The Stanley-Boyd Orioles track and field teams turned in a strong early-season performance at the Gilman Invitational, with the girls squad capturing a first-place finish and the boys taking fourth among nine competing teams Tuesday, April 14.
Leading the way for the Orioles girls team was a series of standout individual performances. Lula Chwala swept the hurdles events, winning both the 100-meter and 300-meter races.
Macie LaGrander claimed first in the long jump, while Jocelyn Hager delivered a dominant showing with victories in the 400-meter dash and triple jump. In the field events, Mallory Alger secured wins in both the shot put and discus, helping propel the team to the top of the standings.
On the boys side, the Orioles were led by a first-place finish from Jesse Allard in the 300-meter intermediate hurdles. Despite a smaller roster, the team managed a respectable fourth-place finish against deeper competition.
Orioles varsity head track coach Robert Seidl noted that the meet marked the team’s first outdoor competition of the season and provided valuable insight moving forward.
“This was our first meet outside for the track team,” he said. “Although we only had a handful of improvements at this meet, we performed well overall. The girl’s team continues to be competitive and the younger athletes are catching on. We need to sharpen our skills and get faster in practice and in our meets. We are getting expected performances but need the entire team to improve to meet our goals. A little more depth would help also.”
Seidl emphasized the need for growth and depth, particularly for the boys team, which currently has limited numbers.
“Our boy’s team is just short of numbers,” he said. “We only have about 12 athletes competing and that’s not enough. Yet we were still able to manage 4th place out of nine teams. So our performances in those events have been good but we need a few more athletes to run every relay or compete in every field event. We are lacking that depth, even more with the boys.”

The Orioles will look to build on their early success when they return to action Tuesday, April 21, at Eleva-Strum.