Malvern track team rewrites record book

The Hornets wrapped up the spring season with a regional meet packed full of state qualifiers, record-breaking relays, and enough memorable performances to keep Coach Jeremy Maher smiling all summer. Meanwhile, the baseball team saw its postseason run come to an end one step shy of a district championship game.

Baseball

Malvern’s baseball season concluded May 26 with a 6-2 loss to Hannibal River in a Division VII East 1 district semifinal.

The final score was frustrating enough. The five errors certainly did not help matters. Yet the Hornets battled throughout the afternoon and made the Pilots earn their victory.

Cam Good paced the offense by going 2-for-2, while Wade Barkley was 1-for-2, stole three bases, and scored both Malvern runs. Dakota Barger added an RBI single, and Jaxon Jones helped his own cause with an RBI while going 1-for-3 at the plate.

Jones was outstanding on the mound despite the loss, pitching six innings while allowing just five hits. Remarkably, none of the six runs he allowed were earned, and he did not issue a walk. Unfortunately for Malvern, baseball stubbornly insists that fielding matters too. The Hornets finished the season with a 10-16 record.

Track and Field

One week after the boys won their first district championship in program history, Malvern’s athletes headed to the Division V regional meet at Chillicothe and responded by qualifying 10 athletes for the state meet at OSU’s Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium.

Leading the charge was Parker Bowe, who once again proved that throwing heavy objects very far is an extremely useful skill.

Bowe captured regional championships in both the shot put and discus, winning the shot put with a throw of 58-10.25 and the discus with a toss of 170-02. The double regional champion will return to the state meet looking for more hardware after another dominant postseason performance.

Owen Ball punched his ticket back to state in the 110m hurdles by placing fifth in 15.01. In the process, Ball broke his own school record and earned another trip to Columbus. He narrowly missed qualifying in the 300m hurdles, finishing seventh in a loaded field.

The boys 4x200m relay team of Karsen Farmer, Aiden Sprague, Julius Gore, and Ball also earned a state berth by placing fifth in 1:33.73.

The boys 4x400m relay team of Aiden Sprague, Camrin Detchon, Cooper Dorr, and Ball wrapped up its season with a seventh-place finish, while Detchon battled to a 10th-place finish in the highly competitive 800m run.

On the girls side, the Hornets attacked the regional meet with the subtlety of a wrecking ball.

The 4x200m relay team of Avery Sprague, Kami Rayborn, Olivia Maher, and Mya Doughty placed third in 1:46.95, breaking a school record that had stood since 2009 while qualifying for state. Apparently, the previous record holders enjoyed their 17-year run, but it was time to move over.

Not satisfied with one record, the girls returned later and shattered another.

The 4x400m relay team of Olivia Maher, Emma Maher, Rayborn, and Doughty placed second in 4:05.96, breaking a school record that had stood since 1985 by a whopping three seconds. That mark survived four decades, several presidents, and countless cassette tapes before finally falling.

Freshman Olivia Maher added an individual state qualification in the 100m hurdles, placing fourth in 15.90.

Doughty also concluded her individual season with a seventh-place finish in the 400m run, while the entire girls squad played a major role in one of the most successful regional weekends in school history.

Coach Jeremy Maher praised his athletes' effort and accomplishments after the meet.

“We want to thank everyone who made this week so special for the athletes,” Maher said. “What a great group of kids and awesome experience for them. We are thrilled we get another week with them.”

Given the number of records, medals, and state qualifiers heading to Columbus, it is safe to say the Hornets earned that extra week.