Linn Middle School track and field athletes continued their steady progress at Thursday’s South Callaway Invitational, earning multiple medals and posting a strong collection of personal-best performances in a large, competitive field.

Coach Robyn Baker emphasized growth across the board as Linn was able to enter up to four athletes per event.

“In anything, that is always the goal: to get better and see success,” she said. “We had a few athletes earn medals, and even more who had a personal record for their event.”

Ava Winkelman led the way for the Lady Wildcats, continuing her pursuit of the school record in the triple jump with a third-place mark of 9m. She also added a personal-best time of 14.21 seconds in the 100m dash and 30.15 in the 200m dash.

Amelia Brandt delivered a strong distance double, placing fourth in the 800m (2:50.57) and sixth in the 1600m (6:29.06), earning medals and setting a PR in both events. Lily Baker followed closely in the 800m, finishing sixth in 2:52.55, also a personal record.

Other notable efforts for the girls included Sydney Bowne (1:16.56) in the 400m and multiple personal-best performances across the sprints and field events.

On the boys’ side, Linn saw continued development in the jumping events. MJ Ramey-Pennington placed fifth in the long jump at 5.02 meters, while Ben Swann finished fifth in the triple jump (10.61m) and added a seventh-place finish in the 100-meter hurdles (18.10).

“MJ and Ben are turning into really good jumpers for us,” Baker said. “They are both natural athletes and work hard to better themselves in whatever event they participate in.”

Swann also contributed on the track, placing 15th in the 1600 (5:40.48), while Trenton Vogler followed in 17th (5:42.86), both setting personal-best times.

Landon Engelhardt set a PR in the 800m run (2:51.24).

The Wildcats closed the meet with a strong showing in the 4x400 relay, where Vogler, Ramey-Pennington, Ethan Grafe, and Swann combined for a time of 4:20.87.

“The 4x400 meter relay team provided some great entertainment in the last race of the day,” Baker said. “They were excited about their finish, and so were we as coaches.”

Earlier in the week, Linn found success at the Eugene Invitational, using a smaller meet setting to build confidence and produce several standout performances.

Coach Baker pointed to the meet as an opportunity for growth. “This was a little meet, and good for our kids to see some success,” Baker said.

L. Baker highlighted the night with a breakthrough performance in the 800m event, winning in 2:53.56. “Lily had a great start and didn’t let up until she ended up first in the race,” Baker said.

Winkelman placed second in the triple jump with a PR of 9.40m.

In the distance events, Brandt and Kensington Kramer finished second and third in the 1600m run, respectively, with times of 6:37.04 and 6:40.77.

“Amelia and Kenni worked well together,” Baker said.

The Lady Wildcats also earned a medal in the 4x200 relay, as Kirra Deatsch, Emmah Jackson, Ariel Gregory, and Norah Caldwell combined for a third-place finish in 2:07.51.

In the field events, Brandon Youtzy’s work in the throwing events paid off with a personal-best throw of 9.97 meters to win the shot put. “Brandon has been working hard on throws and also doing a little bit of running for us,” Baker said. “He got a PR, and it was good to see all his hard work pay off.”

On the boys’ side, Swann continued to show versatility, placing second in the 1600m run (5:45.04) and also competing in the 100m hurdles for the first time, where he finished fourth in 18.66. “Ben might have found something challenging for him and fun all at the same time,” Baker said of his entry into the hurdles.

Linn’s 4x400 relay squad of Michael Ramey-Pennington, Trenton Vogler, Swann, and Grafe ran to a third-place finish (4:30.99).

Linn also saw a strong wave of personal-best performances across the meet. Deatsch (34.54) and Daphne Baker (36.06) each set marks in the 200m, while Allyson Entz posted a personal-best 1:18.75 in the 400m. In the field events, Kendall Niederhelm recorded a PR 4.06m in the long jump, and Willow Reimund added a 3.58m jump.

On the boys’ side, Ramey-Pennington reached 5.10 meters in the long jump, Bryson Haslag set personal bests in both the 100m (15.26) and 200m (32.88) races, Grafe posted a 20.56 in the 100m hurdles, Colton Rachatellelle ran a PR 2:55.82 in the 800m event, and Jonah Franken set a PR of 15.68m in the discus.