April 24, 2025
Local NewsState & National

Bulldogs embark on one last stand in track and field

O-M has high hopes for last season

By Ryan Stonebraker
O-M's Emma Boswell leaps over the high jump bar in a meet earlier in her career. She has hopes of repeating as a state qualifier this year.

O-M's Emma Boswell leaps over the high jump bar in a meet earlier in her career. She has hopes of repeating as a state qualifier this year. (File Photo)

Orient-Macksburg’s athletic programs will have one last ride this spring as the Bulldogs enter their final athletic season of competition before the district whole grade shares and then dissolves.

The Bulldog track team will consist of girls and boys this spring, led by head coach Becca Ross and assistant coach Samantha Thompson.

“It is bittersweet. It is exciting to see them do great things this year, and we have seen great results this year already for track. However, at the end of the day, we know that this is it and that is really hard on some days,” Ross said.

Because the Bulldogs don’t have a track facility of their own, they have partnered with Nodaway Valley to practice at theirs. On Tuesday and Thursday, the Bulldogs practice in the mornings in Orient.

Ross said one important goal the team has is to maintain a positive attitude.

“It’s our team goal to keep a positive attitude throughout the whole season. Celebrate every high, every PR, so when the negative things come, that it will outweigh each other,” Ross said.

The Bulldogs will have a girls roster of six this spring. Orient-Macksburg will have one senior in Carter Osborne, two juniors in Emma Boswell and Kenna Fletchall, a sophomore in Marissa Cass and a pair of freshmen in Ella Boswell and Mattie Thompson. The Bulldogs will have a boys roster of three sophomores, including Blaise Fry, Mason Payne and Andreas Pierce.

On the girls side, Emma Boswell represented the Bulldog program last year at Drake Stadium in the state meet as one of two jumpers out of the Bluegrass Conference to make it. She cleared 5-00 after she placed third in the state qualifying meet at a mark of 5-01. Marissa Cass also had strong performances to end last season.

While the Bulldogs didn’t have any boys state qualifiers a year ago, Mason Payne was a Bluegrass Conference champion in the 200. He and Andreas Pierce competed in the state qualifying meet, where they participated in several events.

The Bulldogs will have 11 meets this year. The Bluegrass Conference meet is scheduled for early May at Graceland University in Lamoni. Other meets are at Bedford, Nodaway Valley, Lenox, East Union and Mount Ayr.

“We are using this season as our last stand. We really want to show the state of Iowa what Orient-Macksburg is all about and what the last 101 years have meant to us too. With a school population of 100 people, we may be a team of nine kids but we are not going to stop fighting. It matters what they care about and what they are doing.”