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The first meet gave Ironmen's coach Jessica Avery-Helwig a good feeling about the team's chances of making a legitimate run at the league championship this season.

"The weather was cold, but at least we did not have snow," said Avery- Helwig. "It was a nervous first meet, because there are a lot of young and new runners on the team this year.

"We did have some pleasant surprises with the young runners. Our only two first place finishers were freshmen, and we had a freshman and sophomore take second places."

Although the Ironmen picked up only two first places, that coming from Kayla Adkins in the 400- meter dash where she turned in a time of 1:09.60, while freshman Andrea Luton won the long jump with a leap of 12 feet, 8.5 inches, their depth is what carried the day.

Scoring points with second, third, fourth and fifth place finishes, the Ironmen proved that they are going to be battling for the league lead all season.

Avery-Helwig can count on Adkins to be a big part of the Ironmen efforts, too. In addition to winning the open 400, Adkins finished second in the 200- meter dash with a time of 29.78 seconds and will undoubtedly be a force in the sprints.

Other Ironmen taking second place finishes Tuesday were Jenelle Spires in the 100-meter dash with a time of 14.69 seconds; the 3200-meter relay team of Spires, Emily Tracey, Malorie Lirette and Danielle McCarty in a time of 12:11.00 and the 1600- meter relay team of Alisa Scott, Lirette, Adkins and Spires with their time of 5:07.80.

Third places were taken by Melissa Phizacklea in the 100-meter high hurdles with a time of 19.41 seconds and the 300-meter intermediate hurdles with a time of 59.50 seconds, Tasha Simmons in the 100- meter dash with a time of 14.82 seconds, McCarty in the 1600-meter run with a time of 6:34.30 and Tracey in the 3200-meter run with a time of 15:33.20.

Mancelona's 800-meter relay team also finished third with Jessica McCarty, Scott, Kaylee Moore and Adkins turning in a time of 2:11.34, and the 400-meter relay team was third as Spires, Brittany Reicheldefer, Simmons and Mandee Troyer finished in a time of 59.30 seconds.

The Trojans recorded a first place in the 3200- meter relay where Rachel Eklund, Jacquelyn Smith, Jessica Douglas and Danielle Haydell combined for a time of 12:10.00.

Kari Johnson was first in the 800-meter run, clocking a time of 2:32.80 to set a new school record in the event, while Haydell finished third in a time of 3:05.20. Johnson also won the 3200-meter run with a time of 12:02.80.

Haydell also had an individual second place in the 1600-meter run with a time of 6:34.00. Rachel Eklund finished second in the 300-meter intermediate hurdles. Sarah Eklund had a fourth place in the long jump with a leap of 12 feet. The Trojans' Haydell was second in the 1600-meter run with a time of 6:34.

Rachel Eklund took second in the 300-meter low hurdles with a time of 56.50. Central Lake was third in the 1600- meter relay with Douglas, Rachel Eklund, Haydell and Jacquelyn Smith combining for a time of 5:11.70.