March 19, 2024

CMB girls win Raider Invite, boys take second

Colfax-Mingo takes fifth, sixth

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BAXTER — Just a few days after hosting the Raider Relays, Collins-Maxwell-Baxter resumed its hosting duties with the Raider Relays on Monday.

And once again, homefield advantage proved valuable for the Raiders.

The CMB girls topped a seven-team field with a score of 140, while the boys took second to North Polk with a total of 116. Colfax-Mingo’s boys finished fifth but won multiple events and set plenty of personal records, while the Tigerhawk girls finished sixth.

CMB

Winning a few meets was high on the priorities list for the Raider girls coming into the season. Now that they’ve accomplished that goal just a week into the outdoor season, those goals might be adjusted slightly.

Despite not winning a single event, CMB still managed a sizeable victory, topping second-place South Hardin by 52 points. Overall, the Raiders had 28 top-five finishes on the night.

“I thought we competed very well tonight,” CMB coach Jerry Meinerts said. “We won the meet without winning a single event, that doesn’t happen very often. We always talk about giving it your all, and if you can’t finish first, then make sure you finish second. That was the case tonight.”

Among the large cast of second-place finishers was freshman Bridget Hurley, who took second in the 400 (1 minute, 2.85 seconds), 400 hurdles (1:14.78) and the 4x4000-meter relay with Anne Deutsch, Alex Broderick and Kayla Hennick (4:22.74). Her night also included a jump of 4 feet, 8 inches for fifth place in the high jump.

Also taking second were Abbie Haupert in the discus (110-9), Jenna Ziesman in the long jump (14-0.25), the 4x800 relay team of Deutsch, Hennick, Shelby Berg and Hayley Leonard (10:34.16), the shuttle hurdle relay team of Ziesman, Brittany Peterson, Taylor Ross and Jenna O’Hara (1:16.91) and Peterson in the 100 hurdles (17.48).

The rest of the team’s scoring came from an even mix of running and field events, as six events placed third and fourth and eight events were fifth.

CMB’s boys narrowly missed out on winning two in a row, but they still picked up from where they left off last week in terms of individual performances.

Junior Zach Samson again won the shot put with a distance of 54-6.75, topping second place by nearly five inches and almost throwing the shot into the grass area outside the pit. South Hardin’s Bryce Zeisness took top honors in the discus, but Samson and teammate Patrick Girard took second and third with throws of 142-9.5 and 136-10, respectively. Girard was also third in the shot put with a throw of 49-5.

Sophomore Bryce Kemp capped another strong meet at home, winning the 110 hurdles with a time of 14.99 and taking second in the long jump with a distance of 19-5, second in the 100 with a time of 11.32 and third in the 200 with a time of 23.30.

The remaining field and distance events proved valuable for CMB on the day as well. Aaron Ward and Mark Deutsch placed third and fifth, respectively, in the 3,200 and fourth and fifth in the 1,600. In the high jump, Zach Huffaker and Hunter Gunderson placed third and fifth, respectively, with jumps of 5-10.

In the relay events, CMB was led by third-place finishes from the 4x800 team of Kyle Cather, Zach Hartgers, Seth Balke and Austin Moorman (9:04.13) and the distance medley team of Gabe Schabillion, Nick Littell, Joey Snyder and Cather (4:02.52).

The Raider girls will continue their recent busy stretch today, competing in the Gilbert Quad. The boys will compete at Ballard on Thursday.

Colfax-Mingo

A number of the Tigerhawk boys were either sick or injured for the Raider Relays last Friday, but they began to return to form Monday.

Senior Connor Hainer had a full night, winning the long jump (21-1.5), 400 (50.95) and 200 (22.52). Fellow senior Jaden Van Dyke took the Tigerhawks’ other victory in the 800 with a personal-best time of 1:59.52. Hainer now leads Class 2A in those three events, plus the 100.

Taking second was the 4x400 team of Hainer, Van Dyke, Byron Johnson and Jake Lietz with a time of 3:38.49, while the 4x400 team of Johnson, Lietz, Tim Blood and Dylan Albright (4:03.55) and the distance medley team of Jake Alexander, Albright, Blood and Johnson (4:03.55) both finished fourth, as did senior Chad McLain in the shot put with a toss of 45-9.25.

“I was extremely proud of the whole squad, from the most experienced senior to the newest freshman,” C-M coach Matt Barkalow said. “Everyone stepped up and their performances reflect that.”

On the girls’ side, the Tigerhawks won one event and also set multiple PRs in their sixth-place finish. Leading the way was Mari Gonzales, who scored the team’s lone victory in the 400 hurdles with a time of 1:13.21. She also anchored the third-place shuttle hurdle relay team with Rebecca Jensen, Elissa Opfer and Dakota Brodka, which finished with a time of 1:19.77.

McKinzie Tjaden continued her impressive freshman campaign by taking second in a razor-thin 100 with a time of 13.47 and third in the 200 with a time of 28.14, which was just .06 of a second off of second.

Other place winners for C-M included Kennedi Hostetter, who took fourth in the 3,000 with a time of 12:57.84 and eighth in the 1,500 with a time of 6:00.70. The 4x400 team of Bailey Pease, Sara Lahart, Erin Earles and Gonzales had the Tigerhawk’s top relay finish, taking fourth with a time of 4:45.72.

“We had several personal bests and another solid meet tonight,” C-M coach Zach Tomas said. “Several girls are really starting to step up for our team, but we still have some areas we can work to improve.”

C-M’s girls will continue their season with a road trip to Ogden on Thursday. The Tigerhawk boys will take some time off before competing at Saydel on Saturday, where Van Dyke and the 4x400 relay team will defend meet records.