Lady Badger Lauren Beckwith begins her leg of the seventhgraders’ 4x100 relay. Beckwith joined Hailey St. Claire, Aubree Grace and Presley Peters to win gold with a time of 55.9. PHOTOS BY RICHARD AKRIDGE On the road, Lampasas’ eighthgrade boys rewrote the record books.

But at home, their female classmates stole the show.

The eighth-grade Lady Badgers posted the highest finish of all the Lampasas Middle School’s track programs at the Battlin’ Badger Relays last week, placing second by edging out Burnet by 25- hundredths of a point.

Lampasas finished the meet with five gold-medal performances. The team totaled 103.75 points to beat Burnet’s 103.50 points.

While the first-place showings were instrumental in helping the team to a silver medal, the Lady Badgers’ 15 top-five finishes in 13 events made the difference between second and third place.

Technically speaking, Lampasas can credit Kelli Carpenter’s fifthplace discus throw (67-0 1/2) as the effort that allowed the team to beat Burnet. Carpenter earned two points for the throw, beating sixthplace Amber Sprankle’s 66-11 1/2 toss that garnered just one point for the Lady Bulldogs.

Chism Carpenter, an eighth-grader, clears the high jump bar on his way to a fourth-place finish in the event. The single inch also allowed the eighth-grade girls to take the spotlight away from the LMS eighth-grade boys, who have been on a tear of late with four consecutive top-four finishes -- including their fourth-place performance at the recent home meet -- and two new school records.

With four gold, two silver and one bronze medal, however, it is difficult for the Lady Badgers not to shine.

Faith Veroneau (long jump, 30-2 1/2), Michaela Ellison (800-meter, 2:41.7), Catherine Bloomfield (100 hurdles, 15.9) and the 4x100 relay team of Sheridan Brooks, Veroneau, Angelica Sanchez and Bloomfield (55.1) each won their events. Veroneau also placed second in the long jump (14- 4 ¼), and Danesha Toro earned bronze in the 300 hurdles with a time of 55.8.

LMS eighth-grader Lane Wiggins tosses the shot put during last week’s Battlin’ Badger Relays held at Lampasas High School. Despite failing to break additional school records, the eighthgrade Badgers had another solid outing, placing fourth overall for the second consecutive meet.

Led by five top-three performances, the Badgers scored 58 points to sit behind Marble Falls (176 pts.), Burnet (108.5 pts.) and Liberty Hill (79.5) in the final standings.

Steven Jazdyk -- who recently snapped the LMS pole vault record -- was involved in all three of the team’s silver-medal showings. In solo events, Jazdyk placed second in the pole vault (9- 6) and long jump (16-11) before joining LMS 200 record holder Avery Gary, Chism Carpenter and Marco Munoz in the 4x100 relay (48.2).

Carpenter also picked up a bronze medal in the long jump with a leap of 16-5.

In the 110 hurdles, Cutter Estep cleared the stretch in 18.4 to place third. Jazdyk was sixth in the event with a time of 19.0.

Lampasas’ seventh-grade girls also finished fourth overall with 60.25 points to beat out Fredericksburg, Comanche and Brady. Liberty Hill (120 pts.), Burnet (118 pts.) and Marble Falls (97.5 pts.) occupied the top three spots.

The Lady Badgers’ 4x100 quartet had the top showing for the team by winning the event in 55.9. Hailey St. Claire, Lauren Beckwith, Aubree Grace and Presley Peters split the race’s legs.

Lampasas’ 4x200 team -- consisting of St. Claire, Stacie Olivarez, Beckwith and Madison Verastugui -- also had a nice run, finishing less than one second shy of first-place Burnet with a silvermedal earning time of 1:59.6.

Peters picked up additional points for the team by placing second in the 100 hurdles (17.8), and sixth in the high jump (4-0) and long jump (12-7 1/2).

Marissa Rios (400, 1:12.0) and Olivarez (high jump, 4-2) both had third-place showings in their events.

The seventh-grade Badgers had 10 top-five finishes en route to placing fifth overall. The home team scored 64 points on a day highlighted by the 4x200 relay team’s first-place performance.

Scott Lewis, Mason Morris, Stephan MCarter and Brady Robinson split the workload and won gold with a time of 1:50.8.

McCarter was not finished, though. He picked up two more medals by placing second in the 110 hurdles (19.6) and third in the long jump (16-1).

Robinson recorded the team’s only other top-three finish by earning second in the shot put with a toss of 33-5 1/2.

Marble Falls (119 pts.) won the division.

All of Lampasas’ track teams are off until next Friday, when Comanche conducts the final meet prior to district. Lampasas will host the two-day district competition beginning March 29.