With construction work being done at the Brookfield track venue, there was no javelin competition held Friday. That may have been the difference in the entire meet as Fayette finished eight points behind eventual team champion Highland. Not having the points generally supplied by the strong right arm of senior Zach Henderson is a complication to which the Falcons are not accustomed. 

“If that competition had been held, we might have had the opportunity to win the meet,” said Fayette coach Tom Oakley. Even so, the Falcons’ performance Friday was enough to take second on the day. Sophomore Chase Allen-Jackman finished second in the boys 100-meter dash with a time of 11.02 and also came in second in the 200 with a time of 23.62. Junior Garren Vroman finished fifth in the 200 with a time of 24.11.

The boys 4x100-meter relay team of seniors Kaden Polson and Zach Henderson, along with Vroman and Allen-Jackman took second with a time of 45.15. Replacing Allen-Jackman with sophomore Ben Wells in the 4x200-meter relay, Fayette took another second-place finish with a time of 1:35.46.

Wells, freshman Ethan LaValley, Zach Henderson, and  junior Avery Powell took fourth in the boys 4x400-meter relay at 3:50.36.

“Highland bested us in the sprinting events as they have a very talented group of sprinters. We have some things to work on in the relay handoffs and block starts before we see them again at the state meet,” Oakley said.

In the long jump Allen-Jackman finished fourth in the long jump with a jump of 5.49 meters.

Senior Dillan Lembke won the pole vault event with a height of 3.66 meters.

Senior Josh Henderson finished second, but set a new personal and school record by hurling the discus 50.29 meters. He also took second in the shot put with a personal record of 14.98.

“Josh had personal records in both the shot and discus. Fifty meters was a goal in the discus he finally broke,” coach Oakley said.

On the girls’ side, senior Breanna Estes finished second in the shot put by throwing a personal record of 10.7 meters. 

While not finishing in the top five,  several Fayette athletes showed improvement on their times and showed versatility with some  participating in events to which they were not accustomed.

Zach Henderson ran the 4x400 relay since the javelin was not held and helped the team drop about five seconds. Oakley said that Cale Hudson’s hard work in practice is paying off as his 300-meter hurdle time continues to improve. 

Chase Allen-Jackman faced some stiff competition in the 100 and 200. He ran his fastest non-wind-aided time in the 100 and his fastest time in the 200. Sophomore Preslee Sunderland ran the 100-meter dash for the first time, instead of the 100-meter hurdles, and took home a medal while sophomore Madison Race continues to drop her 200-meter time. “She is a very hard worker and a team leader,” said Oakley.

Fayette will travel to Glasgow for a dual meet on Friday before the Lewis & Clark Conference meet on May 3 in Queen City hosted by Schuyler County.