April 14, 2021
By: Dwayne Page
Monday night was a successful night for 5 DeKalb County High School Track and Field athletes who all set personal records in the district meet in Cookeville.
Aaron Gottlied and the 4×800 meter relay team (Luke Winkler, Caleb Smith, and Kamrin McLaughlin) finished fourth with a time of 9:50.05. Gottlied went on to compete in the 800 meters placing 3rd with a time of 2:14.39. Gottlied also had a top ten finish in the 1600 meters placing 4th out of 27 runners with a time of 5:04.94.
Ally Beneke anchored the first place victory in the women’s 4×200 meter (Sable Winfree, Kyra Perkins, and Lexi Smart). The team captured the title with a time of 1:54.11. Beneke, the top ranked sophomore high jumper in the state of Tennessee according to TN MileSplit, had a superior night in the high jump beating her own previous school record with a jump of 5.04.00.
Ella VanVranken now holds the Warren County School record in both the 800 meters and 1600 meters. VanVranken beat the school record for the 800 meters Monday night with a third place finish and a time of 2:27.89. She also recorded a second place finish in the 1600 meter race with a time of 5:24.12 falling behind Landri Wilcox the University of Tennessee signee from Cookeville High School.
VanVranken and Cadee Griffith would later team up with Katie Toney and Madalyn Stubblefield to break another Warren County School record in the women’s 4×400 meter race with a time of 4:28.56 The team came in second place behind Cookeville High School (4:26.80).
Cadee Griffith had 2 Top Ten finishes on the night finishing ninth in both the 400 meter and 800 meter races. Griffith improved both times with a time of 1:10.91 in the 400 meter race and a time of 2:50.82 in the 800 meter event.
Maleah Ruch took almost two seconds off her previous time setting a new PR in the 400 meter race with a time of 1:20.90.
This was the third district meet of the year with one more district meet to be held in Cookeville on Tuesday, April 27th. Athletes from 12 high schools competed in the meet representing: York Institute, Clarkrange, Cookeville, Cumberland County, Franklin County, Livingston Academy, Macon County, Oakland, Stone Memorial, Upperman, Warren County, and White County. To view all scores and results visit: https://tn.milesplit.com/meets/403044-cookeville-home-meet-3-2021/results/731669/formatted#.YHbql9zYrrc