Harding Athletic Highlights 4/4-4/8

Harding Academy competed in their first track and field meet of the season on Friday, March 25.  Though the team only had 4-days of practice after a 10-day spring break lay-off, there were many great performances. Please note that a "great performance" does not necessarily indicate that an athlete ran fast, jumped high (or far), threw far, or even placed high in the final results. Though I do highlight these areas, the focus tends to be on performances that catch my attention, performances that show large improvement, and/or performances that exhibit a healthy spirit of competition and teamwork. 

 

For the girls:

 

Leah Fremont '22 set a personal best in the girl's 100-meter dash by running 15.47-seconds (previous best of 16.50)

 

Darcy Dove '22 (33.44-seconds), Stella Frisbee '24 (33.80), and Mina Sanford '24 (34.45) all ran their first 200-meter dash and finished middle of the pack. Each of these girls can improve significantly before the end of the season.

 

In the girl's 400-meter run, Charlotte Mikos '22 ran a personal best of 1:11.44 and came in third. The 8th-place finisher (top 8 make the finals and score team points) at the 2021 conference meet in the girl's 400-meter dash ran 1:09.20. I believe Charlotte can go at least 1:08 by the end of the season. 

 

Charlotte also ran the girl's 100-meter hurdles and WON THE RACE with a personal best time of 19.03-seconds, despite not getting a chance to work on hurdles at all last week. I fully expect Charlotte to break 19.00-seconds at her next meet. 

 

The girl's 4x100-meter relay (each runner runs 100-meters) came in 3rd with a time of 1:01.70-seconds, despite one pseudo-bad hand-off. This team will break 1:00 in one of the next two meets. 

 

In the girl's high jump, Sarah Hackett '22 came in 3rd with a jump of 4'4", while Maddie Yeatman '22 matched her personal best with a jump of 4'2", and Charlotte Mikos jumped 4'00". Each of these girls will break 4'6" before the end of the season. 

 

Maddie Yeatman also competed in the girl's discus throw and walked away in 1st place, with a personal best throw of 65', while Caroline Thomas '22 earned 3rd place with a personal best throw of 54'8".

 

For the boys:

 

Quincy Topping '22 eeked out a come-from-behind 2nd place in the boy's 200-meter dash, with a time of 26.22. Quincy was well on his way to a personal best in the 400-meter dash (personal best of 62.03) before suffering a hip flexor injury that caused him to slow up the last 75-meters. Nonetheless, Quincy gutted out a 65.02 and a 5th-place finish. 

 

The boy's 4x100-meter relay team did great for their first time "passing the baton" and placed 3rd with a time of 59.27-seconds. This team consisted of Matthew Hillenmeyer '23, Hudson Drake '22, Austin Piggee '24, and Quincy Topping '22. There is potential for this team to break 55.00-seconds by the end of the season. 

 

In the boy's long jump, Sam Bowers '22 jumped 16'4.75" in his first-ever track meet and finished in 4th place. Considering Sam is splitting his time with baseball and not getting a ton of time with the track team, his results on the day are much more impressive. 

 

We also want to highlight and thank our first-timers and 6th-graders for overcoming their first-meet jitters, competing fiercely, and representing HA as best as we could hope for. I am certain I will be highlighting these athletes as we continue to move through the season. 

Girls Lacrosse vs. Page Middle
Harding girls' lacrosse fell 5-8 against Page Middle School on Friday 4/1. Carter Floyd, Emerson Smith, and Gracie Meriwether were all goal scorers for the Hawks. Lexie Lampka picked up 7 ground balls and Elliott Moloney recorded multiple saves in the cage to keep the game close. Lela George, Lauren Sullivan, Neko Mannes and Susan McCarley all held down the defensive end, each recording at least one ground ball or caused turnover. The Hawks return to action on Monday 4/4 against Ensworth Middle School.

Girls Lacrosse Loses Tough Game To Ensworth
Harding girls’ lacrosse lost a close battle to Ensworth Middle School. After Harding took a 2-0 lead, Ensworth tied the game up to take us to halftime 2-2. Ensworth went up 4-2 and Harding used goals by Lauren Sullivan and Carter Floyd to even the score at 4. Ensworth scored with 1 minute remaining in regulation to take the win. Lexie Lampka and Gracie Meriwether each recorded a goal as well. The Hawks’ return to action on April 6th against Brentwood.

Girls Lacrosse vs. Brentwood
Harding girls’ lacrosse played a tough battle against Brentwood on Wednesday April 6th. Lauren Sullivan scored a season high 6 goals and Gracie Meriwether scored 2 goals to add to Harding’s score. Olivia Zanetti recorded her first assist of the season. Although they battled back from a 10-2 deficit at half, Harding outscored Brentwood in the second half for a final score of 12-8. The Hawks return to action next week to play two non-conference away games.