March 28, 2024

Gholson is LHC long jump champion

GRINNELL — On one of the few sun-filled days of competition this spring, Newton High senior Connor Gholson went golden. Gholson won the 2017 Little Hawkeye Conference long jump championship in Tuesday’s conference track meet at Grinnell.

Gholson used a season’s-best leap of 21 feet, 9 1/2 inches to win the title. Dallas Center-Grimes’ Trey Washington was an inch behind, 21-8 1/2, for second place.

“It was really fun to see Connor finally rip one off and win the conference championship,” Newton head coach Tanner Clute said. “He’s been so close all season and final hit a season’s best.”

Gholson helped two Cardinal relays hit season’s best. He was on three relays, each taking third place.

Newton’s 800-meter sprint medley relay team of freshman Jeremiah Johnson, junior Matthew Karsten, Gholson and junior Jack Callaghan set a new school record in the new event for boys. They posted a 1:38.20, taking down the previous NHS best time of 1:38.88, and placed third.

“The sprint medley relay team ran very well with Jack running a season’s-best 52.8 anchor leg,” Clute said.

Newton edged out DCG at the finish line as the Mustangs were fourth in 1:38.21.

Indianola, LHC newcomer, rang up 186 points in winning the boys’ team title. DCG was second with 126 points and Pella was third with 92. Norwalk finished fourth with 81 points and Oskaloosa was fifth with 66 points.

Newton finished seventh with 54 points, three behind Grinnell’s 57. Pella Christian was eighth with 3 points.

“Overall, I’m happy with the guys’ willingness to compete tonight. Indianola and DCG are a couple of the best track teams in the state regardless of class. For us to go out there and challenge them was fun to watch,” Clute said.

The foursome of Johnson, junior Jaron Roush, Gholson and Karsten ran a season’s-best time of 44.41 seconds for third in he 4x100 relay race. The same four took third in the 4x200 in 1:33.22.

Roush finished third in the 110-meter high hurdles in 16.67 seconds. Callaghan ran a season’s-best in the 800, taking fourth in 2:04.18. Karsten placed fifth in the 100 meters in 11.77 seconds. Roush combined with senior Keith Steinbach and freshmen Dylan Farver and Cody Satterfield for fourth in the shuttle hurdle relay in 1:05.25.

Newton was the defending distance medley relay, but a different foursome ran this season. Newton’s distance medley relay team of sophomore Thomas Cox, seniors Spencer Elbert and Noah Sander and freshman Camden Winther took eighth in 4:06.17.

In the discus, junior Jace Lukefahr was fifth with a throw of 129-4 1/2 and sophomore Jaise Gulling was eighth at 122-2.

Newton prepares to compete in its annual Cardinal Relays which start at 4:30 p.m. Thursday at H.A. Lynn Stadium. Teams expected to be at the Relays are Colfax-Mingo, Collins-Maxwell/Baxter, Lynnville-Sully, Prairie City-Monroe, North Mahaska, Pleasantville, South Tama and Southeast Warren.

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