Girls Track & FieldTHURSDAY, APRIL 18, 2013 PAGE 9PIEDMONTDAILY.COM

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Some of the most vital members of the Piedmont girls’ track and field team are basketball players, soccer players and a swimmer.

The team is much smaller than it was a year ago. Head coach Jon Bakewell said there are “12 to 15” girls on this year’s squad, and senior Megan Fuller said the team has roughly half as many athletes as it did when she was a junior.

The lack of runners has made it hard for Pied-mont to com-pete in events the team was strong in last season. Some of the Wild-cats’ best fin-ishes at the 2012 state track meet came in the sprint relays, events Piedmont hasn’t always been able to run in at meets this season.

“I don’t want to say we’re desperate, but we’re kind of desperate for girls,” Fuller said. “It’s great that the soccer girls are helping, but we’re just scrambling to get people to throw together.”

That’s where girls like Taylor Baurichter come into the picture.

Baurichter is a starting defender on the girls’ soccer

team at Piedmont. When time allows, meaning mostly on days when there aren’t soccer games, she helps the track team by running at meets.

This is the second straight year Baurichter has split time between track and soccer and she described doing so last year as “a mess.”

“Last year, I spent more time with track,” Baurichter said. “This year, it’s a bit

unorganized and I’ve been d e v o t i n g more time to soccer, but it’s really hard because you have to share your time.

“I feel bad for leaving the track team because I am really good and I know I’m a sprinter and, especially for the relays, I feel really bad because I’m one of

the better ones out there, but I feel like I need be in soccer more. I’m more devoted to soccer.”

Baurichter is one of five girls — including Bre Reid, Kasey Rein, Taylor Hedrick and Jordan Hendren before she was injured in a soccer game on March 30 — who are either splitting time between spring teams or pri-marily help by just running at track meets.

Rein, who won two state

swimming championships in February, swims year round with a club team. Rein said Bakewell asked her before spring break if she would come run at the meets to help the track team and that she wouldn’t have to come to all of the track practices because they conflicted with her swimming schedule. The junior, who’s ran in the 4x800 meter relay this season, added that she’s been to two or three practices to work on handoffs.

Reid also joined the track team after spring break. At her first meet on April 5, Reid placed seventh in both the 100 and 200 meter dash and took third in the long jump.

“I didn’t think I was going to place today [in the long jump],” Reid said following the meet on April 5. “I don’t know how I got third.”

Despite the added effort from some extra athletes, the team still wasn’t able to run in the sprint relays at the Deer Creek Invitational and the Runyan Relays in Ponca City last week.

Although Fuller used words like disappointing and frustrated when talking about the team’s inability to form consistent relay teams her senior year, she said there is one positive to having a low number out for the team.

“The good thing about having a small number is you have the ones that are committed,” Fuller said. “Even though we don’t have a variety of girls, we have the ones that are here and are ready to run.”

Ben Schuff/citizen

Piedmont’s Megan Fuller jumps over a hurdle during the 300 meter hurdles race at Bethany on March 30. Piedmont’s girls’ track team is much smaller than it was a year ago and has had athletes from other sports competes because of the small sqaud.

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Call 314-9786 or 413-3551

Track team pulls talent from other sportssports@piedmontdaily.comBen Schuff

“The good Thing abouT having a small number

is you have The ones ThaT are

commiTTed... we have The ones ThaT are here are ready To

run.”Megan Fuller

Senior, girls Track and Field Team

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