The Reds earned a championship at the Patriot League track meet for the first time in over ten years. The boys track team traveled to Valley High School and claimed their victory on Saturday, May 7. 

In the 100m dash Ethan Florez (23) took fourth place, and Maddie Fisher (24) took fifth. Florez also took first place in the 200m followed by Owen Dejong (24) in fourth, and Aidan Juhl in seventh. Andie Rasmussen won the 200m and Allyson Weichel (22) placed third. Dakota Braucher (23) took fourth in the 400m and Skyler Willams (23) followed closely behind in fifth. Rasmussen also took third in the girl’s 400m. 

The sprinters set a pace for the distance crew, and they did not disappoint. Will Grable (23) took sixth in the 800m. Then Aedy Barclay (24) placed seventh in the 1600m and fifth in the 3200, Logan Gullet (23) won his 3200m race, breaking his own school record with a time of 9:36.

The hurdlers landed eight mens placers between the 110m and 300m hurdles and three girls placers. The men’s relays placed as follows: 4x100m took second, 4×200, took fourth, and the 4x400m relay team took first, beating Frontier and Resurrection Christian High School, both of whom were ranked above the Reds. The women’s 4x100m took sixth place, the 4×200 took seventh, and the sprint medley took second. 

The field events made a large contribution to the Reds’ win. Most notably, Philip Lawrence (22) took third in discus and first in shot put. Lawrence said, “I just think about how out of the many kids in our league, I was able to top all of them.”Zac Grable (23) took second place in triple jump and second place in high jump. To cap off the field events, Rasmussen took second in long jump. 

The meet concluded with Jaryn Guerra and the Eaton coaching staff winning the coach of the year award, the girls taking fourth place as a team, and the boys winning the league championship for the first time in over a decade. Guerra said, “The boys team is set apart from teams in the past because of the commitment they show to their craft. They strive for success in everything they do, they work hard in the offseason, they support each other, they rise to the occasion when they’re under pressure, and they pay attention to the little details that end up making a big difference.”

As of now, the Eaton Track and Field team will be sending 12 athletes from the boys team and seven from the girls team to the state championships in Lakewood. The boys team has a good chance of winning state, as a large majority of them are ranked within the top five of their respective events. It will be a tight battle between Eaton, The Classical Academy, Holy Family, and Lutheran; however, if the boys give it their absolute all, they could very well be holding that state championship trophy at the end of May.