The Lone Tree Lions had a spectacular performance in claiming the girls’ team title at Tuesday’s Columbus Early Bird Track & Field Meet. Lone Tree finished with 158-and-a-half points, 31 better than second-place Van Buren County. The Highland Huskies came in third, with the Winfield-Mount Union Wolves one spot behind. The host Columbus Wildcats finished sixth and the Hillcrest Academy Ravens were eighth.

Lone Tree dominated the competition, finishing with five individual winners and two relay teams that won. Freshman Ava Christofferson put on a show for the Lions, winning the 100-meter dash in 13.5 seconds before also claiming the 200 meters in 28.4 seconds. Sophomore Rylee Shield was the runner-up in the 200 and won the 400-meter run in a minute and three seconds, while classmate Vivan Zaruba needed only 2:53 to take the 800 meters.

Lone Tree sophomore Hayden Yoder’s 29-foot-eight-inch throw was best in the shot put, while Christofferson, Shield, and Zaruba teamed up with senior Riley Krueger to win the four-by-100-meter relay in just under 55 seconds. Christofferson, Shield and Krueger also ran with sophomore Avery Morarie to take the 800-meter sprint medley in a tick under 12 minutes. Along with the 4-by-200 relay finishing third, the Lions got a third-place finish by Zaruba in the high jump; a fourth-place finish by Krueger in the 100-meter hurdles; and a fourth-place finish by sophomore Alex Dautremont in the discus throw.

Highland got two individual winners in junior Sarah Burton, who claimed the long jump at 16’5.75″, and senior Jessica Kraus, who earned the discus crown with a top toss of 90’4″. Burton joined senior Mackenzie McFarland, sophomore Lilly Barre and freshman Kealy Roberts to win the 4-by-200 in 1:59, while the Huskies also finished third in both the 4-by-100 and 800 sprint medley.

Highland freshman Siena Stanerson was second in the 1,500 meter run, followed by junior teammate Kylie Allen in third. Burton was third in the 200 meters and Kraus finished in the same spot in the shot put. Husky senior Adelynn Kleopfer was third in the 100 hurdles and fourth in the 400 hurdles.

Winfield-Mount Union did most of their damage in the relays. The 4-by-800 team of junior Aurey Meeker, sophomore Josie Nelson and freshmen Kaelyn Townsley and Quin Smith were winners in 4:47 for WMU, as was the 4-by-100 shuttle hurdles squad of Nelson, junior Tessa Huston and seniors Keetyn Townsley and Keyreana Sharar in 1:19. Smith also was tied for first in the high jump by clearing 4’8″, while Townsley claimed the crown in the 100 hurdles in just over 18 seconds.

The Wolves also got a runner-up finish from Nelson in the 100 hurdles, while senior Bradie Buffington was second and freshman Madisen Kellogg was fourth in the shot put. The 4-by-200 relay team was second, as was the 800 sprint medley, while the distance medley team was third.

The Columbus Wildcats picked up one win, as the quartet of senior Victoria Howell, freshman Naveiah Garza and sophomores Claire Humphreys and Ariana Vergara won the distance medley in 5:08. Vergara was third in the 800, followed one spot later by sophomore teammate Frannie Sosa, and freshman Audrey Hoback was third in the 400 hurdles. The top finishes for the Hillcrest Ravens were junior Anna Torok getting third in the 100 and fourth in the long jump.