By By SCOTT NOVAK / Niles Daily Star
NILES – The Niles Ring Lardner track team won the Mr. Hank D'Agostino Relays in St. Joseph for the sixth straight year.
Lardner finished with 90 points, while Edwardsburg was second with 82 points and Lakeshore third with 58.
St. Joe Upton took fourth with 57 points and Dowagiac fifth with 41. Berrien Springs and Benton Harbor were sixth and seventh with 21 and 18 points respectively.
Niles took first place in the high jump, 800-meter relay (1:54.40), shuttle hurdle relay (1:04.03) and 3,200-meter relay (10:45.71).
The Vikings finished second in the shot put, 6,400-meter relay (25:05.66), Upton sprint medley (1:51.38) and the 1,600-meter relay (4:18.41).
Niles took third in the long jump, distance medley and 400-meter relay.
Myles Busby and Star Ford won the high jump for the Vikings with a combined total of 9-feet-9. Les Holt and Hannah Poterfield was second in the shot put (66-10.5), while Prescott Smith and Kristen McFadden took third in the long jump (28-3).
The 6,400-meter relay team consisted of Stuart Coulston, Cami Howell, Maureen Craig and Sam VandenHeede. The hurdlers were Smith, Brandon Partee, Bridgette Carpenter and Allie Schoenleber.
The 800-meter relay team consisted of McFadden, Busby, Karon Nichols and Logan Harpenau.
The 3,200-meter unit was made up of Craig, Anne Tyler, Alex Hunt and Fritzell Findensen.
The 400, 1,600 and Upton sprint medley relay teams consisted of Ronnie Jones, Partee, Austin Parks, Taylor Brandstatter, Larkin Carey, Anthony Bice and Nichols.
Dowagiac's top finish came in the 400-meter relay where it won with a time of 53.34.
The Chieftains took second in the high jump (9-4).
Dowagiac was fifth in the long jump (27-8), fifth in the 800-meter relay (2:01.24), fifth in the shuttle hurdle relay (1:13.5), fifth in the distance medley, fifth in the Upton sprint medley (2:01.14), fourth in the 3,200-meter relay (11:26.24)and fifth in the 1,600-meter relay 5:11.33).
Edwardsburg took first in the shot put (67-6), sixth in the long jump (26-7), sixth in the high jump (9-2), first in the 6,400-meter relay (23:39.52), third in the 800-meter relay (1:57.17), third in the shuttle hurdle relay (1:06.75), first in the distance medley (14:12.62), second in the 400-meter relay (53.80), first in the Upton sprint medley (1:51.18), second in the 3,200-meter relay (10:57.27) and first in the 1,600-meter relay (4:15.05).
Niles wrapped up its season at the Allegan Co-ed Relays with a second place finish.
Battle Creek Lakeview ended the Vikings' streak of seven straight championships.
Partee, Smith, Schoenleber and Carpenter took first and second in the hurdle relays, while Busby, Jones, Ford and McFadden were third in the high jump.
The 800-meter relay team of Nichols, Harpenau and Brandstatter finished second.
The boys' team was undefeated in boys' only meets, defeating 55 out of 56 opponents they faced. The girls' squad defeated 45 out of 56 opponents.
The boys' team won four out of five major track invitationals and relays. The girls took a first, a second and two thirds.