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COLLINSVILLE - Katie and Kellie Mans helped lead the Redbirds on the day in the recent Madison County Girls Track and Field Meet.
Katie Mans was the high jump winner with a leap of 5-5 and Kellie Mans taking third in the 400 meters at 1:01.95 on Tuesday afternoon.
“Both girls are doing well,” Alton head girls track and field coach Jada Moore said about the Mans sisters for this point in the season.
East St. Louis had 165 points to O'Fallon's 164 to win the meet, with Belleville West third at 94 points, Edwardsville fourth at 86, Belleville East following with 64, Alton sixth at 57 points, followed by Granite City (37) and Collinsville (22).
O'Fallon scored 162 points to Edwardsville's 155 in the junior varsity portion of the meet, followed by East Side (121), West (83), East (62) Collinsville (38) and Alton (30).
The meet was proof of how tough the entire Southwestern Conference is, regardless of sport. “If you're running with the best in your conference, there won't be a huge surprise when you get upset,” Moore said. “You have to be on top of your game every day; I love that – the competitiveness of our conference will only make you better.”
With the Belleville West sectional approaching, Moore said “I wish we were a little bit more advanced, but I've got a young team; there's always room for improvement. I'm excited about that portion of it – this is my first year as a head coach. I can only get better from here.”
Other top performances from Alton on the day included a fourth from Jeanea Epps in the 100 meters (fourth in 12.45 seconds) and a third from Epps in the 200 meters (26.01 seconds), with Tyriss Holliday taking third in the pole vault with a leap of 7-6 and Rayn Tally finishing fourth in the shot put with a toss of 33-1.5.
In the JV competition, Alton's 4x200 relay team of Sierra Stahlschmidt, Alyssa Bean, Corrine Mason-El and Danita Smith won the event in 1:51.49 while Edwardsville's Natasha Davis took the 300 hurdles in 50.74 seconds and Alton's 4x400 relay team of Lauren Weiner, Smith, Bean and Mason-El finished second.
Dan Brannan also contributed to this story.
