By Dee Grenert Sports Editor
LAKEVILLE — The mercury hovered in the 30s by the end of the Lancer Relays Tuesday.
Or as LaVille standout sprinter Abby Davis described it, "at lot nicer tonight than yesterday."
Considering that the lightning-quick junior had just finished leading her team to three event wins and a third straight Lancer Relays crown — after being postponed by rain Monday — everything probably felt a lot nicer, and dry.
"It’s a lot harder to run with the rain hitting your face,” Davis said. “Your shoes get wet and they feel heavier when you run. I was just cold tonight.”

Cold, but fast. Davis powered the Lancers to first-place finishes in the sprint medley, 4 x 100 and 4 x 200 relays.
“Abby, on the track, has been head and shoulders our most consistent athlete,” first-year LaVille girls head coach Bill Gallippo said. “She’s undefeated in the 100, 200, and our 4 x 100 team is undefeated.
“These girls wanted to three-peat badly,” he added. “They talked all day long about giving me my first Lancer Relays. Our former coach Mr. (Lee) Dennie talked to them today and gave them a little pep talk. I’m elated. The effort these girls give day in and day out is excellent.”
The Davis-led wins helped hold off runner-up Culver Community, which left the field events with momentum, after edging the Lancers by a single inch in the long jump behind Susannah Baker, Samantha Mersch and Alicia Allen.
“We were more determined because we heard a lot of smack,” Davis said good-naturedly. “Culver, after they beat us in the long jump, thought they had a chance. That made us more eager to run and work harder.”
Emily Fuller, Alysha Fisher and Hannah Christy joined Davis with three wins apiece, while Stevie Vidmar, Katlyn Bettcher, Emily Langford, and Sarah Dudeck pitched in two wins each. Kelsey Bettcher, Jessica Heston and Ellen Schmeltz played a part in one win apiece.
Although Schmeltz’s win came in the shot put, she turned in her guttiest performance in LaVille’s second-place 4 x 400 relay. Schmeltz, a senior who missed basketball season with a torn ACL, was recently diagnosed with another ACL tear, but competed anyway.
“I give that girl so much credit,” Davis said. “To run and never give up, she’s certainly a role model.”
Gallippo heartily agreed.
“Ellen’s a competitor,” he said. “From the time she comes out to the track, to the time she goes home, she puts in everything she has. In the 4 x 4, she and Marci (Gurtner) put us back in the race. (Schmeltz) ran a 1:10 split, which isn’t her best time, but...”
Third-place John Glenn put forth a star of its own in Amy Shirk, who anchored the Falcons’ winning distance medley, 4 x 400 and 4 x 800 teams.
“I was pumped,” Shirk said. “Lancer Relays is something that everyone on our team gets up for. It’s neat because there’s different relays you don’t usually have. Every meet you have is a chance to get stronger.”
Kim Podell joined Shirk on all three of Glenn’s relay wins. Natasha Johnson turned in a pair of wins, with Sarah Feeney, Maryellen Schmalzried, Marijke Kunnen and Dori Borlik playing a part in one win apiece.
Culver Community’s Liz West and Trinity Garcia combined to win the high jump.
• LANCER RELAYS
At Lakeville
GIRLS
Team scores: LaVille 100, Culver Community 78, John Glenn 64, Oregon-Davis 52, Westville 23, Knox 22.
Shuttle hurdles: 1, LaVille (Stevie Vidmar, Kelsey Bettcher, Katlyn Bettcher, Alysha Fisher) 1:02.2. 2, Culver 1:02.6. 3, Glenn 1:04.9. 4, Westville 1:07.4. 5, Knox 1:12.0. 6, Oregon-Davis 1:13.5.
Sprint medley (100-100-200-400) relay: 1, LaVille (Hannah Christy, Stevie Vidmar, Abby Davis, Emily Fuller) 2:00.1. 2, Culver 2:04.8. 3, Glenn 2:06.9 4, Oregon-Davis 2:07.9. 5, Knox 2:11.2. 6, Westville 2:18.3.
Distance medley (200-200-400-800) relay: 1, Glenn (Sarah Feeney, Tasha Johnson, Kim Podell, Amy Shirk) 4:35.2. 2, LaVille 4:39.0. 3, Oregon-Davis 4:59.1. 4, Culver 5:00.9. 5, Knox 5:26.9. 6, Westville 5:30.1.
4 x 400 relay: 1, Glenn (Maryellen Schmalzried, Tasha Johnson, Kim Podell, Amy Shirk) 4:36.3. 2, LaVille 4:40.4. 3, Oregon-Davis 4:42.0. 4, Westville 4:55.2. 5, Culver 4:56.0. 6, Knox 5:10.3.
4 x 100 relay: 1, LaVille (Emily Langford, Alysha Fisher, Emily Fuller, Abby Davis) :53.8. 2, Culver :53.9. 3, Westville :58.3. 4, Glenn :58.6. 5, Knox :58.7 6, Oregon-Davis 1:01.2.
4 x 200 relay: 1, LaVille (Emily Langford, Alysha Fisher, Emily Fuller, Abby Davis) 1:53.3. 2, Culver 1:54.4. 3, Oregon-Davis 2:01.7. 4, Glenn 2:04.7. 5, Knox 2:14.1. 6, Westville 2:15.1.
4 x 800 relay: 1, Glenn (Kim Podell, Marijke Kunnen, Dori Borlik, Amy Shirk) 10:33.6. 2, LaVille 10:42.1. 3, Culver 12:01.0. 4, Knox 12:27.7. 5, Oregon-Davis 13:05.3.
High jump: 1, Culver (Liz West, Trinity Garcia) 9-6. 2, LaVille 9-2. 3, Oregon-Davis 8-10. 4, Glenn 8-6. 5, Westville 8-4.
Long jump: 1, Culver (Suz Baker, Samantha Mersch, Alicia Allen) 41-5. 2, LaVille 41-4. 3, Oregon-Davis 39-1 3/4. 4, Glenn 38-0 1/4. 5, Westville 36-9. 6, Knox 35-7 1/2.
Shot put: 1, LaVille (Ellen Schmeltz, Sarah Dudeck, Hannah Christy) 92-9. 2, Culver 88-2. 3, Oregon-Davis 81-6. 4, Knox 81-1. 5, Glenn 77-10. 6, Westville 66-3.
Discus: 1, LaVille (Jessica Heston, Sarah Dudeck, Hannah Christy) 254-6. 2, Oregon-Davis 236-7. 3, Culver 223-3. 4, Glenn 204-4. 5, Knox 184-3. 6, Westville 152-1.
Official: Ross Havens