City track kicks off second season

MARYSVILLE — Dozens of year-old records fell as the Marysville Parks and Rec opened their second all-comers track season July 24.

MARYSVILLE — Dozens of year-old records fell as the Marysville Parks and Rec opened their second all-comers track season July 24.

Other records were set for the first time, as the crowd of track participants expanded beyond the most competitive youth divisions.

Yet other city-best marks fell as veterans from last summer’s meets were a year older and those participants competed for records in the next age bracket up.

Three young athletes dominated the records with wins across track and field in the 2008 opener.

Vying against each other in almost every category, 6-year-olds Carter Edens and Kaeden Flynn combined for new best marks in seven different events for boys, ages 5-6. Edens won the 50-meter hurdles in 10.98 seconds, the 800 in 4:16 and the softball throw with a best mark of 65 feet, four inches, while Flynn won the 50 sprints in 9.11 seconds, the 100 in 19.36, the shot put with a throw of 23 feet, two inches and the high jump with clearance at three feet.

Twelve-year-old Marina Wika followed a week of the city’s track camp with new personal and city bests in the girls 50, the 800 and the jogger’s mile.

Parks athletic director Dave Hall noted that a number of the track camp’s veterans came to the city meet with new skills.

The results show, he said, “when you’re looking at a half dozen kids that are breaking their own record from last year, improving their throws by six inches or beating their times by 10 seconds.”

Additionally, the crowd showed a new interest in competing in the distance events, Hall added.

“We had 28 people run the 800 and we had to do three different heats,” he said. “Last year we probably ran one heat with maybe eight people.”

In addition to Edens and Wika’s best marks in the middle distance race, six new records were set or broken in the 800 in different age groups.

While many siblings competed in the city — including each of the night’s biggest winners — Robin Mueller and her mom Aleta made the event a mother-daughter thing, with each setting new city records. Mueller, a 2008 M-P grad and former cross country runner, won the 800, mile and shot put. Her mother won the 400 in 1:47 and the shot put.

Marysville parks and rec will host three more meets this summer at Quil Ceda Stadium on July 31, Aug. 7 and Aug. 14 at 6 p.m. Participants are charged $3 to register for as many events as they like.