JH girls' track takes first at Early Bird Relays

Eighth grader Cassidy Ely  runs in the 4x800 meter relay during the Early Bird Relays on April 12. The team received third place.

by Elizabeth Ostrem

The junior high girls’ and boys’ track teams took first and second place last Thursday, April 12, at the Early Bird Relays in Montezuma. Five other schools participated in the home meet this year: Belle Plaine, Iowa Valley, Keota, Lynnville-Sully and North Mahaska.

For the girls’ team, Kate Maschmann swept first place in three separate events: the 100M dash with a time of 13.23 seconds, in addition to both the 200M hurdles with a time of 30.59, and the long jump with a jump of 14’1”.

In relays, the 4x100M teams took first and second place, with times of 59.68 and 1:06.17 respectively. The girls’ 4x200M team, 4x800M team and 1600 distance medley team all took third place, with times of 2:18.81, 12:55.24 and 6:35.24 respectively.

In individual events, Aly Fahlenkamp finished in third place for the 200M dash with a time of 32.55, and Aliya Pargeon and Lauren Slings placed second and third in the 1500M run, with times of 6:20.57 and 6:48.74 minutes respectively. Alisha Arendt placed third in the high jump with a jump of 4’2¾“.

The final team standings for the girls were: Montezuma with 119 points, Lynnville-Sully with 117 points, Iowa Valley with 117 points. North Mahaska with 92 points. Belle Plaine with 87 points and Keota with 12 points. Lynnville-Sully and Iowa Valley tied for second place with 117 points each, leaving North Mahaska, Belle Plaine and Keota to take  fourth, fifth and sixth respectively.

For the boys’ team, Bobby McCulley took first in both the 100M and 200M dash, with times of 13.25 and 26.49 seconds. Skyler Romberg placed second in the 400M dash with a time of 1:02.68, and Kaleb Kriegel won the 800M run with a time of 2:26.42 minutes.

In field events, Dominque Ward took second in discus with a throw of 102’1”, and Logan Price placed second in high jump with a jump of 5’0”. Carson Losure and Romberg took third and second in long jump, with jumps of 15’1” and 15’1½“ respectively.

For relays, the boys’ team placed first in the 4x100M with a time of 52.89. The team also took first in the 4x200M relay with a time of 1:48.51, the 4x400M relay with a time of 4:25.23, and in the 400M shuttle hurdle relay with a time of 1:15.51.

The final team standings for the boys were: Lynnville-Sully, taking first with 148 points; Montezuma, taking second with 140 points; Belle Plaine, taking third with 89.75 points; North Mahaska, taking fourth with 81.75 points; Iowa Valley, taking fifth with 53.75 points; and Keota, taking sixth with 42.75 points.

Coach David Brondyke said of the boys’ team, “We had a great showing from our 7th and 8th grade team. I am very proud of all of our athletes and their hard work.”