Valley Heights Girls Track Team

Winning the State track team title is impressive enough no matter how it’s accomplished but when you have only three girls competing at State in multiple events and you win the State title it even more impressive.

The Valley Heights Lady Mustang trio of Brandi Jo Roepke, Sidney Blackburn and Shelby Vermetten put together top flight performances in all their events at the 1A State Track meet, claiming two State titles, four second place finishes, a third and fifth place, to claim the 1A team State title. With the eight top five finishes the Mustangs posted 62 points and won the State title by eight points.

Roepke, just a sophomore earned four of the eight medals, with her best performance coming in the long jump as she claimed the State title behind a leap of 17’02.25, after placing fourth last year. The sophomore won the long jump competition by nine inches. On the track Brandi posted silver medal times in the 100 and 200 meter dashes, 12.92 & 26.69, while taking third in the 400 meter dash; medaling in four events at State track for the second straight year.

Junior, Sidney Blackburn better her State performances in both the discus and shot put from her sophomore year as she placed eighth and sixth then and this year she won the State title in the discus and finished fifth in the shot put. Blackburn tossed her way to the discus title with a toss of 113’01, winning by over four feet and bettering her throw from State last year by nearly 10 feet. In the shot put Sidney posted a toss of 35’10 to claim her second medal at State track placing fifth.

Shelby Vermetten joined Blackburn in the throwing events in the field competitions at State qualifying for both the discus and shot put also and came home with two silver medals in just her freshman year. Vermetten finished behind her teammate Blackburn in the discus with a toss of 108’07 to take second, while posting a toss of 37’10 to claim second in the shot put.

The young Mustang trio put together a State track meet to remember and won the 1A girls State title in the process and have next year to look to continue their success on the track yet again.