By By SCOTT NOVAK / Dowagiac Daily News
ST. JOSEPH - The Dowagiac track teams turned in their best performance of the season despite being swept by the host Bears in a Big 16 Conference West Division meet on Tuesday.
The girls' team was defeated by the Lady Bears, 120-38, while the boys' team dropped a 119.5-43.5 decision to St. Joseph.
Katy Stuppy was triple winners for the Chieftains.
Stuppy won the 100- and 200-meters with times of 13.6 and 28.6 respectively.
She was also a member of the winning 400-meter relay team.
Anne O'Keefe and Ashley Urbanski both were double winners.
O'Keefe won the pole vault with a height of 9-feet, while Urbanski won the long jump with a leap of 15-7.75.
Both were on the 400-meter relay team with Sade Nealy which ran a time of 53.7.
Urbanski also finished second in the 100-meters (13.8), while O'Keefe was second in the long jump (14-3) and second in the 400-meters (1:07.6)
Stephanie Muha was second in the 300-meter hurdles (1:09.5).
Kate Duzynski finished fourth in the discus (72-10).
Ryan Withorn, Isaiah Jones and Kyle Bennett all were winners on Tuesday, as was the 400-meter relay team.
Jones won the long jump with a leap of 20-7.25 and was a member of the winning relay team.
Withorn won the shot put with a toss of 42-1, while Bennett won the pole vault as he cleared 11-feet.
Jones was joined on the relay team, which ran 46.5, by Russell Sizemore, James Laymon and Elijah Caldwell.
Finishing second for the Chieftains were Caldwell in the 200-meters (24.3), Brad Lee in the 3,200-meters and high jump (11:47.5, 5-3) and Bennett in the discus (117-3).
Finishing third for Dowagiac were Caldwell in the 100-meters (11.7), Ryan Casey in the shot put (39-7.5), Withorn in the discus (111-0) and Laymon in the long jump (17-0).
Lee was fourth in the 1,600-meters (5:16.2), while Sizemore was fourth in the 200-meters (24.5) and Jason Tabbert fourth in the 3,200-meters (12:08.1). Zach Roden was fourth in the 800-meters (2:29).
The team is working hard," Dowagiac coach Mike Stanger said. "We are pleased with their efforts. We have to improve with each meet."
Dowagiac will return to St. Joseph on Friday when it competes in the Rotary Meet.
Field events and preliminaries are scheduled to begin at 4:30 p.m.