Steelville High School’s boys and girls track and field season officially began on March 20 when the Cardinals competed in the Rebel Relays in Park Hills. There were multiple standout performances for the red and white throughout the afternoon.

Steelville freshman Brooklyn Thomas showed that her athleticism translates from the basketball court to the track. Thomas took first place in the 100 meter dash with a 13.59 time to earn four points for her team.

Fellow freshman standout basketball player Adalei Perkins, also had a strong day on the track. Perkins ran a 13:37.88 time in the 3200 meter race to earn five points and earned another .75 points after competing in the girls 4x800 relay alongside Elivia Pryor, Lydia Smelser and Vivian West. She finished her day with a stellar 9.56 meter leap in the triple jump to earn another six points to lead the Cardinals with 11.75 points.

Freshman Ila Pfeiffer competed in the 100 and 200 meter races. She ran a 14.91 in the 100 meter race and a 32.06 in the 200 meter race.

Cami Mason was the Lady Cardinals lone freshman competing in the field events. Mason threw the discus 13.54 meters and tossed the shot put 7.50 meters.

Smelser also ran a 2:56 in the individual 800 meter race and put up a 2.29 meter leap in pole vault, totaling 2.25 points for the Cardinals. Pryor also ran a 1:18.73 in the girls 400 meter race and led the Lady Cards with a 27.23-meter javelin throw to finish with 3.75 total points.

West, a freshman, ran a 1:07.48 in the girls 400 meter race to earn two points and ran a 29.63 in the girls 200 meter race to finish with 2.75 points in her debut race.

Steelville senior Peyton Brooks showed her versatility, competing in the girls 100 meter hurdles, the 300 meter hurdles, and the javelin throw. Brooks ran a 20.78 in the 100 meter hurdles, a 58.73 in the 300 meter hurdles and threw the javelin 21.14 meters.

On the boys side, junior Owen Rutledge competed in individual 800 and 1600 meter races and ran in the relays in the 400 and 800 meter races. Rutledge ran a 2:09.67 in the individual 800 meter race to earn six points and ran a 5:03.63 time in the 1600 meter race to earn another eight points. He earned another 3.75 points in the relay races to finish with a team-high 17.5 points.

Owen was not the only Rutledge to have a strong day. His older brother, Landon, a senior who recently committed to Mineral Area College to continue his running career, also shined on the track. Landon took first place in the 1600 meter race with a blistering 4:57.98 time to earn 10 points for the Cardinals. Rutledge also competed in the 300 meter hurdles and the 400 and 800 meter relay races, and added another 3.5 points to finish with 13.5 points on the day.

Fellow senior Hunter Starbeck competed in track for his first time in his high school career, in his time off from being a starting outfielder on Steelville’s baseball team. Starbeck ran a 52.60 time in the 400 meter race to earn his team eight points. He also competed in the individual 100 meter race along with the 400 and 800 meter relays, to earn a total of 11.5 points for his team in his debut race.

Fellow senior Aiden Retowski battled through an injury from wrestling season to compete in the discus throw and the shot put. Retowski threw the discus 35.55 meters to earn two points and launched the shot put 11.35 meters.

Junior Max Harmon also competed in the discus throw, shot put and javelin throw. He launched the discus 39.25 meters, threw the shot put 11.93 meters and tossed the javelin 39.99 meters to earn a total of six points for the Cardinals.

Fellow junior Will Bailey competed in the javelin throw and the 800 meter relays. Bailey threw the javelin 32.57 meters and earned 2.5 points as a part of Steelville’s 800 meter relay team that finished with a 8:47.30 time.

Freshman Andy Riley competed in the high jump, triple jump and ran in the 400 meter relays. He put up a 10.2 meter triple jump and totaled 3.5 points for the Cardinals.

Fellow freshman Nolan Marty competed in the 100 and 200 meter races. Marty ran a 16.25 in the 100 meter and a 36.87 in the 200 meter race.

Steelville is scheduled to compete in the Waynesville Open on March 26, which will be detailed in next week’s edition. The Cardinals will then compete on March 30 in the Cuba Relays.