OSWEGO – Eliot Ard picked up a pair of silver medals and was part of a fifth-place relay team while several of his Altoona-Midway Middle School teammates turned in personal best times when the Jets competed in the tough Oswego Invitational here Thursday.
Despite some good times, those three medals were the only ones brought home by AMMS from the Oswego Invitational, which has no divisions (No separate divisions for A-B or by grade level).
In addition, all of the field events were cancelled due to extremely wet grounds in that area.
“We had an outstanding meet, regardless of the medal count,” said AMMS co-coach David Batzer “I think it was our best overall performance of the year.”
“Obviously we were disappointed that the throwers couldn't compete at this meet, but I would just like to comment on how great the runners did,” added AMMS co-coach Chary Weilert. “The goal is to improve every meet, and the runners gutted it out on every race and ran their best times. I am very proud of their determination.”
Ard continues to shine in the distance events for the Jets. He turned in PR times in both of his silver medal performances, clocking in at 5:48.77 in the 1600 meters and 12:35.7 in the 3200 meter run.
“Eliot continues to shine for the team,” Batzer said. “I'm really hoping he can break through for a gold medal at league meet.”
The other medal for the Jets came in the boys’ 4x200 meter relay. The AMMS unit of Zach Good, Eliot Ard, Carl Anderson, and Caden Sicka finished fifth with the PR time of 2:06.27.
While those were the only individuals able to crack the top six in the rugged invitational, Altoona-Midway did have personal best times turned in by six other runners.
On the boys’ side, also turning in PR times were:
Zach Good (29.87 in the 200 meters); Carl Anderson (32.86 in the 200); Caden Sicka (1.14.40 in the 400); and Hunter Reaves (3:22.48 in the 800).
A pair of Lady Jets also recorded PR times, both in the 800 meter run. Allie Lockhart finished with a time of 3:19.64, two spots ahead of Emily Burch, who was clocked at 3:2488.