There are 14 seniors on the Prairie girls track team, and until Tuesday night they’d never won their own invitational meet.

Not only did they break the jinx, but the Hawks blew away the field in a strong eight-team matchup.

By winning four individual events and three relays, Prairie scored 157 points. Runner-up Iowa City West totaled 99.5 points; far behind were good squads from Davenport West, Linn-Mar and Cedar Rapids Washington.

In the process of their runaway team victory, a half-dozen Hawks established personal bests.

“The competition really pushed us,” said senior sprinter Ashli O’Shea. “We brought our A game and had the best meet of the year.”

In a spring of discontent with lousy weather, warm and balmy conditions also helped.

“It was a nice night,” senior hurdler Kelly Carstens. “Most everybody is healthy. And our friends and family were here for senior night."

One of the five senior captains not fit to perform was Chelsey Montgomery, the anchor on last year’s state qualifying shuttle hurdle relay team.  She had foot surgery in October and has fractured the same foot twice after trying to start the track season. She goes under the knife again Friday at the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics.

Still, she said after an impromptu celebration Tuesday, “I’m just happy for my teammates.”

Among them, no less, is little sister Hailee, a junior who won the 100 meter hurdles despite tripping after clearing the last hurdle and falling over the finish line.

“I just landed wrong,” she said. “My foot went one way and my body the other.”

She had a commanding lead in the race and still won with a school record time of 15.96.

The junior Montgomery had set the record earlier this season, breaking the mark of older sister Mariah.

In a family of speedsters, the girls’ mother Stacey was a prep sprinter at Fort Madison. And dad Lew, the starting fullback on the 1990 Iowa Hawkeyes Rose Bowl team, said he also ran hurdlers at Waterloo East High School.

“Except that I kept running through the hurdles, and the school couldn’t afford to keep replacing them,” said the elder Montgomery, also the father of a 15-year-old son, Lucas.

Although daughter Hailee had to be carried off the track following her stumbling head-long diving finish, she said she believes she only twisted her knee and should be in shape to continue the season.

That’s good news for Prairie Coach Chris Perkins, who feels her team is just now rounding into shape.

“We always take this meet very seriously,” she said. “We consider it the start of our championship season leading up to the conference and state meets.

“And I think we’re just now starting to reach our potential.”

PRAIRIE RELAYS

TEAM STANDINGS
1. Prairie 157, 2. Iowa City West 99.5, 3. Davenport West 80, 4. Linn-Mar 65, 5. Washington 64.5, 6. North Scott 47, 7. Xavier 45, 8. Waterloo West 28.

WINNERS
High jump - Leslie Harder, Prairie, 5-2
Long jump - McKennan Cronbaugh, IC West, 17-7
Discus - Alex Malloy, Prairie, 125-8
Shot put - Blaire Thomas, Waterloo West, 40-10 1/2
3000 - Emmie Skopec, IC West, 11:53.35
4x800 relay - Linn-Mar 10:24.0
Shuttle hurdle relay - IC West 1:09.29
100 - Kadejah Sanders, Washington, 12.36
Distance medley - Washington 4:20.29
400 - Diamond Combs, Davenport West, 1:01.39
4x200 relay - Prairie 1:47.66
100 hurdles - Hailee Montgomery, Prairie, 15.96
800 - Olive Carrollhach, IC West, 2:27.29
200 - Dajae Hanson, North Scott, 26.20
400 hurdles - Katie VanDooren, Prairie, 1:13.69
Sprint medley - Prairie 1:54.98
1500 - Jackie Dowling, IC West, 5:14.27
4x100 relay - Washington 49.97
4x400 relay - Prairie 4:15.67