Columbus East High School

The Columbus East Unified track and field team turned in several strong performances Wednesday evening at the Bloomington South Unified Invitational, finishing fourth overall in a competitive five-team field with 79 points. Center Grove captured the team title with 134 points, followed by Bloomington North (117), Bloomington South (107), Columbus East (79), and Terre Haute North (71). The Olympians were led by several standout individual efforts throughout the meet. In the 400 meters, sophomore Elliana Glick delivered a first-place finish with a winning time of 1:29.90. Savannah Burton added a third-place finish in the same event at 1:36.47, while Bohdan Stein placed fifth. Columbus East also had a strong showing in the 100 meters. Phoenix Cooper sprinted to third place in his section with a time of 14.99, Riley Hawley added a fourth-place finish at 15.95, and William Blake earned fifth place in another section with a 13.24 effort. In the field events, Ellie Burbink had an outstanding night for the Olympians. Burbink placed second in shot put with a throw of 17 feet even, while Lydia Whiteside added a third-place finish in another flight with a mark of 26 feet, 7 inches. Adam Stott also scored points for East with a fifth-place finish in shot put. The Olympians continued to score in the long jump competition. Mayleigh Hardwick placed fifth with a jump of 5 feet, 10½ inches, Cooper added a sixth-place finish in another section, and Blake recorded a seventh-place effort. Columbus East’s relay teams also contributed valuable points. The boys 4x100 relay team of Michael Larsen, Ethan Kessler, Phoenix Cooper, and William Blake finished fourth with a time of 1:00.31. The girls relay team of Giselle Landero Gonzalez, Zooey Joy, Baylee Benefield, and Mayleigh Hardwick placed fifth. Additional strong performances for the Olympians included John Tembo in the 400 meters, Jerik Hamilton in both the 100 meters and shot put, and several solid exhibition efforts across the meet from athletes including Adelynn Tembo, Michael Larsen, Savannah Burton, Elliana Glick, Zooey Joy, and Zander Anderson. Columbus East showed strong depth, enthusiasm, and teamwork throughout the evening as the Olympians continued their Unified Track season against quality competition. The Unified track team is back in action when they compete in the 2026 IHSAA Sectional on Saturday, May 23rd starting at 10 a.m. at Bedford North Lawrence High School. Good luck O's!