ORLEANS — Lake Region Union High School’s Heather Alexander won her second straight state championship in the javelin on Thursday, breaking her own school record by over 2 meters in the process. Alexander’s victory highlighted a strong performance by the Rangers at the state meet.
In other top finishes for Lake Region, Justin Young and Maeda Urie both placed second in the high jump, with Young clearing 6 feet and Urie clearing 5 feet for the first time.
The girls 4×100 relay team of Indie Haney, Addie Schneider, Madison Bowman, and Bella Hanover placed third, with Bowman earning her second consecutive third-place finish in the event as a senior.
Other notable performances for the girls included a sixth-place finish by the 4×800 team (Anna Whittemore, Nell Urie, Emma King, Charlie Edlund), Maeda Urie placing fifth in the 300m hurdles, Alayna Azur finishing sixth in the 400m, and a 4-5-6 sweep in the discus by Madison Bowman, Brooklyn Hinton, and Becca Legacy, with Legacy setting a personal record of 11 feet.
Sylvie Brownlow placed sixth in discus, Heather Alexander was sixth in high jump, and Bella Hanover finished fifth in triple jump and sixth in long jump, with Addie Schneider placing sixth in triple jump.
On the boys’ side, Adler Lahar placed fifth in the 400m, Xaviar Chapdelaine finished fifth in the 3000m, the 4×100 relay team (Jericho Thatcher, Tristan Morley, Adler Lahar, Luc Oliver) placed fourth, and the 4×400 relay team (Tristan Morley, Jeremiah Badertscher, Ethan Gratton-Derbyshire, Adler Lahar) finished fifth. Oscar Forsay placed sixth in javelin, Justin Young was fifth in shot put, and Luc Oliver finished fourth in the 100m trials but had to miss the finals due to injury.
Ethan Gratton-Derbyshire finished 7th in the mens varsity 300m hurdles event.
Overall, the Lake Region girls team finished fifth, while the boys team placed ninth in the state meet. The strong individual and relay performances demonstrated the depth and talent of the Rangers’ track and field program.
