Throwers shine for NHS boys

DES MOINES — Sophomores Jace Lukefahr and Landon Hansen along with freshman Jaise Gulling are making their marks in the throwing rings for Newton High’s boys. The throwing trio finished in the top five of both the discus and the shot put events at Thursday’s VanderLinden Boys’ Invitational track meet.

Host Des Moines Lincoln captured the team championship with 147.5 points. Waukee JV was second with 117.5 followed by Woodward Academy in third with 93.5 points.

Newton’s Cardinals scored 84.5 points for fourth place. Fort Dodge took fifth with 54 and Des Moines Hoover had 42 points for sixth.

Lukefahr won the discus with a throw of 129 feet, 11 inches. Gulling was fifth with a distance of 112-1. Hansen chalked up the top mark in the shot put with a toss of 46-9 and Lukefahr was fourth at 43 feet.

Junior Connor Gholson’s leap of 19-3 earned him the gold medal in the long jump. Keith Steinbach cleared the high jump bar at 5-4 placing fourth.

Brennen Dodd, another junior, and sophomore Jack Callaghan ran 1-2 in the 400 meters. Dodd won in 53.81 seconds and Callaghan finished in 54.04. Sophomore Clayton Baltisberger tied for sixth in the 200 meters in 24.41 seconds.

Sophomore Matthew Karsten posted a third-place time of 11.58 seconds in the 100-meter dash. Jaron Roush, a sophomore, placed fourth in the 110-meter high hurdles in 17.79 seconds.

The 1,600 sprint medley relay team of Gholson, Karsten, Dodd and Callaghan was second in 3 minutes, 51.90 seconds. Newton’s 4x800 team of Matt Moran, Steinbach, Adam Hunt and Noah Sander placed fourth in 9:54. 69.

Gholson, Callaghan, Baltisberger and Karsten combined to post a fifth-place time of 45.79 in the 4x100 relay race. Newton’s 4x200 team of Eli Sander, Coltin Whitten, Roush and Baltisberger was fifth in 1:45.51.

Non-scoring placers for the Newton varsity were: Josh Miller 10th in the 100 meters, 12.72; Whitten 10th in the 110-meter hurdles, 19.21; Noah Sander, seventh in 1,600, 5:18.28; Dylan Main eighth in the 3,200, 12:13.84; Moran ninth, 2:25.52, and Steinbach 10th, 2:35.52, in the 800 meters; the weight man’s 4x100 relay of Alex Miller, Caden Manning, Lukefahr and Gulling, 51.17.

In the junior varsity division, Newton finished fifth with 38 points.

Caden Manning and Alex Miller went 1-2 in the shot put. Manning’s winning throw was 38-8 and Miller had a distance of 38-5 1/2.

Miller placed second in the discus at 108-1. Ben Peterson took fourth at 102-9.

Whitten finished third in the 200 meters in 26.70 seconds.

Non-scoring placers for the junior varsity were: Spencer Elbert 16th, 13.37, Blake Robson 19th, 13.49 in the 100; Eli Sander 7th, 27.16, Robson 17th, 28.13, in the 200; Skylar Tool 11th, 1:03.98, Elbert 12th, 1:06.09, Austin Romberg 14th, 1:07.28, in the 400; Main, 12th, 2:31.03, Hunter 17th, 2:35.33, Zach Theis 18th, 2:37.69, in the 800; and the 4x100 team of Tool, Romberg, Robson, Eli Sander in eighth at 54.71 seconds.

Newton’s boys compete in the Norwalk Invitational Monday. Events begin at 4:30 p.m.

Contact Jocelyn Sheets at
641-792-3121 ext. 6535 or jsheets@newtondailynews.com