The Grafton High School track team took first and second at the Class 4A region meet.

The Clippers had a strong region meet performance. The boys took first place at the region meet, while the girls took second place. Grafton had a ton of impressive finishes, setting them up for the Class 4 state meet.

“We’re very proud of our kids and how they performed at the regional meet,” Coach Steve Nichols said. “We were initially met with some adversity after the schedule was changed due to the weather that Friday, but everyone maintained their focus on what we could control. As a coaching staff, we approach the regional meet a multitude of ways. For some athletes, it’s a tune up before the state meet; for others, it may be their last chance to qualify, but the goal is always to win a boys’ and girls’ title.

On the boys’ side, Grafton had three first-place finishes and multiple top three finishes in different events. Alex Murphy took first place in the 3,200-meter run and 1,000-meter run. John Linehan took first place in the 1,600-meter run, as Grafton was able to dominate long-distance events. Zachary Strum took second in the 1,600-meter event as well. Dylan Raney and Ben Madrigal finished second and third, respectively, in the 3,200-meter run along with Murphy. Shinobu Hawk and Aidan Smagh finished second in the shot put and high jump, respectively.

On the girls’ side, Grafton took second, third and sixth place in the 1,600-meter run with Julia Kapp, Kayla Fields and Haely Rush all placing. Jocelyn Hurst, Ahyoka Stephens and Aubrey Daley finished second, third and fourth in the 3,200-meter run. The 4×800 relay team of Kapp, Daley, Fields and Hurst finished second.

As Grafton approaches the state meet, they plan to be among the favorites in various distance events. The Clippers are coming off of a strong cross country season, which they expect to replicate in distance events at the state meet.