March 29, 2024

Newton claims 32nd in Drake Relays 4x100 relay; PCM finishes 67th

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DES MOINES — The 4x100-meter relay is a fast race that almost always comes down to the handoffs.

The more cohesion a team has, the better chance they have to succeed in the race.

Despite only having run together for two races before Friday, the Newton 4x100 team who qualified for the Drake Relays moved up eight spots from their qualifying position.

The Cardinals came into the weekend with the 40th best qualifying time. They left Drake Stadium in 32nd place.

The foursome of freshman Jeremiah Johnson, junior Jaron Roush, senior Connor Gholson and junior Matthew Karsten finished second in Heat 6 with a time of 44.74 seconds.

“We haven’t qualified for the 4x100 in a long time so I am happy with how the guys ran,” Newton coach Tanner Clute said.

“They didn’t run a season-best time but it’s cold and rainy. Overall, I think they ran well overall.”

Prairie City-Monroe also competed in the boys’ 4x100 relay.

Mustang coach Collin Harrison replaced senior Luke Greiner with junior Noah Henkenius, and he was joined by sophomores Preston Van Wyk and Brayton Van Dyke and junior Noah Anderson, and the foursome finished 67th with a time of 46.10.

Greiner was part of the foursome who qualified for the Relays. He did not run Friday and he has missed the Mustangs last two meets. Administration was contacted, but they declined to comment after being asked about his absence.

The Mustangs came into the weekend with the 71st-best qualifying time. They moved up four spots but finished eighth in Heat 10.

Clute said the Newton foursome who ran at Drake on Friday were running for just the third time this season. They ran together for the first time this season on the final night to qualify, and it came on their home track.

“We have only been able to run this event with this foursome three times now,” Clute said. “For running this only twice before, I am happy with the time we ran today. It was a slow track overall.”

All four members of the relay were running in the Drake Relays for the first time in their careers.

Gholson competed in the long jump last year but ran on the blue oval for the first time Friday. He was on the Drake campus for the first time since deciding to walk-on to the Bulldog basketball team. He made that decision official earlier in the day.

“It was pretty cool. This was the first time I was able to compete here since making my decision. It was pretty cool,” Gholson said. “It’s a quick race so you can’t really take it all in. I did look around a little bit.”

Karsten ran the anchor leg for the Cardinals. He was the only athlete on the team who had previously ran on the blue oval. The Drake Relays experience compared to the state meet is much different.

“Watching professional athletes warm up and do their thing is pretty awesome,” Karsten said. “Putting in the work to get here was definitely worth it.

​“The goal now is to get to state. We just need to perfect the handoffs. That’s going to be the key.”

Clute said the foursome just needs to trust each other.

“We are going to need to work on our handoffs. We need to work really hard on trusting each other,” Clute said. “It’s not always about having the fastest guys. It’s about consistency with the handoffs. These guys haven’t been together long enough to be consistent. Hopefully by district time that will happen.”

Johnson and Roush both had great first experiences on the blue oval. Both said the experience was nerve-wracking, too.

It was really nice, but it was nerve wracking,” Roush said. “We were slower today, but it’s a tougher race. And it’s not easy getting to Drake. Everyone here is fast.”

The top eight times in Friday night’s preliminary rounds advanced to Saturday’s finals. Western Dubuque won the race with a 42.41. Davenport North (42.75) was second, and Johnston (42.94) finished third.

Three area junior high teams qualified for the Drake Relays.

The Newton girls finished 20th with a time of 57.09. That team included Meg Callaghan, Riley Davidson, Nykole Hernandez and Kate Callaghan.

The Colfax-Mingo girls foursome of Riley Carroll, Crystal Lincoln, Ayla Campbell and Madison Gilkison, and they finished 34th in 1 minute, 1.72 seconds.

The C-M junior high boys also qualified. That Tigerhawk foursome included Andrew Gorman, Jake Nichols, Jason Rhinehart and AJ Gibson, and they finished 36th with a time of 1:05.84.