Westside makes strong showing in opening track and field meet

There were great results for the Warriors in the first track and field meet of the season at the College of Saint Mary Indoor meet on Friday, March 17. The Westside girls varsity team took fourth place and the Warrior boys team finished in third place. 

One of the best performances was by Westside’s Cory Vaughan. The senior set a school record in the triple jump with a leap of 46 feet and 11.5 inches. Vaughan also took first place in the high jump, where he cleared 6 feet and 5 inches. Westside boys head track coach Justin Haberman expressed how he felt about the results at the opening meet of the season.

“The results at the College of Saint Mary meet were great,” Haberman said. “Cory Vaughan broke the school triple jump record, all of the guys performed great.”

The Warriors had four athletes, who won their individual events. Junior Preston Okafor won the 200 meters, with Keynan Cotton coming in second place. Junior distance runner Claire White also excelled in her event and won the 800 meters, with a personal record of 2:17.99.

Lademi Davies won the 60 meters with a time of 7.82 seconds. The senior also set a personal record in the triple jump, with a leap of 35 feet and 2.25 inches.

“I felt pretty good about it! Coming into it I was a little nervous about how it would go,” Davies said. “But I’m really glad that the meet was successful, I was able to have fun with the team, and that someone was there to push me to my best in the 60 meter dash.”

After taking the gold medal in the long jump at state last year, Davies is looking forward to her final season on the track.

“Right now, I’m just trying to trust the process,” Davies said. “I know that there’s a lot for me to work on, but I also believe that if I keep working hard and trusting God and my coaches, I can get better.”

The next varsity meet will be held at Doane College on Friday, March 24.