Sophomore Rachel Raque leads the pack, Chris Heermann’18/Media editor

The Columbus Academy girls track team opened its season with a meet at Big Walnut on Saturday, April 7, in freezing temperatures.The Vikings are hoping to capitalize on their momentum from a successful 2017, when they won Districts and had a strong showing at states.

But the squad fell short on its performance, placing eighth out of twelve teams in the cold weather.

Sophomore Mabry Nichols picked up right where she left off last year, taking first in the high jump. Seniors Lexis Hughes and Khloe Dubenion placed fourteenth and fifteenth in the shot put, respectively, with Dubenion also placing seventh in discus.

The 800 sprint medley team of senior Bri Dragin, junior Mercedes Crestanello, sophomore Annalise Grammel, and freshman Hannah Clay, placed fifth with a time just 2.02 seconds off of a top-three finish.

The 4×100 team of Dragin, juniors Samantha Kass and Ginnie Ma, and Clay, ran a time of 54.47, grabbing fourth place.

The Vikes will look to heat up in their upcoming meets, as they travel to CSG on Tuesday, April 10, before a trip to New Albany on Friday, April 13.