Polk County’s boys and girls track teams each earned runner-up finishes Tuesday in the Western Highlands Conference track and field championship meet at Lees-McRae College.

The Wolverine girls placed second behind Hendersonville while the Bearcats squeaked past the Polk boys by 5.5 points to end the Wolverines’ four-year reign as conference champions.

A pair of sophomores led the Wolverine boys’ quest to repeat. Caleb Potter won both the 1600 and 3200-meter runs while Jake Justice won the pole vault and long jump. Justice also placed second in the 400 meters. Potter was named the most outstanding runner and Justice was named the outstanding field participant in the boys meet.

Another sophomore, Jack Derkach, won the 800-meter run for the Wolverines’ other individual win.

In the girls competition, Polk County swept the top three spots in the shot put, with Micheala Nelon’s throw of 35 feet just topping the 34-8 1/2 of teammate Kimberly Williams.

Lauren Ketwitz took the top spot in the pole vault for the Wolverines’ other field event win.

On the track, Izzy Jackson captured the 400-meter run by .05 seconds over Mitchell’s Eden Phillips, India Godlock won the 800 meters and the Polk 4×400-meter relay team took top honors.

The Wolverines will host the 2A West Regional on May 12 in G.M. Tennant Stadium.

Submitted by PolkSports.com