Cards, Mustangs, Hawks compete at Eddyville

EDDYVILLE — The Newton, Prairie City-Monroe and Lynnville-Sully girls track teams took part in a 14-team invitational at Eddyville-Blakesburg High School Thursday evening, which was split into two meets based on school size.

Lynnville-Sully had the biggest night of the three Jasper County schools, winning the Class B meet by a 36-point margin. The Hawks posted 159 points, followed by Sigourney (123) and Twin Cedars (116) in the six-team field. They placed first in seven of the 19 events and scored points in all but one.

“What a great night to be a part of Lynnville-Sully girls track and field,” Hawks coach Darin Arkema said. “We knew there would be an opportunity to score a lot of points tonight, but they were going to have to be earned. The girls did a fantastic job of being ready to compete on a day where we didn’t have school and the start of our Easter break to come home as meet champions.”

Newton and PCM competed in Class A, placing fourth and sixth out of eight teams. Oskaloosa took first with 118 points, followed by Grinnell (107), host Eddyville-Blakesburg (99), Newton (82), North Mahaska (68) and PCM 68).

SFlbNewton

The Cardinals earned a solid fourth-place finish in the standings by scoring in 13 of the 19 events, and having 15 scorers overall. They won two events, took third in eight, fourth in three, and fifth and sixth in one each.

To no surprise, Newton’s biggest scorers were its throwers. Sophomore Michaela Bleeker and senior Courtney Meyer won the shot put and the discus, respectively, for the second time this week as they were also winners at South Tama on Monday. Bleeker won the shot put with a toss of 36 feet, 3/4 inches while Meyer won the discus with a throw of 113-feet, 7 inches and took third in the shot put. Freshman Sarah Kalkhoff also took fourth in the discus. Also in the field, senior Alora Simmons — who signed with William Penn University earlier in the day for track — took third in the high jump with a mark of 4 feet, 10 inches.

On the track, the Cardinals got a nice night from freshman Taylor Fisher, who took third in the 200-meter dash in 29.66 seconds and fifth in the 400 in 1:08.81. Also taking third individually was junior Amanda Richtsmeier in the 400 hurdles in 1:17.51. Richtsmeier took seventh in the 100 hurdles as well. Newton’s other individual scorer was junior Alexis DesPlanque, who took third in the 800 in 2:41.25.

The rest of the team’s points came in relays. The Cardinals’ 4x100 team of senior Kyla Cazett, sophomore Kacey Cazett, junior Marissa Richtsmeier and Fisher took third in 56.26 seconds. The 4x800 team of senior Mariah Doland, freshman Haley Coy, senior Katie McNeil and sophomore Brooklynn Maddison took third in 11:32.67, the distance medley team of both Cazetts, senior Ellen Colville and DesPlanque also took third in 4:38.95 and the shuttle hurdle team of Kyla Cazett, sophomore Bailey Zaruba, sophomore Taylor Graff and Amanda Richtsmeier took third. Taking fourth was the sprint medley team of the Cazetts, Marissa Richtsmeier and junior Victoria Lillo in 2:13.18. The Cardinals’ other scorer on the night was the 4x400 relay team of Colville, sophomore Brooke Henning, Fisher and DesPlanque, which took sixth in 4:34.11.

“We had another good night of competition,” Newton coach Rachel Tomas said. “This meet was tough, especially with conference schools Oskaloosa and Grinnell. We still have a lot of work to do but continue to make improvements.”

PCM

For the Mustangs, they won won event, took second in four, third in one, fourth in three and fifth in four.

Their victory came in the shuttle hurdle relay, where the team of Shelby Palm, Lexi Kain, Emma Williams and Kelsey Townsend took first in 1:11.78.It cut two seconds off the team’s personal-best. It wasn’t the only PCM relay to have success, however, as three others took second. They included the 4x100 and 4x200 relay teams of Mackenzie Clarke, Townsend, Williams and Kain in 54.96 seconds and 1:55.48, and the 4x400 team of Clarke, Courtney Van Houweling, Townsend and Kain. All three teams’ times were season-bests. The Mustangs’ sprint medley team also took fifth.

Individually, PCM’s top finishers were its throwers. Brilee McWilliams took second in the discus at 108 feet, 2 inches and took fifth in the shot put, while Abbi Gilson took third in the discus. Van Houweling and Palm took fourth in the long jump and 100 hurdles, while Macey Walker took fifth in the 400 hurdles. Rachel Peter took fourth in the 3,000 and fifth in the 1,500.

Lynnville-Sully

In the 19 events, the Hawks earned their Class B team title by taking first in seven, second in five, third in five, fourth in two, fifth in four and sixth in three.

Sophomore Alexa Vanderleest had a huge night, winning three individual races. She won the 800 in 2:38.33, the 1,500 in 5:26.21 and the 3,000 in 12:19.44. Freshman Madison Rasmusson scored big points as well, winning the 400 in 1:07.14 and taking second in the 200 in 28.47, while senior Cassie Schwartz took third and fifth in the same events. Sophomore Karli Roozeboom was another big individual contributor, taking second in the 3,000 and third in the 1,500. Sophomore Tara Vos also took second in the 800. Also on the track, freshmen Taylor Vander Leest and senior Maddison Jansen took third and fourth in the 400 hurdles.

The Hawks also dominated in the relays, winning two and taking second in two. The 4x400 team of Vos, senior Cassie Schwartz, freshman Shelby Davis and Rasmusson took first in 4:40.16, while the 4x800 team of Vos, freshman Cori Rice, Taylor Vander Leest and Schwartz won in 11:34.63. The 4x800 team of freshman Tierney Needham, sophomore Kristal Beyer, Davis and Rice took second, as did the distance medley team of Needham, Davis, Rice and Roozeboom. The Hawks also took third in the shuttle hurdle.

In the field, L-S was lead by Davis’ first-place showing in the high jump as she won with a height of 4-feet, 8 inches. Senior Amelia DeWitt took third in the shot put and fourth in the discus.

“The girls have worked hard early in the season and did a tremendous job tonight, so they earned it,” Arkema said about the victory. “They continue to get better with each opportunity. Hopefully they take the fun and excitement of winning a meet and continue to be motivated to work for more.”

Team scores

Class A — 1, Oskaloosa 118; 2, Grinnell 107; 3, Eddvylle-Blakesburg 99; 4, Newton 82; 5, North Mahaska 77; 6, PCM 68; 7, Albia 23; 8, Cardinal 15.

Class B — 1, Lynnville-Sully 159; 2, Sigourney 123; 3, Twin Cedars 116; 4, Montezuma 88; 5, Moravia 64; 6, Tri-County 16.