St. Paul boys win two division titles as Steward, Creston each earn one girls title

ROCHELLE — Rochelle Township High School hosted the 2023 Meridian Conference Championships on Thursday, May 4. St. Paul Lutheran School won the 5th & 6th Grade Boys Division with 73 points as well as the 7th & 8th Grade Boys Division with 62 points. Steward won the 5th & 6th Grade Girls Division with 60 points and Creston won the 7th & 8th Grade Girls Division with 60 points. Other competing schools included Kings, Eswood and Cornerstone.

5-6 Girls

Steward’s Mayson Smardo won the 55-meter dash with a time of 9.29 seconds. Cornerstone’s Presley Paccacio won the 100-meter dash with a time of 16.18 seconds and the 200-meter dash with a time of 34.39 seconds. St. Paul’s Paisley Albaugh won the 400-meter dash with a time of 1:16.87 and Kings’ Emma Osborne won the 100-meter hurdles with a time of 23.66.

Kings’ Brailee Bennett won the high jump with a clearance of 3 feet 6 inches. Steward’s Barbara Palmer won the shot put with a heave of 21 feet 11 inches and the discus with a throw of 38 feet 6 inches. Steward’s Jamie Riddell won the long jump with a distance of 12 feet and the triple jump with a distance of 25 feet 6 inches. Kings won the 400-meter relay with a time of 1:08.22.

5-6 Boys

St. Paul’s Braxton Bruns won the 55-meter hurdles with a time of 8.49 seconds as well as the 100-meter dash with a time of 14.87 seconds and the 200-meter dash with a time of 31.35 seconds. St. Paul’s Joey Chadwick won the 400-meter dash with a time of 1:15.53 and the 800-meter run with a time of 2:39.19. St. Paul’s Esam Farraj won the 1600-meter run with a time of 6:17.22 and Kings’ Eli Underwood won the 110-meter hurdles with a time of 23.21 seconds.

Steward’s Derik Maertz won the shot put with a heave of 22 feet 10 inches and the discus with a throw of 44 feet 9 inches. Underwood won the long jump with a leap of 11 feet 4 inches and Steward’s Ben Hayes won the triple jump with a distance of 22 feet 4 inches.

7-8 Girls

Creston’s Emma Heller won the 100-meter dash with a time of 15.72 seconds as well as the 100-meter hurdles with a time of 20.61 seconds and the 200-meter dash with a time of 33.01 seconds. Kings’ Kenna Beck won the 400-meter dash with a time of 1:20.90 and St. Paul’s Mia Heitkamp won the 800-meter run with a time of 3:39.16. Eswood’s Marley Cherry won the 1600-meter run with a time of 9:17.62 and Kings won the 400-meter relay in 1:05.40.

Eswood won the 800-meter relay with a time of 2:51.54 and Creston’s Maya Esparza won the shot put with a heave of 26 feet 9 inches. Creston’s Alexis Crawford won the discus with a throw of 47 feet 9 inches and St. Paul’s Delaney Heal won both the high jump with a clearance of 3 feet 10 inches and the long jump with a distance of 12 feet 3 inches. Steward’s Morgan DeLille won the triple jump with a distance of 25 feet 1 inches. 

7-8 Boys

Cornerstone’s David Arguello won the 100-meter dash with a time of 13.75 seconds and the 400-meter dash with a time of 1:03.99. Kings’ Jaden Martina won the 200-meter dash with a time of 29.10 seconds and Creston’s Danny Garcia won both the 800-meter run with a time of 2:30.22 and the 1600-meter run with a time of 5:53.96. Kings’ Colton Hopp won the 110-meter hurdles with a time of 20.83 seconds and Kings won the 400-meter relay in 57.02 seconds.

Eswood won the 800-meter relay with a time of 2:05.00 and Eswood’s Hunter Bivins won the high jump with a clearance of 4 feet 6 inches. St. Paul’s Aiden Carmichael won both the shot put with a heave of 31 feet and the discus with a throw of 96 feet 7 inches. St. Paul’s Tyler Johnson won the long jump with a mark of 15 feet 6 inches and Kings’ Ty Horn won the triple jump with a mark of 30 feet 5 inches.