NHS girls make a splash at rainy Joplin Invitational

Despite the cancellations of most area high school games on Friday due to rain, the Joplin Invitational went on as scheduled.

It turned out to be a fortuitous decision for the Nevada High School girls track and field team — which walked away from the event in soggy socks and shoes but with a second-place medal.

The Lady Tigers won five events and took second place in two more, and third place in three.

A few water droplets proved harmless to junior Claire Pritchett, who continued her winning ways in the shot put with a first-place toss of 12.21 meters.

Meanwhile, fellow junior Lilly Hart picked up a pair of first-place medals — one in the high jump (1.47 meters) and one in the long jump (5.11 meters).

Taylor Thompson, another junior, also won the discus with a throw of 27.13 meters.

The NHS girls 4x400-meter relay team of Jade Feller, Bailey Ast, Clara Swearingen, and Maddy Majors won its race by a couple seconds, crossing the finish in 4 minutes, 31.9 seconds.

Majors, Kirstin Buck, Brooklyn Kutina-Smith, and Shelby Burns also finished second in the 4x200 (1:58.32), and senior Tylin Heathman took silver in the 300-meter hurdles (51.50 seconds).

Third-place finishers included Feller, Ast, Majors, and Buck in the 4x100 (54.70 seconds), Feller in the 300-meter hurdles (53.00 seconds), and Swearingen in the 200 (29.10 seconds).

The NHS boys wrapped up their day with four third-place finishes: Gage Miller, Noah Beshore, Avious Steadman, and Ude Mba in the 4x200 (1:40.37); Steadman in the 100 (12.11 seconds); Drew Beachler in the long jump (6.47 meters); and Dylan Beachler in the pole vault (3.65 meters).

Webb City won the team standings on both sides, with the Cardinals scoring 167.5 points and the Lady Cards scoring 129.

The Lady Tigers were not far behind them with 121. The NHS boys finished fifth with 41.5.

Nevada will next compete in the Lamar Invitational on Thursday — weather permitting, of course.