Cuba High School’s track and field team had the opportunity to show their skills in front of their friends and families on March 30 the Wildcats hosted the Cuba Relays.

Cuba was scheduled to compete in the New Bloomfield Relays on April 2, but that meet was cancelled due to the inclement weather. It’s still to be determined if the meet will be rescheduled.  Cuba will participate in the Pacific Invitational on April 7 at Pacific High School and will compete again at home on April 16 in the Cuba Invitational.  

Owensville wins boys’ meet

Cuba welcomed track and field athletes from Steelville, Bourbon, Salem, Licking, Owensville, Belle, Newburg, Eldon and Mineral Area Home School. Owensville won the boys’ meet and Eldon emerged with a win in the girls’ meet. Cuba’s boys’ team took fifth place and its girls’ team finished in fourth place. The Wildcats had multiple noteworthy individual performances in the relay races throughout the warm afternoon.

Senior Noah Halbert continued his strong final campaign with a pair of top-five finishes. Halbert’s best finish came in the 110 meter hurdles, earning second place with a 18.13-second finishing time. He took third in the boys 300 meter hurdles with a 43.79 time and finished in seventh in the boys 100 meter race with a 12:31 time.

Sophomore Brayden Lewis had three top-five performances throughout the day. Lewis finished in fifth place in the 200 meter race with a 25.02 time and took fourth place in the 400 meter race with a 54.97 finish. Lewis also competed in the triple jump, and was Cuba’s best performer, finishing in third place with a 11.51 meter leap.

Sophomore Karter Kaysinger took 12th in the 100 meter dash with a 12.57 time and finished in 14th in the 200 meter dash with a 26.61 finish. Freshmen Wyatt Littrell and Cooper Medows and junior Damion Ferguson also competed in the 400 meter race. Littrell took eighth place, Medows finished in 17th and Ferguson took 20th. 

Sophomore Jamison Scott earned two ninth-place finishes in the 110 meter hurdles and in the 300 meter hurdles with 22.31 and 51.75 finishing times, respectively. 

Junior Tandon Baker took seventh place in the 800 meter race with a 2:22.71 finish. Sophomore Christian DeLuna and Medows also competed in the race and DeLuna took 10th and Medows finished in 12th. 

Junior Brody Bayless finished in seventh in the 1600 meter race with a 5:48.98 time and sophomore Gavin Hepperman took 12th with a 6:29.01 finish. Hepperman took ninth place in the 3200 meter race with a 14:06.09 time. 

Cuba also competed in the 4x100, 4x200, 4x400 and 4x800 meter relay races. The Wildcats finished in fourth place in the 4x400 and 4x800 races and fifth place in the 4x800 meter race. The Wildcats’ best relay performance came in the 4x200 race where Kaysinger, Littrell, Meadows and freshman Zaylen Kammer combined for a 1:43.79 finish that earned them third place.

Sophomore John Vandegriffe finished in fifth place in the discus throw with a 32.55 meter toss. Junior Zane Brown took 10th place, senior Cole Henke finished in 11th, Hepperman took 16th and junior Brate Hart finished in 20th.

In the shot put, Brown finished in third place with a 12.42 meter heave, Henke took seventh place, Vandegriffe finished in ninth, Hart took 15th and junior Judah Folz finished in 19th.

Cuba didn’t have a top-10 finisher in the javelin throw, but Brown finished in 11th, Vandegriffe 12th, Hart 16th and Folz finished in 17th.

Medows was Cuba’s top long jumper, taking 14th place with a 5.09 meter leap. Lewis finished in 16th, freshmen Billie Thompson and Ryan McPherson took 17th and 24th, respectively and Folz finished in 27th.

DeLuna finished in fourth place in the pole vault with a 3.20 meter jump and sophomore James Eickhorst took ninth place with a 2.75 meter leap.

The Lady Wildcats were well represented in the top-five of track and field events throughout the day.

Sophomore Justice Evrard showcased her speed and leaping ability throughout the afternoon, earning a fourth-place finish in the 100 meter race and a third-place showing in the 200 meter dash with 13.57-second and 28.19-second times, respectively. Evrard also took second place in the long jump with a 4.55 meter leap and finished in fourth place in the high jump with a 1.45 meter jump.

Senior Cailyn Hulsey took sixth place in the high jump with a 1.40 meter jump and finished in 11th in the 200 meter dash with a 32.26 finish.

Sophomore Kendra Humphrey earned a pair of top-10 finishes in the 100 meter and 300 meter hurdles. Humphrey took eighth in the 100 meter hurdles with a 20.76 time and finished in sixth place in the 300 meter totals with a 1:01.74 time.

Sisters sophomore Ella and senior Cadynce Basham each earned second-place finishes and were a part of Cuba’s third place 4x800 relay team along with Savannah Vass and Lily Becherer. Ella Basham took second place in the 800 meter race with a 2:49.17 time and Cadynce Basham finished in second place in the 3200 meter run with a 15:14.43 time.

Senior Shannon Black was a standout in the field events throughout the meet. Black finished in fourth place in discus throw with a 26.14 meter toss, second place in the shot put with a 9.94 meter heave and eighth place in the javelin throw with a 26.50 meter throw. 

Junior Teryn Vass was Cuba’s lone competitor in the girls pole vault competition and finished in seventh place with a 2.25 meter leap.

Senior Cynthia Viramontes took sixth place in the triple jump with a 8.79 meter leap. Sophomore Makenlee Lorenz also competed in the triple jump and finished in 16th place with a 6.86 meter jump.