Both the Denver and Janesville boys and girls track teams competed at Union Community High School on April 3 and 4. The Denver boys came out on top once again in the team standings with 124 points.
Starting in the sprints, the Cyclones were led by Ethan Reiter, who finished first in the 400-meter dash with a time of 51.07, and Cameron Ledoux, who finished tied for first in the 100-meter dash with a time of 11.32. Reiter’s time is a new team best in the event, and currently ranks Reiter sixth in class 2A. Ledoux also set a new team high in the 100-meter, and currently ranks 15th in class 2A.
Jesse Gomez and Ethan Doty placed second and third respectively in the 800-meter run as well. Gomez finished with a time of 2:05.33, roughly three seconds off of his personal best in the event. Doty finished closely behind Gomez with a 2:08.28, also roughly three seconds off of his season best. Gomez currently ranks 10th in class 2A while Doty ranks 15th.
In the long distances, Caden Knoblock and Myles Matthias both finished with team points in the 1,600-meter. Knoblock finished in third with a time of 4:47.8, and Matthias set a new season best with a 4:57.34. Knoblock’s current season best ranks 12th in class 2A, while Matthias moves up to 42nd.
Joining Knoblock and Matthias was Mitchell Doepke in the 3200 meter run. Doepke finished with a time of 10:56.1 for a new season best in the event. Doepke now ranks 33rd in class 2A.
Will Lockhart and Corbin Hill once again pulled in double points in the shot put, with both throwers setting a new season best in the event. Lockhart posted a mark of 50-00.5 to place first at the meet, and currently ranks eighth in class 2A. Hill finished seventh in the event with a mark of 45.09.25, and now ranks 20th in class 2A.
Lockhart added a second place finish to the team’s total in the discus. Lockhart threw a 153-08.00 in the event, about a foot short of his season best from earlier in the week. Lockhart ranks second in class 2A in the event, only behind Vinton-Shellsburg’s Byron Christianson, who placed ahead of Lockhart at the meet.
In the relays, the Cyclones were led by their 4x800-meter team made up of Gomez, Doty, Knoblock, and Matthias. The team beat their previous best by roughly 13 seconds, and now rank first in class 2A in the event.
Gomez and Doty were joined by Jackson Schoville and Ethan Reiter in the 4x400-meter relay, where the group finished second. With a time of 3:30.39, the group set a new team best and now rank fourth in class 2A.
The Cyclones placed third and set a new season best in the sprint medley with a time of 1:39.61. The team consisting of Doty, Gomez, Schoville, and Josh Rabenhortst now rank 18th in class 2A.
Placing fourth in the 4x100 meter relay was the team of Rabenhorst, Reiter, Jackson Joerger, and Cameron Ledoux. The group posted a new season high with a time of 45.6 seconds, which ranks 26th in class 2A.
Finally for the relays, the distance medley team placed sixth with a time of 3:59.27. The team of Dagen Henzen, Colin Knowles, Joe Rabenhorst, and Sean Gomez set the second fastest time in the event for the Cyclones this season.
Jackson Joerger continued his strong season in the 110-meter hurdles by earning the Cyclones their third first place finish of the meet. Joerger posted a time of 15.49, just under two tenths behind his season best. Joerger currently ranks third in the event in class 2A.
Joining Joerger in scoring team points in the event was Jack Cooper. Cooper posted a time of 19.34 to finish seventh.
Jackson Schoville added a second place finish for the Cyclones in the 400-meter hurdles. With a time of 1:02.24, Schoville fell four seconds short of his personal best on the season. Schoville currently ranks seventh in class 2A in the event.
Joining Joerger, Scoville, and Cooper in the shuttle hurdle relay was Henzen. The team finished third with a time of 1:06.74 to post a new team season best, and now ranks 13th in the event in class 2A.
The Cyclones 124 points was seven more than the second place finishing Wahlert Catholic and 16 points ahead of third place Benton. It’s the second meet win of the week for the Cyclones, who also placed first in Benton on Monday, March 31.
The Janesville boys also competed at the meet. The Wildcats finished 10th as a team with 32 points.
Blayne Porter led the way for the Wildcats in the sprints. Porter placed fifth in the 400-meter dash with a time of 58.00. The time is a new season best for the Wildcats and Porter in the event.
Joining Porter in a points scoring position was Daniel Britt, who placed eighth in the 200 meter dash. Britt posted a time of 24.3 seconds, roughly half a second short of his season best in the event. Britt currently ranks 31st in class 1A in the event.
Dane Appleby had the best result of the day for the Wildcats in the 110-meter hurdles. Appleby finished in second just behind Joerger of Denver with a time of 16.53. Appleby’s current best time in the event (15.78) ranks 12th in class 1A.
Gabe Meaney finished in eighth place in the 110-meter hurdles to make it a double points finish in the event for the Wildcats. Meaney posted a time of 19.37 in the event.
Dawson Graham finished in seventh in the 400-meter hurdles. Graham posted a time of 1:02.24, and now ranks 27th in class 1A in the event.
Joining Appleby, Graham, and Meaney in the shuttle hurdle relay was Britt. The team finished second with a time of 1:06.6, and now ranks 12th in the event in class 1A.
Head Coach Richard White talked about his team’s consistency in hurdles over the years that led to the great results in the events on Friday.
“We always do pretty good at hurdling. A lot of kids don’t like to hurdle anymore and we do, and therefore it seems like we always have a good [shuttle hurdle] and we’ve always got good high hurdlers. We really lay our hat on that,” said White.
Elsewhere in the relays, the Wildcats finished eighth in the sprint medley relay with a time of 1:44.08. The team consisted of Appleby, Gauge Tegburg, Britt, and Porter.
Finally for the Wildcats, Meaney placed fifth in the shot put with a mark of 46-11.00. That mark is a new season high for Meaney, and ranks 13th in class 1A.
Head Coach Richard White spoke on his team’s performance at the meet.
“We’re getting better each day. Every time we run I think we’re showing improvement. We don’t have an [all-weather track], so it’s hard for us to do much running at our facilities. We usually get gradually better at meets, and I hope they don’t cancel [anything on our schedule] so we can just keep improving,” said White.
“We tried to run as many kids in as many events to get points. We’ll have a meet on [Tuesday, April 8] that will have some smaller schools. That is going to be a meet where we’re going to go after some points and maybe win it,” White added.
That meet will be at Denver, and will see a number of area schools in attendance, including Janesville and Clarksville with the Cyclones playing host. That meet begins at 4:30.
In the girls meet, the Cyclones finished eighth as a team with 50 points.
In the distance events, Lily Cooper and Avery Trunkhill finished fourth and sixth respectively in the 3000 meter run. Cooper finished with a time of 12:14.00, and now ranks 27th in class 2A. Trunkhill posted a time of 12:28.08, and now ranks 36th in clas 2A.
Joining Cooper and Trunkhill in scoring team points in the distance events was Sophie Sanderson. Sanderson placed seventh in the 1500 meter run with a time of 6:36.91.
The Cyclones’s best result of the day was in the 4x100, where their two teams took the top two spots in the event. Coming in first with a time of 52.88 was the team of Grace Swales, Jillian Clayton, Emily Tyler, and Bailey Mills-Payne. Coming in second with a time of 53.35 was the team of Addie Brauman, Maryn Laures, Taylor Wilson, and Amelia Powers. Those times were the two best times of the season for the Cyclones in the event, and rank 18th and 22nd respectively in class 2A.
The Cyclones also took home gold in the 4x200 meter relay. The team of Brauman, Laures, Wilson, and Powers posted a time of 1:55.27, and ranks 35th in class 2A.
Placing fourth in the distance medley was the team of Hailey Wilson, Clayton, Swales, and Hailey Homan. The team set a new season best with a 4:51.41, and now rank 33rd in class 2A.
The 4x400-meter and 4x800-meter relay teams both placed fifth at the meet. The 4x400-meter team, consisting of Taylor Wilson, Arianna Valverde, Avery McIntosh, and Hailey Wilson, finished with a time of 4:41.28. The 4x800-meter team, consisting of McIntosh, Ellery Stanley, Jillian Doepke, and Madelyn Hockenson posted a time of 11:45.29.
Finally in the relays, the sprint medley team finished sixth with a time of 2:04.39. The team consisted of Brauman, Swales, Clayton, and Laures.
The Janesville girls finished ninth at the meet with a team score of 30 points.
Lauryn Meaney and Molly Cheeseman secured a pair of eighth place finishes for the team in the shot put and discus. Meaney posted a mark of 28-06.00 in the event. Cheeseman posted a mark of 80-02.00 in the discus.
Honor Hovenga placed fourth in the event in which she placed fourth at the state tournament a year ago, the 400-meter hurdles. Hovenga posted a time of 1:12.52, and now ranks ninth in class 1A.
In the relays, the Wildcats scored double points in the shuttle hurdle relay. The team consisting of Klaire Osborn, Hayden Pugh, Addy Oldenburger, and Honor Hovenga placed second at the meet with a time of 1:14.61. That time currently ranks 12th in class 1A.
Placing sixth in the shuttle hurdle was the team of Presley Pugh, Maggie Heidemann, Isabel Barnes, and Abigail Jones. The team finished with a time of 1:17.92.
Finishing fourth for the Wildcats was the sprint medley relay. The team consisting of Hayden Pugh, Oldenburger, Osborn, and Hovenga posted a time of 2:02.4, and now ranks 24th in class 1A.
The 4x100 and 4x800-meter relays each finished sixth for the Wildcats. The 4x100 relay, consisting of Osborn, Oldenburger, Hovenga, and Hayden Pugh posted a time of 55.97, and now ranks 31st in class 1A. The 4x800 relay, consisting of Tianna Cox, Sophia Raidok, Ahlona Weekley, and Shyanne Nicklaus, posted a time of 13:13.55.
Finally for the Wildcats, the 4x400 meter relay team placed seventh with a time of 4:57.84. The team consisted of Heidemann, Cox, Presley Pugh, and Jones.
The Wildcat girls will travel to Dunkerton on Tuesday, April 8. That meet begins at 4:30. The Cyclones will also compete on April 8 as they travel to Jesup. That meet begins at 4:15.