Lady Gladiators perform at top levels during Grandview track meet

Barry Byers Posted March 29, 2011 10:00pm Italy Gladiator Track

Image: I can fly: Italy Girls’ Track & Field soars high in Grandview — The Lady Gladiators pictured above are: Left corner Breyanna Beets competes in the 800 meter run. Right corner Jimesha Reed holds the block for Jameka Copeland during the 100 meter dash. Top left Nikki Brashear places second in the shot put. Top right Kaitlyn Rossa leads the pack in the varsity girls 800 meter run. — I can fly: Italy Girls’ Track & Field soars high in Grandview — The Lady Gladiators pictured above are: **Left corner** Breyanna Beets competes in the 800 meter run. **Right corner** Jimesha Reed holds the block for Jameka Copeland during the 100 meter dash. **Top left** Nikki Brashear places second in the shot put. **Top right** Kaitlyn Rossa leads the pack in the varsity girls 800 meter run.

The Italy Lady Gladiators performed at a high level at the non-district Grandview Zebra Relays on Thursday which included schools from many different classifications. Feeding off the enthusiasm displayed by coaches Heather and Jeff Richters and Erik Wilson, several of Italy’s top young athletes made the trip with many participating in track and field events for their first time.

Italy’s ladies were nervous to start, but us they heard there team’s positive accomplishments announced over the loud speaker as the events progressed, fears were gradually pushed aside to make way for a growing confidence.

Representing Italy’s varsity girls squad were Jimesha Reed and Kaitlyn Rossa. Despite Reed being under the weather and Rossa nursing a sore knee, the dynamic duo combined for 24 total points and placed 7th out of nine schools participating, “Wow!”

Reed finished in 2nd place amongst 2A and 3A competition in the shot put event and competed in the discuss. Reed’s shot put covered 35’8". Rossa finished in 2nd place in both the 800 meter run and 1600 meter run. In what was her first time to truly run since last track season, Rossa recorded a time of 6.00.21 in the 1600 and 2.37.38 in the 800. 3A West won the 1600 event but Rossa was a good 50 meters in front of her nearest 2A district competitor when she crossed the finished line.

In Grandview, Reed improved on her 3rd place finish in shot-put during the previous meet, held at Blooming Grove, where she threw 33’10". With the sore knee, Rossa was unable to improve on her times recorded previously during the Blooming Grove Relays where, with a time of 2.35, she came in 3rd place in the 800 meter run and then crossed the finish line for 1st place in the 1600 meter run with an official time of 5.53.72. Reed and Rossa managed 9th place out of twelve teams in Blooming Grove with 22 overall points.

Overall Varsity Girls’ Rankings:

Place	School	Total points
1st	Glen Rose	130
2nd	West	100
3rd	Whitney	97
4th	Grandview	94
5th	Crawford	80
6th	Godley	38
7th	Italy	24
8th	Keene	21
9th	Palmer	21

A spirited JV Lady Gladiators’ squad finished in 2nd place overall proving Italy’s girls’ athletics will be a force to reckon with for years to come. The team improved on their 5th place overall finish previously achieved during the Blooming Grove Relays.

Italy’s JV girls’ results in Grandview:

Event	Place	Athlete	Time
100m Dash	1st	Ryisha Copeland	13.99
100m Dash	2nd	Kendra Copeland	14.00
100m Dash	5th	Ashley Harper	14.97

Event	Place	Athlete	Time
100m Hurdles	1st	Taylor Turner	20.87
100m Hurdles	2nd	Bailey Bumpus	21.02
100m Hurdles	4th	Imke Klindworth	22.44

Event	Place	Athlete	Time
1600m Relay	4th	Sierra Harris	4.54.11
		Bailey Bumpus
		Ryisha Copeland
		Taylor Turner

Event	Place	Athlete	Time
200m Dash	2nd	Kendra Copeland	29.81

Event	Place	Athlete	Time
300m Hurdles	2nd	Bailey Bumpus	58.34
300m Hurdles	5th	Breyanna Beets	1.07.31
300m Hurdles	5th	Imke Klindworth	1.07.38

Event	Place	Athlete	Time
400m Relay	1st	Ryisha Copeland	55.43
		Sierra Harris
		Kendra Copeland
		Jameka Copeland

Event	Place	Athlete	Time
400m Run	5th	Courtney Russell	1.12.34

Event	Place	Athlete	Time
800m Relay	2nd	Italy	1.59.68
		Italy
		Italy
		Italy

Event	Place	Athlete	Time
800m Run	6th	Breyanna Beets	3.09.96

Event	Place	Athlete	Distance
Long Jump	4th	Taylor Turner	13’6"

Event	Place	Athlete	Distance
Triple Jump	4th	Taylor Turner	29’7"
Triple Jump	6th	Kendra Copeland	28’6.5"

Event	Place	Athlete	Distance
Shot Put	4th	Nikki Brashear	25’3.5"

Overall JV Girls’ Rankings:

Place	School	Total points
1st	West	197
2nd	Italy	122
3rd	Whitney	100
4th	Godley	78
5th	Glen Rose	64
6th	Crawford	6
7th	Diamond Hill	6
8th	Keene	5
9th	Grandview	2

I can fly!

Ready to throw — Meet the IHS discuss team: Kaytlyn Bales, Alyssa Richards, coach Heather Richters and Jimesha Reed.

Nikki places — Nikki Brashear places fourth in the shot-put at Grandview.

Drenda and Imke — The discus would not be an event without Drenda Burk’s participation as she poses for a picture with track teammate, Imke Klindworth. There were no innocent bystanders harmed during Burk’s throw.

Reed enters circle — Italy’s Jimesha Reed let’s it fly during the discus event.

Getting better and better — Alyssa Richards showed tremendous improvement throughout as she competed in the discus for the first time.

Not an event — But it should be! Kaytlyn Bales summersaults her way to the field events.

Threemendous — Kaitlyn Rossa, Breyanna Beets and Bailey Bumpus are enjoying competing at the Grandview Zebra Relays.

Fun in the sun — Jameka Copeland disrupts Kendra Copeland while she stretches.

Stepping it up — Ryisha Copeland, Kendra Copeland, Jameka Copeland and Sierra Harris get ready to run.

Megan pitches in — Softball pitching ace, Megan Richards, spent the meet as manager for Italy’s girls.

Harder than it looks — Coach Heather Richters instructs Kendra Copeland and Sierra Harris while they work on their handoffs.

In the lead — Practice pays off as Sierra Harris passes the baton to Kendra Copeland during the 400 meter relay. Harris, Copeland, Jameka Copeland and Ryisha Copeland finished first in the event with a time of 55.43.

Owning the moment — Kendra Copeland, Sierra Harris, Jameka Copeland and Ryisha Copeland celebrate their 1st place finish in the 400 meter relay.

Pre-race nerves — Breyanna Beets overcame her pre-race nervousness to finish in 6th place during the 800 meter run, earning 1 impressive point for team Italy.

Strong start — Breyanna Beets lead the entire first lap around the track during the 800 meter run but eventually slowed her pace and finished in 6th place.

Setting the pace — Italy’s Kaitlyn Rossa leads the varsity girls’ 800 meter run early but eventually settles for 2nd place.

Pushing each other — Jimesha Reed shouts encouragement to friend and lone Italy varsity girls’ teammate, Kaitlyn Rossa, to help Rossa finish the 1600 meter run strong.The pair combined for 24 total points and finished in 7th place out of nine schools.

How it’s done — Taylor Turner takes 1st place, Bailey Bumpus takes 2nd place and Imke Klindworth finishes in 4th place during the 100 meter hurdles.

Ashley takes off — Italy’s Ashely Harper, on the left, competes in the 100 meter dash and eventually earns 5th place overall in the event.

Courtney Russell — The newest Lady Gladiator, Courtney Russell, finished 5th in the 400 meter run with a time of 1.12.34 and earns 2-points for team Italy.

Gotcha! — Lady Gladiator track star, Ryisha Copeland, is taken by surprise by the paparazzi.

Tired but proud — Ryisha Copeland, Bailey Bumpus, Taylor Turner and Sierra Harris finished in 4th place in the 1600 meter relay and Italy’s JV girls finished second overall during the Grandview Zebra Relays.

Anna can fly — Anna Viers embodies the spirit of the Italy Lady Gladiators’ athletic program.