Mendota’s Lauren Schimmer clears the high jump bar during the Gooden Invite on April 8. She finished in sixth place with a height of 4-9. (Reporter photo)

MENDOTA – The Mendota High School track teams hosted the Don Gooden Classic on April 8 at the MHS track.

The Lady Trojans finished in eighth place out of 15 teams with 31 points. Bureau Valley ran away with the team title with 126 points compared to 89 for second-place Amboy-LaMoille.

In the boys’ competition, the Trojans landed in the 10^th-place position with 28 points. Princeton won the championship by a wide margin over second-place El Paso-Gridley, 103-73. There were 16 teams in the meet.

Sophomore Abby Phalen had the best finish among Lady Trojan competitors with a second-place showing in the triple jump. Her distance was 32-3. The winning measurement was 33-10.5 by Kaelyn Hamalle of Hall.

Senior Mari Biers raced to a third-place finish in the 300-meter hurdles with a time of 50.3.

The Trojans took first-place honors in one event. The 4x200 relay team outraced the competition with a clocking of 1:40.03. The team was comprised of Naseem Gray, Austin Lipe, Ethan Ruiz and Eddy Sandoval.

The next best finish for the Trojans was by Sandoval in the 100-meter dash with a third-place effort in a time of 12.35.

April 8 – Gooden Invite

(girls)

Bureau Valley 126, Amboy-LaMoille 89, Hall 80, El Paso-Gridley 72.5, Sandwich 72, Byron 46, Hinckley-Big Rock 40, Mendota 31, Wethersfield-Annawan 31, Princeton 24, St. Bede 21, Kewanee 21, Durand-Pecatonica 18.5. Harvard 15, Fieldcrest 15

Mendota 2^nd place: Abby Phalen, triple jump, 32-3

Mendota 3^rd place: Mari Biers, 300m hurdles, 50.3

Mendota 5^th place: 4x100 relay (Biers, Kylee Zinke, Emma Foley, Abby Motter), 55.03; 4x200 relay (Motter, Zinke, Foley, Phalen Hessenberger), 1:58.62

Mendota 6^th place: Lauren Schimmer, high jump, 4-9

Mendota 7^th place: Biers, 100m hurdles, 19.31

Mendota 8^th place: Motter, 100m dash, 15.04; Hessenberger, high jump, 4-7; Biers, long jump, 14-11; Schimmer, triple jump, 30-3.5

(boys)

Princeton 103, El Paso-Gridley 73, Wethersfield-Annawan 72.5, Byron 66.5; Bureau Valley 63, Sandwich 53, Kewanee 50, Hall 45, Harvard 40, Mendota 28, Amboy-LaMoille 22, Somonauk 21, St. Bede 20, Hinckley-Big Rock 16, Durand-Pecatonica 15, Fieldcrest 14

Mendota 1^st place: 4x200 relay (Naseem Gray, Austin Lipe, Ethan Ruiz, Eddy Sandoval), 1:40.03

Mendota 3^rd place: E. Sandoval, 100m dash, 12.35

Mendota 5^th place: E. Sandoval, 200m dash, 24.91; Eli Otterbach, high jump, 5-9

Mendota 7^th place: Jonathan Patino, 800m run, 2:15.93

Mendota 8^th place: 4x100 relay (Naseem Gray, Austin Lipe, Ethan Ruiz, Eddy Sandoval), 47.75; Lipe, triple jump, 38-4