pole for the pole vault. Fortunately, she cleared 9-0 in her first attempt prior to the 100 hurdles, and that stood up for the win. She later ran a 51.45 in the 300 hurdles, topping the field by more than three seconds. She also flew 16-1 ½ in the long jump.

“My leg clipped the last hurdle,” Moolenaar said. “And then my body just lost control because I was going faster than I usually go, so I just lost control and fell. … I had to get back up, and then I dove into the finish line. … I was really grateful for that. I was already close to the finish line, and I was just grateful I got to the finish.”

Logansport won with 86.5 points, Lewis Cass had 74.5, Pioneer was third with 46.5, and Caston was fourth in the four-team field with 35.5.

“That was insane,” Pioneer coach Teresa Montgomery said of Moolenaar’s 100 hurdles performance. “According to the lineup, we really thought she would have a close race between two other girls with her times that she’s running this season. So we just told her, ‘You have got to run.’ I think that’s the fastest I’ve seen her run those hurdles, and then he biffed it at the end and had to roll and crawl her way to the finish line and still made it. It was spectacular.

“It was also somewhat poetic because her freshman year, she crashed in the 100 meter hurdles. And so it all came around full circle.”

The host Berries also won the boys team title with 92 points. Lewis Cass had 60, Pioneer had 50, and Caston had 41.

Lewis Cass’ Jaden Figueredo was the Fred Kinder Star of Stars Award after winning the 100, the 200, the long jump and the high jump.

Dane Bowditch Lyla Gebhardt Grace Colvin

But the star distance runner was Pioneer junior Dane Bowditch, who won the 800, 1,600 and 3,200.

His day began by running 5:00.44 in the 1,600 and beating Logansport’s Samuel Sebastian Jr. by 2.78 seconds. He won the 800 in 2:07.32 in what became a two-man race between him and Lewis Cass’ Ben Jay. Then he had enough energy left to run a 10:43.25 in the 3,200 and edge out Lewis Cass’ Kaiden Hughes by just under two seconds.

Bowditch said he takes a “survive and advance” approach to the 800. He said he had to conserve his energy given his busy schedule.

“The 800, by far,” Bowditch said when asked of which win he was most proud. “Just a heck of a race. Ben’s a great athlete. We race a lot, and it’s usually back and forth, but this time, I was able to come through.”

In addition to the individual distance races, he also ran a leg on the 4 x 800 relay that finished second. And in addition to that, he is the No. 3 golfer on Pioneer’s reigning conference champions that qualified for the regional last year.

Bowditch said his life is “an absolute grind” this time of year.

“Dane is just smart,” Montgomery said. “And he knows how to train. He knows how to run a race. He studies his opponents before he gets out there. He’s also double sporting. So he’s doing really well in golf, and a lot of days, he’ll either be at a golf meet and have to run his own workout, and seeing what he accomplished today, even though he has to do a lot of his stuff on his own, it’s just extremely aggressive.”

Mikaden Tolosa was second in both the discus and shot put.

Caston’s Colvin, Gebhardt win titles in field events

In what turned out to be a tight contest in the girls high jump, Caston’s Grace Colvin won the title in the high jump with a clearance of 4-6. Lewis Cass’ Mackenzie Weaver and Logansport’s Rylee Zimmerman also cleared 4-6, but Colvin was declared the winner because she cleared the height on her first attempt while Weaver and Zimmerman both had misses.

Caston coach Blair Zimmerman said that the cold temperatures and swirling winds – temperatures were around 50 degrees – were not conducive to good performances in the events that require “explosive” athleticism like the high jump and said Colvin’s jump needs to be put in a positive light.

Zimmerman also praised sophomore Lyla Gebhardt, who won the discus with a throw of 104-0.

“Oh my goodness … she is coming along so well,” Zimmerman said. “She is fairly new to the sport, and this season really locked in. I’m going to give a shout-out to coach (Brandon) Kinser and his strength training program. It’s just coming together. She’s putting it together. She’s moved up from that middle-of-the-pack area to shoo-in for the sectional roster and continuing moving forward. So proud of her, couldn’t be more pleased.”

Caston had no champions in the boys meet. The highest scoring Comet was freshman Mack Mappin, who took second in both the 110 hurdles and 300 hurdles.

“He’s still making that transition from eighth grade to high school,” Zimmerman said. “But he’s been one, even last year as an eighth-grader, anytime that the junior high didn’t have a practice, he was always talking to myself or coach (Greg) Martz, and he’s like, ‘Hey, can I come to high school practice?’ You just see that paying off already two-thirds of the way through his freshman season. Just coming out here and an absolute animal in the hurdles and the high jump. He’s a fantastic athlete, and he’s coachable.”

Kaemen Lee finished second in the 400, his late kick falling 0.30 seconds short of catching winner Jayden Ramer of Lewis Cass at the tape. Lee also was fourth in the 100.

Kane Finke was third in the 1,600 and fourth in the 3,200.

CASS COUNTY MEET GIRLS RESULTS SATURDAY: Logansport 86.5, Lewis Cass 74.5, PIONEER 46.5, CASTON 35.5

Scoring on 6-4-3-2-1 basis for individual events and 6-4-2 basis for relays

Winners plus all Caston and Pioneer scorers

100 m

1. Griffin (LC) – 13.11 seconds, 2. Camila Hernandez-Rios (CAS) – 13.59

200 m

1. Hedrick (LC) – 27.98 seconds, 2. Grace Colvin (CAS) – 29.00, 4. Camila Hernandez-Rios (CAS) – 29.69

400 m

1. Griffin (LC) – 1:03.33, 2. Camila Hernandez-Rios (CAS) – 1:05.23, 

800 m

1. Griffin (LC) – 2:21.78, 4. Hannah Rogers (CAS) – 2:50.61

1,600 m

1. Woodhouse (LOG) – 5:24.98, 4. Hannah Rogers (CAS) – 6:13.94

3,200 m

1. Rush (LC) – 11:56.22, 4. Lucy Bowditch (PIO) – 14:15.84, 5. Hannah Rogers (CAS) – 14:19.04

100 m hurdles

1. Aspen Moolenaar (PIO) – 17.53 seconds, 4. Camilla Sandoval-Gallo (PIO) – 18.84

300 m hurdles

1. Aspen Moolenaar (PIO) – 51.45 seconds

4 x 100 m relay

1. Lewis Cass – 54.29 seconds, 3. Pioneer (Jenna Franklin, Kaydence Cottrell, Zadie Fross, Camilla Sandoval-Gallo) – 57.63, 4. Caston (Breanna James, Jaded Aguilar-Rios, Ripley Beck, Unidentified Fourth Runner) – 1:02.48

4 x 400 m relay

1. Lewis Cass – 4:27.56, 3. Caston (Autumn Sanders, Hannah Rogers, Grace Colvin, Camila Hernandez-Rios) – 4:36.19, 4. Pioneer (Ellie Hines, Camilla Sandoval-Gallo, Paytyn Dillman, Jenna Franklin) – 5:08.26

4 x 800 m relay

1. Lewis Cass – 10:57.64, 3. Pioneer (Paytyn Dillman, Lucy Bowditch, Zadie Fross, Ellie Hines) – 12:05.03, 4. Caston (Autumn Sanders, Vivian Moulder, Jaded Aguilar-Rios, Trinity Zimmerman) – 12:30.24

Long jump

1. Aspen Moolenaar (PIO) – 16-1 ½, t-5. Ripley Beck (CAS) – 13-3, t-5. Lavana Tolosa (PIO) – 13-3

High jump

1. Grace Colvin (CAS) – 4-6, 4. Noa Bissacco (PIO) – 4-4, 5. Bella Scales (PIO) – 4-2

Discus

1. Lyla Gebhardt (CAS) – 104-0, 3. Emilee Juby (PIO) – 89-0, 5. Jada Martz (CAS) – 83-0

Shot put

1. Clem (LOG) – 32-2 ½, 2. Brooklynn Dillman (PIO) – 31-8 ¾, 4. Laylah Demond (PIO) – 30-9, 5. Jada Martz (CAS) – 29-5

Pole vault

1. Aspen Moolenaar (PIO) – 9-0, 4. Avery Haselby (PIO) – 7-0

CASS COUNTY MEET BOYS RESULTS SATURDAY: Logansport 92, Lewis Cass 60, PIONEER 50, CASTON 41

Scoring on 6-4-3-2-1 basis for individual events and 6-4-2 basis for relays

Winners plus all Caston and Pioneer scorers

100 m

1. Figueredo (LC) – 11.11 seconds, 4. Kaemen Lee (CAS) – 11.75

200 m

1. Figueredo (LC) – 23.58 seconds, 5. Phillip McFatridge (PIO) – 25.65

400 m

1. Ramer (LC) – 54.57 seconds, 2. Kaemen Lee (CAS) – 54.87, 4. Phillip McFatridge (PIO) – 56.76

800 m

1. Dane Bowditch (PIO) – 2:07.32, 3. Daulton Oaf (CAS) – 2:11.99, 5. Reuben Helt (CAS) – 2:17.16

1,600 m

1. Dane Bowditch (PIO) – 5:00.44, 3. Kane Finke (CAS) – 5:07.39, 5. Malakai Clayton (CAS) – 5:10.06

3,200 m

1. Dane Bowditch (PIO) – 10:43.25, 4. Kane Finke (CAS) – 10:59.42

110 m hurdles

1. Morock (LOG) – 16.95 seconds, 2. Mack Mappin (CAS) – 16.99, 4. Daniel Rodas (CAS) – 18.27, 5. Kit Gotshall (PIO) – 18.65

300 m hurdles

1. Copeland (LC) – 41.85 seconds, 2. Mack Mappin (CAS) – 44.84, 5. Daniel Rodas (CAS) – 47.84

4 x 100 m relay

1. Logansport – 45.28 seconds, 2. Pioneer (Isaiah Russell, Phillip McFatridge, Hunter Bartling, Carter Mize) – 49.07, 3. Caston (Daniel Rodas, Boaz Yarber, Gage Minniear, Josiah Helt) – 50.00

4 x 400 m relay

1. Lewis Cass – 3:41.75, 3. Caston (Boaz Yarber, Daulton Oaf, Mack Mappin, Kaemen Lee) – 3:49.72, 4. Pioneer (Jason Harding, Carter Mize, Bryce Akers Boonstra, Hunter Ward) – 4:00.76

4 x 800 m relay

1. Logansport – 8:56.27, 3. Pioneer (Bryce Akers Boonstra, Jason Harding, Eli Hines, Dane Bowditch) – 9:06.03, 4. Caston (Kane Finke, Isaac Albright, Reuben Helt, Daulton Oaf) – 9:08.84

Long jump

1. Figueredo (LC) – 20-10 ¾, 4. Gage Minniear (CAS) – 17-10 ½, 5. Isaiah Russell (PIO) – 17-5

High jump

1. Figueredo (LC) – 5-10, 3. Isaiah Russell (PIO) – 5-6, 5. Mack Mappin (CAS) – 5-2

Discus

1. Clem (LOG) – 160-5, 2. Mikaden Tolosa (PIO) – 132-3, 3. Jake Farrer (CAS) – 128-6, 4. Blair Burns (PIO) – 116-9, 5. Nathanial Runkle (CAS) – 116-5

Shot put

1. Clem (LOG) – 44-10, 2. Mikaden Tolosa (PIO) – 43-6 ½, 3. Nathanial Runkle (CAS) – 43-6, 4. Liam Rouch (PIO) – 41-1

Pole vault

1. Wicker (LOG) – 11-0, 2. Kit Gotshall (PIO) – 10-6, 4. Phillip McFatridge (PIO) – 8-0