Mba, Olson lead NMS at Redbird Relays

The Nevada Middle School track and field team returned home from the Redbird Relays in Webb City on Thursday with eight first-place medals — including two each in the possession of seventh-grader Uche Mba and eighth-grader Alison Olson.

Mba won both the seventh-grade boys 400-meter event and the long jump.

Teammate Cort Andersen also finished first in the pole vault, while Addyson Pryor had the longest toss in the seventh-grade girls discus. The seventh-grade girls and boys finished fifth and sixth overall, respectively.

The eighth-grade girls exhibited another impressive effort, placing second overall as a team.

The 4x200-meter relay team of Olson, Caylee Holcomb, Hailey Hearting, and Peyton Eaton won its event, in addition to first-place finishes from Olson in the triple jump and Sydnee Baldwin in the pole vault.

The eighth-grade boys, meanwhile, finished in fifth — led by Jack Cheaney’s first-place performance in the triple jump.

Second-place finishes for NMS included Aidan Ryan in the eighth-grade boys 1,600, Cam Williams in the eighth-grade boys discus, Hearting in the eighth-grade girls 400, and Hearting, Mary Kate Russell, Halle Richmond, and Averi Dawn in the eighth-grade girls 4x400.

Third-place finishers: Cheaney in the eighth-grade boys 400; Anthony Pizano in the eighth-grade boys 800; Freyja Sherman in the seventh-grade girls long jump; Holcomb in the eighth-grade girls 400; and Ella Heathman in the eighth-grade girls triple jump and shot put.