Jeff Chaney
Sports Scene
LOWELL, MI — The last time the Greenville girls track team won a conference championship, no one on the roster of this year’s squad was even born.
The year was 1992, and the conference title came in the old Seaway Conference.
That changed May 11 at Lowell High School, when the Yellow Jackets won the OK White Conference championship with 157 points, 18 better than runner-up East Grand Rapids, the team Greenville took second to a season ago.
The Yellow Jackets took the title in their final year in the OK White. Next season Greenville moves into the new OK Bronze.
“Our girls have worked so hard for this,” coach Sharon Gianacakos said. “This means a lot, I’m so happy for the girls.”
The Yellow Jackets have worked hard and were led by some incredible performances throughout the entire meet.
Greenville swept the hurdles events as Taylor Christensen won the 100-meter hurdles in 16.35 seconds, while Rosalyn Wyse won the 300-meter hurdles in 47.15 seconds.
“Winning was very important to us upperclassmen,” said Wyse, a junior. “Last year we took second to East and felt bad. This year we were really going for this.”
The Yellow Jackets were also strong in sprints, as junior Taylor Baker won the 100-meter dash in 12.8 seconds, the 200-meter dash in 26.1, and was part of the winning 800-meter relay team.
“We haven’t been conference champs since 1992, that’s how long it’s been,” Baker said. “We really wanted this.”
Greenville wasn’t the only girls’ team to have great performances during the two-day tournament.
Lowell sophomore Rachael Walters brought her coaches to tears with her run in the 400-meter dash.
Against a solid field, Walters won with a time of 59 seconds.
“My coaches wanted me to win conference so bad,” Walters said. “I went out hard; I’ve only made it under a minute once, so this time broke my PR.”
Following Walters to the finish line was a foursome of East Grand Rapids runners, including Lily Clifford, the runner who beat Walters in the 400 last year.
“I was so scared, I knew they were all behind me so I never looked back,” Walters said. “It was disappointing to take second last year, so I went for it this year.”
Lowell senior Zach Rose also improved from a year ago.
Last year he took ninth in the 300-meter hurdles. This year, he took first, with a time of 41.57 seconds. And he did it with an upset stomach.
“My stomach was killing me,” Rose said. “I didn’t have a healthy diet; I ate a school lunch and it got to me. I just put everything I had into the race.”
In the final team standings, Lowell’s girls took fourth with 72 points. In the final boys’ team standings, Lowell was third with 77 points and Greenville sixth with 28. Grand Rapids Christian won with 236 points.