May 11th 2026 Hamilton Junior High wrapped up the 2026 track and field season on Saturday as the Marines traveled to compete in the Hoosier Plains Conference Meet hosted by Bethany Christian Academy. The meet marked the final competition of the season for Hamilton’s 5th-8th grade program, and the Marines closed out the year with several outstanding performances and podium finishes. The Lady Marines finished an impressive 2nd place overall as a team with 80.5 points, narrowly edging out South Bend Career Academy by just half a point. Team standings on the girls side were: Elkhart Christian Academy MS – 188.5 Hamilton Junior High – 80.5 South Bend Career Academy – 80 Canterbury Middle School – 44.5 Lakeland Christian Academy – 32.5 Trinity Academy South Bend – 24 Bethany Christian Middle School – 16 Leading the way for Hamilton was a strong all-around effort from several athletes. Mia Sawvel sprinted to 4th place finishes in both the 100 meters (14.56) and 200 meters (30.42). Neelamae Baker added points in two events as she placed 5th in the 200 meters (31.74) and 7th in the 400 meters (1:12.56). Brookelynn Hart earned a 7th place finish in the 800 meters with a time of 3:05.08. Hamilton dominated the hurdle events throughout the day. Piper DePriest continued her tremendous season by finishing runner-up in both hurdle races, taking 2nd in the 100 hurdles (18.99) and 2nd in the 200 hurdles (35.75). Lydia Szeman placed 5th in the 100 hurdles (20.57) and followed that up with a strong 3rd place finish in the 200 hurdles (36.45). McClain Dove also scored valuable points in the 200 hurdles with a 4th place finish (38.26). With her performance Saturday, Piper DePriest closes out her junior high career holding four of the top ten times in Hamilton Junior High history in the 200 meter hurdles. Piper currently ranks: 2nd all-time – 33.70 4th all-time – 34.62 6th all-time – 35.75 7th all-time – 35.81 Current 7th grader Lydia Szeman also etched her name into the record books this season, moving into 10th all-time in the 200 meter hurdles with a time of 36.46. The girls 4x100 relay team of Piper DePriest, Brookelynn Hart, Mia Sawvel, and Lydia Szeman earned a 3rd place finish with a time of 58.36. In the field events, Piper DePriest added another runner-up finish in the long jump with a leap of 13-00. McClain Dove placed 5th in the high jump clearing 3-08. Hamilton also had a huge day in the throwing events as Mia Weaver placed 2nd in discus with a throw of 61-10 and 5th in shot put with a throw of 28-09. Addi Lingo finished 3rd in discus (61-08) and 6th in shot put (24-04.50). On the boys side, Hamilton finished 5th overall with 27 points in a competitive conference field. Final team standings included: Lakeland Christian Academy – 148 South Bend Career Academy – 124 Elkhart Christian Academy MS – 98 Bethany Christian Middle School – 37 Hamilton Junior High – 27 Canterbury Middle School – 13 Trinity Academy South Bend – 9 Miles Moughler had a strong conference meet for the Marines, placing 5th in the 800 meters (2:35.82), 5th in the 1600 meters (5:39.22), and 4th in the long jump with a leap of 15-11.50. Hawkins Richter also scored in both distance races, placing 7th in the 800 meters (2:42.27) and 6th in the 1600 meters (5:51.22). Jhett Holden added points in the discus with a 4th place throw of 75-03.75. Congratulations to all of our junior high athletes and coaches on a fantastic season representing the Hamilton Marines with pride, effort, and determination. Great job all season, Marines!