Coach Mike Spoede wasn’t sure he had the numbers to compete for a title during Thursday’s GAC track meet.But some crafty scrambling and surprising performances helped the Warrenton girls claim top honors against four others opponents at Orchard Farm High School.“The girls stepped up across the board,” said Spoede. “The events we were good at, the other schools weren’t so much. It worked out really well.”The Warriors won by a considerable margin, edging St. Charles West by 23 points with a score of 170.The traditionally strong events were again reliable, but it was the surprises that made the difference.The sprints and sprint relays helped offset an imbalance in field events, at which the Warriors are scarce in.“We’re so much weaker in the field events than some of the others, so I wasn’t sure,” said Spoede. “We did enough on the track to make up for it.”Much of that success was a product of eight first-place finishes.It started early, with the 3,200-meter relay team opening the event. The crew, consisting of Mary Broker, Andrea Poole, Madeline Carlson and Meagan Sanders, claimed first with a time of 11:02.The 800-meter relay, including Lalita Andrews, Emma Housewright, Corizma Blair and Kalee Kelly, also placed first by running a 1:56.“Our goal was to be in the Top 3, but as the meet kept progressing, I began to realize we were pulling away with the lead,” said Spoede.The Warriors’ 1,600-meter relay, consisting of Courtney Richardson, Andrews, Broker and Poole, took second at 4:46.In the distance events, junior Madeline Carlson claimed a pair of individual firsts. She ran a 5:53 in the mile while clocking a 12:54 in the two-mile run.Meanwhile, Poole placed second in the mile at 5:55, and Mary Broker took third in the two-mile at 13:13.Richardson placed second in the 100-meter hurdles by finishing in 22.06 seconds.In the sprint events, Corizma Blair provided a substantial amount of points.“We knew Corizma had really been running well and would compete in the open events,” said Spoede.She placed second in the 100-meter dash with a time of 13.36, while winning the 200-meter race at 29.1 seconds. Blair also finished second in the 800-meter run.Andrews helped out in the high jump with a first-place finish by clearing 4 feet, 10 inches.“It put a spark into some of these younger kids,” said Spoede of the unexpected win. “We saw some kids show concern that they didn’t do well in their first or second event, so they came back even stronger in their final events.”The Warrenton boys team experienced a wealth of individual success, claiming second overall.“I wasn’t disappointed overall,” said Coach Steve McDowell. “The events we were strong in, we did very well at.”As has come to be expected, the sprinters put the Warriors near the top of the leaderboard.Senior Drake Wagner won the 200-meter race with a time of 23.09 seconds, while junior Jordon Washington took second at 23.46.Washington won the 100-meter dash by crossing in 11.51 seconds.“Those guys have been so strong for us all season,” said McDowell. “They have helped us earn a lot of team points.”The duo also helped the sprint relays to a pair of first-place finishes. Wagner and Washington joined Justin McBroom and Carlos Lopez to win the 400-meter relay in 44.82 seconds. The same crew clocked first in the 800-meter with a 1:32.“We executed everything very well,” said McDowell. “If we get clean handoffs, we’re fast enough that we’ll be right up there.”Jacob Crump helped collect points in both hurdle events. He placed first in the 300-meter race with a 43.91 and finished third in the 110-meter run at 19.26 seconds.“He ran his best time of the year,” said McDowell. “We were pleasantly surprised with his finish.”In the distance events, Jacob Ruby took third with a time of 5:10 in the mile.“Jacob continues to bring his time down and improve,” said McDowell.The 3,200-meter relay team, consisting of Tristan Cullom, Brian Sanders, Ben Hoelscher and Ruby, placed third at 9:29.Sanders also placed fourth in the 800-meter race at 2:17.In the field events, Dane Huck helped out with a third-place finish in the high jump at five feet, four inches.Pole vaulters Jared Kilpack and Caleb Hodgson placed second and third, respectively, both clearing 12 feet.Meanwhile, Brian Lanigan continued his success in the jumping events. He placed third in both, clearing 20 feet, 1 inch in the long jump and landing a distance of 42 feet in the triple jump.“Brian has a very good shot of advancing past districts in both the long and triple jump,” said McDowell. “He’s consistently jumping over 20 in the long jump.”Warrenton will compete in the Class 3 District meet on Saturday at Mexico High School.LANIGAN JUMPSDerrick Forsythe Photo.