KARNS CITY - Karns City boys track coach Don Black saw it as a good place to start. Knoch girls coach Tom Hoffmann saw it as a good place to bounce back.

The two track coaches saw their respective track and field squads capture the Karns City Relays on Friday.

"This was our first time out," said Black. "We haven't had great weather this spring.

"We've won it for the past few years. The kids like it and we take a little pride in it," he added.

The Gremlins won the seven-team event with 127 points followed by Knoch (108) and Moniteau (87).

In the girls meet, Knoch used five first-place finishes out of 16 events to win the event. The Knights finished with 116 points, followed by Karns City (98), Union (66) and Moniteau (62).

On Thursday, the Knoch girls dropped a 125-25 decision to Butler in a season-opening meet.

"It's nice to run teams that are a little closer to you in size," said Hoffmann. "This puts things in a better perspective.

"I was really happy with what we did. This is one of the team's favorite meets. It's all teammates and track is usually an individual sport and they get to do this together," Hoffmann added.

The format of the relays uses four athletes in various running competitions while in the field events, the total distances of three athletes is added up to get the total.

"In a relay format, it's hard for an individual to stand out," said Black.

Moniteau boys coach Mark Kosick, who saw his team win the 400 and 1,600 relays as well as the pole vault and shot put events, enjoyed what his team was able to achieve so far.

"This let's you know how much depth you have," said Kosick. "We have some holes, some of our jumping is suspect and we don't know if we'll have that."

"We definitely had a good effort, especially after (Thursday) night," said Knoch boys coach Wess Brahler, whose team also fell to Butler 103½-46½.

"These schools here, they haven't run yet and we already ran a section meet," Brahler added.

The Gremlins boys team, which is gunning for another Keystone Shortway title this season, used its bevy of experienced athletes to help pave the way for the win.

"Mark Ferguson, David Black, Travis Hendell, Travis Fiscus, Andrew Harmon, Evan Crawford, Jeremy Bowser, Steve Black, Tyler Callihan, those guys, plus some others, did a great job," said Black.

The Knoch girls were paced by the performances of Sarah Reppermund in the field events as well as Kristin Robb and Katie Rummel, who each helped the Knights to three first-place finishes, including the long and triple jumps.

The event was used as a competitive, yet fun way to get the season started.

"We had one time trial about a week ago," said Black. "This gives us a better look."

Boys

Team Standings: Karns City 127

,

Knoch 108, Moniteau 87,

Laurel 78,

Union 39

, West Middlesex 37, Neshannock 18

Results (winning team)

Shuttle hurdles:

1-Knoch

Sprint medley:

1-Karns City

6,400-meter relay:

1-Knoch

800-meter relay:

1-Laurel

3,200-meter relay:

1-Karns City

1,600-meter medley:

1-Karns City

Distance medley:

1-West Middlesex

400-meter relay:

1-Moniteau

1,600-meter relay:

1-Moniteau

High jump:

1-Knoch

Long jump:

1-Karns City

Triple jump:

1-Laurel

Pole vault:

1-Moniteau

Javelin:

1-Karns City

Shot put:

1-Moniteau

Discus:

1-Laurel

Girls

Team Standings:

Knoch 116, Karns City 98, Union 66, Moniteau 62

, Laurel 61, West Middlesex 50, Neshannock 38

Results (winning team)

Shuttle hurdles:

1-Knoch

Sprint medley:

1-Knoch

6,400-meter relay:

1-West Middlesex

800-meter relay:

1-Karns City

3,200-meter relay:

1-Neshannock

1,600-meter medley:

1-Moniteau

Distance medley:

1-Neshannock

400-meter relay:

1-Karns City

1,600-meter relay:

1-Neshannock

High jump:

1-Union

Long jump:

1-Knoch

Triple jump:

1-Knoch

Pole vault:

1-Laurel

Javelin:

1-Karns City

Shot put:

1-Moniteau

Discus:

1-Knoch