The Lake Orion girls track and field team placed second at the Oakland County Championships at Oakland University on Friday. Photo provided
AUBURN HILLS — The Lake Orion girls track and field teams finished second out of 35 at the 67th Oakland County Championships at Oakland University on Friday.
The boys team finished 14th out of 34 teams with 19 points.
The Lake Orion boys’ and girls’ track and field teams delivered strong performances, competing against some of the top programs in the county, said head track and field coach Andrew McDonald.
Girls Team – Oakland County Runner-Up
The Dragons continued their impressive season by securing a runner-up finish, showcasing depth and consistency across events, McDonald said.
In the field events, senior Layla Thomas placed fourth in the long jump (17-feet, 0.5-inches), while freshman Veronica Gaberdiel added a seventh-place finish (16-feet, 10-inches).
In the pole vault, junior Olivia Bagdasarian cleared 10-feet, 6-inches to place third, and senior Grace Carlson added a sixth-place finish.
On the track, senior Sabrina DiMaggio earned a second-place finish in the 100m hurdles (14.68 seconds), while junior Abbey Neering had a standout day, placing second in the 400m (57.34 seconds) and fourth in the 200m (25.46 seconds). Sophomore Greta Colquitt added a second-place finish in the 300m hurdles (47.19 seconds).
“Lake Orion’s relay teams were key contributors to the runner-up finish,” McDonald said. “Notably, Abbey Neering recorded the second-fastest 200m time in school history, highlighting an outstanding individual performance within a strong team effort.”
The 4x200m relay (Lexi McDaniel, Veronica Gaberdiel, Elisabeth Hetu, Abbey Neering) and 4x400m relay (Aubrey Nichols, McDaniel, Hetu, Neering) both earned second-place finishes, while the 4x100m relay placed eighth.
Boys Team Highlights
“The Lake Orion boys faced a highly competitive field and produced several strong performances throughout the meet,” McDonald said.
Senior Max Houvener led the team with a third-place finish in the 3,200m, posting a personal best time of 9:33.64 minutes.
Sophomore Braydon Harris added a season-best performance in the 110m hurdles, placing eighth (15.74 seconds), while senior Ben Lako contributed with a fifth-place finish in the 200m dash (22.33 seconds).
The relay teams continued to show strength, with the 4x100m relay (Donovin Findlay, Malek Pulford, Cole Shoskey, Ben Lako) placing fourth (42.97 seconds) and the 4x400m relay (Shoskey, Pulford, Dominic Wloch, Luis Nava) finishing sixth (3:31.75 minutes).
“As the season moves to the MHSAA State Finals in Rockford, both teams will carry valuable momentum from their strong performances at the Oakland County Championships,” McDonald said. – J.N.