By Chuck Reherman
Sports Editor
The Yukon Track Classic always brings in a large field of teams.
This years was the largest.
A field of 37 teams competed in the day-long event on a very windy day and the Millers came away with an 11th place overall finish.
Teams competed in a steady wind that gusted up to 30 miles per hour at times and finished in cool temperatures on a smoky evening. Smoke from grass fires from western Oklahoma made their way to Yukon and put a haze over the stadium for the final two events of the day.
“This was an incredibly tough meet this year,” Miller head coach Matt Parent said. “The competition and the weather conditions were unbelievable. However, I really feel this made us better in so many areas especially as we taper down to the end of the season where quality is valued over quantity.
“This was a very big meet,” he added. “With 37 schools entered, we decided to move kids around some and take our kids out of several events to give them a chance to focus on just a couple races and/or events.”
Midwest City won the team title with 82 points. Choctaw finished second with 61 points, edging out Edmond North (60 points) for the runner-up spot. Yukon placed 11th overall with 17.5 points.
Kole Frederick had the best finish for the Millers, running third in the 300-meter intermediate hurdles in a time of 39.66 seconds. He also finished fifth in the 110-meter high hurdles in 15.20 seconds.
Tyler Dechant took fifth in the high jump, clearing 6-3 and took sixth in the 110-meter high hurdles in 15.23 seconds.
“Kole had a great day for us,” Parent said. “He placed in both hurdles and ran his best race of the year in both. His 300-hurdle race was incredible. He blew away his best of the year by almost two seconds.
“Tyler also had a great day in the 110’s, running his best time as well,” he added. “He’s been dealing with a little bit of soreness and some dead legs because of his training, but with some rest, he will snap back quickly.”
Carvell McKinley took fourth place in the long jump with a leap of 21-11.75. Elijah Ankrom ran fifth in the 3200-meter run and Jack Gose tied for sixth in the pole vault at 13-6.
“Carvell just missed at 22’ jump in the long jump,” Parent said. “This was his first meet of the year for him to jump. While he has a lot to clean up, he had a great jump, placing fourth in a loaded field.
Elijah ran a great race in the 3200,” he added. “The wind was just awful. He was able to run in the 10:20’s for two miles all while getting beaten up by the wind. This tells me he is actually in the low 10’s in a good weather day.
“Jack had issues with the wind as well, but was able to continue his streak of placing in the pole vault.
“Other notable events include Noah Hanscom and Elijah Wallace in the 800. Both ran their best times and really looked good competing. Hopefully, they are shifting gears into the end of the season. I’m really happy for them. B.J. Wright had his best time of the year in the 100, and Zach Cantwell threw over the 120 mark in the discus for the first time.”
That is a great throw for a ninth grader. I really think he has more in the tank. He can be a force for us in the coming years.”
The Millers will compete in the Central Oklahoma athletic Conference meet April 26 at Moore High School.
