April 24, 2024

Cardinal boys finish indoor strong; Tigerhawks compete well at ISU

By Jocelyn Sheets

Newton senior Levi Michener (second from left) runs in a heat of the 60-meter dash at last Friday’s Little Hawkeye Conference Indoor Track Meet in Grinnell. Michener was among the Cardinal boys competing in Tuesday’s Iowa State University Boys Indoor Classic in Ames. (Jocelyn Sheets)

AMES — Newton’s Cardinal boys wrapped up their indoor track season Tuesday at the Iowa State University Boys Indoor Classic. Colfax-Mingo’s Tigerhawks had a strong run at the meet also with one more indoor meet remaining on their schedule.

“The boys ran well and competed hard,” Newton head coach Tom Bartello said about the limited squad the Cardinals entered at ISU. “We had many athletes run personal-best times for their indoor season.”

Newton’s Deonne Harris had another solid outing in the 60-meter hurdles. Harris finished fifth in 8.45 seconds. Newton teammates Jake Bennett, 9.89 seconds, and Brandon Fisher, 10.19 seconds, placed 58th and 69th, respectively. Colfax-Mingo’s Richard Blom was 98th in 11.07.

In the 60-meter dash, J.T. Thongvanh ran 28th in 7.45 seconds for Newton. Also from Newton, Earl Kimmel was 117th in 7.91 seconds and Levi Michener was 151st in 8.09 seconds. Colfax-Mingo’s Juan Gonzales placed 168th in 8.29 seconds and Ethan Opfer was 174th in 8.46.

Jacob Walker, Newton, posted a time of 54.63 seconds for 26th in the 400-meter dash while Jake Lietz of Colfax-Mingo placed 29th in 54.79 seconds. The Tigerhawks’ Blake Summy was 33rd in 55.08 seconds. Lietz and Summy each ran personal-best times in the race. Newton’s Jarom Williams finished 47th in 56.02 seconds.

“Our boys had some great efforts and personal bests last night at the ISU indoor meet,” Colfax-Mingo head coach Matt Barkalow said.

“This meet is always an outstanding indoor event, with 1A through 4A schools from around the state competing against each other without class size being considered.”

Newton’s 4x100-meter relay team finished 14th in 46.24 seconds. Cofax-Mingo’s 4x100-meter relay team placed 63rd in 50.43 seconds. The Cardinals’ sprint medley relay team was 50th in 4 minutes, 10.49 seconds..

In the 1,600-meter run, Newton’s Jacob Thomas finished 38th in 5:01.98 while Colfax-Mingo’s Jake Buehrer ran a  personal-best time of 5:18.20 for 63rd and Clayton Brown was 98th in 5:40.83. Justin Simms, Newton, was 120th in 9:00.83. Newton’s Zach Theis placed 71st in the 3,200-meter run in 12:23.92.

Colfax-Mingo’s 4x400-meter relay team of Gabe Simpson, Jimmy Abell, Lietz and Summy combined for a season-best time of 3:48.52 to take 23rd in a field of 70 teams. In the 4x800-meter relay race, the Tigerhawks were 39th in 9:22.45 and the Cardinals placed 43rd in 9:24.98.

Newton’s Williams was 24th in the long jump with a leap of 18 feet, 3 1/2 inches. Summy, Colfax-Mingo, was 49th at 17’5 3/4” and his teammate, Gonzales, was 63rd at 16’ 6 3/4”.

In the shot put, Colfax-Mingo’s Opfer was 80th with a throw of 33’5” and Brandon Byal was 87th with a toss of 30’11”.