'This is one of the best small-school meets in the state'

VAN BUREN – Joe Hudok seemed to be in awe.The Van Buren track coach had just led the Black Knights to a girls championship and boys runner-up finish in the Blanchard Valley Conference Thursday night.The meets were highlighted by exceptional individual and relay performances, as well as tight team scoring.When it was over, Hudok tried to give the 2025 BVC meet a moment of proper reflection."This is one of the best small-school meets in the state," Hudok said.. "(Van Buren's) hurdlers, our sprinters, L-B's distance and throws, McComb's relays and throws. There's not a weak event in this league. If you win an event in this league, you're a dude."The team standings showed Van Buren's girls beating Elmwood for its first league championship, while Liberty-Benton's boys were team champs for the third consecutive year."This is the most competitive BVC meet I've ever been a part of, top to bottom," said L-B coach Paul Gladden. "Great sprinters, great individuals, great relays."Here is a look at some of the top performances – and performers – at Friday's BVC meet.L-B GOES THE DISTANCEOne year ago, when he was just a sophomore, Jackson Hochstettler was the boys MVP at the BVC meet.Hochstettler didn't win the honor Friday.But he had another great meet.Hochstettler and teammate Hudson Day finished 1-2 in the 800 and in the 1,600. Day won the 3,200 and was part of the winning 4x800 team. Stefan Kolan – perhaps readying for another state trek – won the pole vault."(Thursday), I read a poem to the guys, it's called 'Don't Quit,'" Gladden said. "There were a couple of times that we were in a spot or two where it looked bleak, things looked like we were down, and really, they continued to believe, battled and battled. I'm proud of our guys. They took the team-first approach, not the individual approach, which is something I've tried to instill in them."It was enough for L-B to top Van Buren for the league title."Hats off to coach Hudok, he had his guys ready to go tonight," Gladden said. "They competed and they battled, that's a good Van Buren team."The feeling was mutual."I can't wait for (Liberty-Benton) to be out of the league," Hudok said. "I'm gonna miss the competition, but it will be nice to not spend sleepless nights thinking about their distance team and their throws."Liberty-Benton will only be competing in the BVC for another season before moving to the Northern Lakes League.Van Buren had the boys MVP for this season's meet in middle distance runner Mikey Pendergast. Pendergast, a senior, won the 200, set a meet record in the 400 (50.06), and was part of the winning 4x400, running the final leg in the last event of the night."He's so good, and he's so unselfish,"Hudok said. "We're gonna end up loading the relays in the postseason, but he ran events that maybe he's not 100% comfortable with, like the 100. "Pendergast finished third in the 100, behind McComb's Haiden Ebright and L-B's Brock Bell.Pendergast and his teammates will now turn their attention to the postseason meets, which begin this weekend.ELMWOOD'S RISEIn just its second year in the BVC, Elmwood's girls came just 9 ½ points from a league championship, coming up short against Van Buren."Those girls (Elmwood) are absolutely phenomenal athletes; they're gonna be a powerhouse for a long time in this league," Hudok said.The biggest performance for the Royals came from junior Heavenlei Newson.Newson won the 200, the 300 hurdles, then led off Elmwood's 4x200 relay, which took first.Newson also ran the first leg of Elmwood's 4x400. She led the race at the first handoff; Elmwood ended up finishing second, behind Riverdale, in that event.Newson won the girls MVP for her performance. She said a lot of what she did had to do with confidence."I just have to keep my head up, no matter what," she said.WINNING WOODRUFFLast season, Allison Woodruff was the girls MVP at the BVC meet, leading Riverdale to its first BVC championship.Woodruff had another terrific effort Friday, winning the 800 (by about six seconds), the 1,600 (edging Liberty-Benton's Maddi Gaerke, who also had an outstanding day) and was part of Riverdale's winning 4x400.Woodruff qualified for two individual events and two relays in last year's state meet.Seems like there's a good chance she'll be at state again this season.WILLOW LOOKS AHEADCalvin Willow won the state championship last season in Division III.Willow jumped 6-feet,7 inches to win the state championship in Dayton. He jumped 6-4 on Friday. The Arlington standout is competing in track this season after being a big part of the Arlington boys basketball team, which reached the state semifinals.Was the transition difficult?"I wouldn't say that it helped or hurt, it just, I wasn't in track shape," Willow said. "I was more in shape for running on the basketball court."Willow said he hopes to improve his numbers this season, but he's keeping it in perspective."I'd like to be jumping higher, but I'm winning, so that's good, he said.