By Heather Smith

Special to the Leader

The Oxford Wildcat boys track and field team came out in full force against their rivals, the Clarkston Wolves, as the boys Track & Field team prevailed 71-57.

The distance races were particularly exhilarating as senior Dominic Bruce took 1st (4:28), senior Ulises Rodriguez took 2nd (4:36) with a new PR and junior Hunter Green (4:37) took 3rd, shaving 5 seconds off his PR in the 1600m.

Rodriguez also had a great run in the 3200m placing 2nd in 10:05 while junior JJ Bagans set a new PR placing 3rd in 10:18. Bruce set a new PR in the open 800m taking 1st (2:02) while fellow senior Zachariah Smith took 2nd (2:04) against the competitive Clarkston distance runners.

Sophomore Scott Masterson took 1st (52.71) in the 400m.

Masterson, Bagans, Smith and Bruce cruised to 1st in the 4x800m relay in 8:17. Sophomore Shane Ross and freshman Barett Coleman propelled each other to great finishes in the hurdles. Ross placed 1st (16.05) in the 110m hurdles while Coleman placed 2nd (17.78).

At the 300m distance, Ross was victorious with a 40.89s finish while Coleman’s 44.76s landed him in 2nd place.

Pole vault was unusually active at Oxford as athletes competed against the Clarkston team and also invited Lake Orion athletes to join the competition in the pit. Junior Sam Murray had a fantastic day setting a new PR by a foot placing 1st (12’6″).

Seniors Ben Krause and Rick Galbraith took 1st and 2nd respectively in both the Shot Put and the Discus throws. Krause threw 45’1″ in the Shot while Galbraith threw 44’7″. In the discus Krause hurled his metal orb 128’0″ while Galbraith completed the one-two finish with a 127’4″ throw.

A very competitive high jump pit found sophomore Trey Townsend the victor with a 6’2″ jump while Townsend claimed 2nd in the Long Jump with a leap of 19’4″.

The Oxford girls track and field team was competitive in the sprints despite falling 86-42 to the Clarkston Wolves.

Junior Ashley Hershman placed a strong 2nd (13.69) in the 100m while sophomore Antonia Vackaro had a great day claiming victory in the 400m (1:00) and coming in a close 2nd (27.67) in the 200m.

Freshman Lauren Schiller placed 3rd (2:37) in the 800m while senior Bridget Cusick and freshman Ellie DiMalanta placed 2nd (5:41) and 3rd (5:56) respectively in the 1600m.

Senior Ashley Vican placed 2nd (12:35) at the 3200m distance while sophomore Michaela Brodeur placed 3rd (13:46). Senior Micah Dymond set a new PR in the 300m hurdles placing a close 2nd (49.19) to Harbaugh of Clarkston while Dymond placed 2nd (17.70) and her cousin, sophomore Mattie Johnson, placed 3rd (18.21) in the 100m hurdles.

Senior Jessica Campbell threw 19ft farther than her competition to place 1st (104’5″) in the discus with her teammate sophomore Gihon Maxwell placing 2nd (85’4″).

Maxwell inched out her competition to place 2nd in the shot put with a throw of 28’10″. In the high jump pit sophomore Jillian Hagberg placed 2nd (4’6″) while teammate senior Emma Mutual placed 3rd (4’3″).

On Friday, May 11, Oxford hosts the OAA Red Division Championships with Oxford athletes competing against rivals from Lake Orion, Clarkston, Rochester and Rochester Adams.