Tippecanoe Valley’s Delaney Wagoner edges past Rochester’s Rachel Ricketts in a dramatic finish in the girls 800 meters at Tuesday’s three-way track meet in Rochester. (Photos by James Costello)

ROCHESTER — Neither Tippecanoe Valley nor Triton could catch the host Zebras at Tuesday’s track and field in Rochester, but both the Vikings and the Trojans could take some positives away from the three-way meet between sectional rivals.

Rochester’s boys won their meet with 86.5 points to Valley’s 55 and Triton’s 19.5. In a tightly-contested girls meet, meanwhile, the Lady Zebras topped the pile with a score of 61, the Lady Vikings split with 56 points, and the Lady Trojans finished just six points behind Valley.

With weather finally cooperating, there were strong performances up and down the lineups, but none was better than Valley senior Dakota Parker’s four-win day.

Dakota Parker gets off the blocks at the start of the boys 4×100 relay Tuesday. Parker collected four wins at the meet.

Parker won the 100 in 11.46 seconds, got Valley’s 4×100 relay off to a good start on the way to a win there, clocked 53.18 to win the open 400, and closed the night with a huge come-from-behind win running anchor for the Vikings’ 1600 relay.

“He had a great night. That kid puts in more time than anybody,” said Valley coach Jenny Moriarty of Parker. “After practice he does bands. He is 100 percent in. Great leadership. Great example for the underclassmen to see.”

Another state hopeful for Valley, Jameson Baker, won the shot put with a throw of 52’5”, just a couple inches away from his school’s record in the event, which has stood since 1995. Teammate Will Hassenplug placed second behind Baker with a 43’2.5” toss, and Chase Brower threw 42’5” as the Vikings swept the top three in the shot. Valley swept the other throwing event as well, as Baker threw 148’9” in the disc, Hassenplug followed with a 127’, and Brant Norris recorded a 107’8” for third there.

“That’s normal for those guys. They’re normally sweeping. If not, one person might sneak in there,” said Moriarty of her throwing corps.

Also for Valley’s boys, Jon Humes placed second in the long jump (17’2.5”), Matthew Helvey took third in the 200 (25), and Dwight Conley ands Justin Peconga finished third and fourth, respectively, in the high jump with clearances of 5’8” and 5’6”.

Josiah Page runs the 800 for Triton.

Triton’s biggest points-scorer on the boys’ side was Josiah Page, who won the 110 high hurdles in 19.54 for the Trojans’ only win of the evening, finished second in the 300 hurdles (50.53) and third in both the 1600 (5:14) and 800 (2:29). Hunter McIntyre placed fourth in the 200 (25), the 400 (59.19) and the long jump (17’0”).

While there was some space between the boys teams at Tuesday’s meet, the girls’ contest was much closer. The Lady Vikings won seven events, but it was still somehow not enough to keep pace with Rochester.

Sarah Tucker clocked 13.41 to win the 100, Cheyene Oldfather won the 200 in 29 seconds, Valeria Jimenez collected a win in the 400 in 1:06, Valley’s 400 relay won their event in 55 seconds, and the Lady Vikings won the 1600 relay in 4:30 as Valley showed its greatest strength in the sprints.

They did well in the field, too, as freshman Sidney Wagner won the long jump with a measurement of 13’6.5”, and teammate Brianna McBrier placed second with a 13’4” distance. Hannah Gibbon scored her team some points in the throwing events with a second-place result in the shot (33’) and a fourth-place finish in the discus (82’2”).

In perhaps the most dramatic finish of the night, freshman Delaney Wagoner turned it on in the homestretch of the 800 meters, narrowly edging past Rochester’s Rachel Ricketts for the win in a time of 2:45.

“She’s done well for us,” said Moriarty of Wagoner. “We’ve put her in some distance. Mid distance is more her strength, but she gets in the mile and does well, too. Excited with that.”

The Lady Trojans had a trio of wins, meanwhile, two by Abigail Powell.

Abigail Powell clears her final hurdle in the 300-meter hurdles race in Rochester.

Powell won both the 100 hurdles (16.51) and the 300 hurdles (52.0) and threw in a fourth-place finish in the high jump for good measure. Charlotte Morris threw a personal-best 110’4” to beat out the field by nearly 8 feet on the way to top honors in the discus, and Jaela Faulkner claimed first in the pole vault with an 8-foot vault, ahead of teammate Alysha May’s second-place 6’6” clearance.

“I think she was getting a little frustrated early in the season, but she’s starting to get better,” said Triton coach Jason Groves of Faulkner’s performance in the vault Tuesday.

In addition to her second-place result in the vault, May also finished third in the long jump (12’10.5”). Abbey Viers and Annie Hill were second and third, respectively, in the high jump, Baylee McIntyre and Jaela Faulkner finished two-three in the 400, and McIntyre was third in the 200.

“It’s been crazy with the weather. Right now it’s like we’re just starting to get in shape a little bit,” said Groves. “Tonight they were loose because of the weather, and it was nice not having to bundle up between event. The girls had fun. They’re starting to enjoy it. That’s a good thing.”