By Jim Dabbelt
Sports Writer

Both the boys and girls track teams from Tecumseh had a successful day at the Shawnee Invitational held on April 19 in Springfield.  Out of the five teams in attendance, both squads placed second, with several high placers.
The event opened with the Lady Arrows winning the 4x800 meter relay event, as the team of Addie Biteman, Allison Gibson, Carma Berry and Kaitlin Ritter ran an 11:06, which was over a minute better than their closest competitors from Northwestern.
In the 100 meter hurdles, Anna Scarff and Paige Parker both placed for the Lady Arrows, as Scarff finished third with a time of 20.26, with Parker one spot behind her at 20.36.
Katie Herdman was third in the 100 meter dash, as the freshman ran the event in 14.62 
Jaci Combs claimed the 1600 meter run title, with a time of 5:41.82, with teammate Mackenzie Tittle fourth with a time of 6:18.19.  Also capturing an event championship was the 4x100 meter relay team, as the group of Ashlee Driscoll, Destiney Danner, Herdman, and Scarff ran a 57.54.
Redman also participated in the 400 meter run event, and finished third overall with a time of 1:06.74, while teammate Gibson was fourth at 1:09.56, both earning the Lady Arrows team points.
Earning six more team points in the 300 meter hurdles were Biteman and Parker, who finished third and fourth respectively with times of 54.99 and 55.85.
In the 800 meter run, Ritter was three seconds behind the champion from Shawnee, as the Tecumseh freshman ran a 2:41.62.  Berry was third with a 2:47.11.
Herdman and Driscoll both placed in the 200 meter dash, finishing third and fourth less than one second apart.  Also in the 3200 meter run, Tittle was third overall with a time of 13:54.48.
In the final running event for the girls, the 4x400 meter relay team of Combs, Redman, Biteman and Gibson cruised to the title, finishing with a time of 4:45.54, 18 seconds ahead of Shawnee.
In the field events, Herdman won the long jump with a leap of 14-feet, 9.5-inches.
For the boys, the 4x800 meter relay team of Scott Harmon, Oliver Gladfelter, Alex Gilles and Andrew Thomas placed second with a time of 9:14.19, while another group of Arrows also in the event placed fifth.  That group consisted of Logan Crockett, Jeremy Herdman, Joe Nau and Eric Allen.
Ryan Neal, a Tecumseh freshman, placed fourth in the 100 meter dash (12.24), while Allen finished second in the 1600 meter run with a time of 4:57.26, while Nau was fifth at 5:20.81.  Just missing a place was Tecumseh’s Alex Gilles, running 5:24.68.
A strong performance in the 4x100 relay race gave Tecumseh a second place finish. 
Justis Seitz, Justin Pennington, Rob Berkshire and Neal combined for a time of 50.09, slightly edging Shawnee for second.
Crockett and Luke Miller both placed in the 300 meter hurdles, as Crockett was second overall with a time of 44.44, and Miller was fifth (55.55).
Allen had a strong finish in the 800 meter run, as the junior completed the event in 2:16.21, three seconds behind Nick Lacey of Kenton Ridge who claimed the title.
Herdman claimed the title in the 200 meter dash at 24.39, while Neal was third.
Other places for the Arrows were: Allen second in the 3200, the 4x400 team placed fourth, Neal captured the long jump, and Herdman won the pole vault.