March 29, 2024

Raider boys are Heart of Iowa Conference track champs

ALLEMAN — Collins-Maxwell/Baxter’s Raider boys didn’t win as many events as they have been in their undefeated march through the 2014 track season. The Raiders did walk away from North Polk with six individual Heart of Iowa Conference event championships and the team championship.

“We obviously were very pleased to win the HOIAC team title.  This conference is such a great conference with so many outstanding teams, athletes and coaches so we feel very fortunate and honored to have the meet turn out the way it did,” said Neil Seales, CMB head coach.

“The team title is a real tribute to our athletes and testimony to how much effort and preparation they have put into this season. They are a tremendous group of athletes and young men and I couldn’t be happier for them nor proud of them.”

The Raiders won the meet, which was held Monday despite cold, wet conditions, by placing in 17 events to amass 152 points. North Polk was second with 135 points.

The throwing areas at North Polk were so bad from the weekend rains that the conference discus and shot put events were contested at Ballard High School in Huxley Monday.

Prairie City-Monroe’s Mustangs and Colfax-Mingo’s Tigerhawks competed in the HOIAC meet as well. The Mustangs finished ninth with 34 points and Colfax-Mingo was 10th with nine points.

It was in the field events the Raiders laid the foundation of the conference championship. CMB won all four field events.

Bryce Kemp was the long jump champion with a leap of 20 feet, 6 inches, followed by teammate Zach Huffaker in second at 20’3 1/4”. PCM’s Ricky Reeve and Skyler Koder were fifth and seventh, respectively, at 18’6” and 18’0”.

Zach Samson claimed the gold in the shot put with a throw of 56’10” and CMB teammate Patrick Girard was second at 51’9”. PCM’s Connor Warrick placed fifth with a toss of 43’9 1/4”.  Clayton Weltha captured the discus title for the Raiders with a throw of 134’10” and Samson was second at 132’8”.

CMB’s Hunter Gunderson and PCM’s Koder matched each other at the high jump. Both cleared the bar at 5’10” along with North Polk’s Grant Rampton. It came down to who had the least misses during the competition. Gunderson was awarded the gold medal and Koder earned the silver.

On the track, Kemp and Jordan Coughenour were the conference champions for the Raiders. Kemp won the 110-meter high hurdles in 14.97 seconds and later Coughenour won the 400-meter hurdles in 56.57 seconds. CMB’s Brady Stover placed eighth in the 400 hurdles in 1 minute, 2.47 seconds.

In the 100-meter dash, Kemp was fourth in 11.55 and Huffacker was eighth at 11.73 seconds. Kemp placed second in the 200 meters in 23.69 seconds while PCM’s Troy Vittetoe was seventh in 24.71. Coughenour took second in the 400-meter dash in 51.85, PCM’s Ronnie Marshall was fifth in 55.40 and Vittetoe was seventh in 56.54.

CMB’s Austin Moorman and Noah Cather ran seventh and eighth, respectively, in the 800-meter race in 2:14 and 2:15. Mark Deutsch of CMB  finished fifth in the 1,600-meter run in 5:02.44 and PCM’s Maverick McAtee was eighth in 5:15.14.

Deutsch was fifth in the 3,200-meter race in 11:03.46 and teammate Colin Thomson was sixth in 11:14.72. McAtee placed eighth in 11:23.83.

CMB’s 4x100-meter shuttle hurdle relay team of Nick Littell, Joey Nissen, Moorman and Coughenour took second in 1:02.42 and PCM’s foursome of Reeve, Austin Sneller, Chase Kuecker and Koder was sixth in 1:07.57. In the 4x100-meter relay race, CMB’s team of Kyle Cather, Stover, Samson and Dalton Birchmier was sixth in 48.80 seconds and Colfax-Mingo’s team was eighth in 50.51.

The Raider 4x400-meter relay team of K. Cather, Gunderson, Huffaker and Coughenour placed third in 3:40.34 and PCM’s Zach Uhlenhopp, Tyler Dredge, Vittetoe and Marshall finished sixth in 3:49.88. In the distance medley relay race, CMB’s team of Littell, Stover, Gunderson and Seth Balke finished fourth in 3:59.03 and Colfax-Mingo was sixth in 4:08.79.

CMB’s 4x200-meter relay team of K. Cather, Stover, Birchmier and Huffaker took fifth in 1:39.61 and Colfax-Mingo was eighth in 1:42.52. The Raider’s 4x800-meter relay team of N. Cather, Evan Bianchi, Balke and Moorman placed fourth in 8:54.23.