DES MOINES — Newton High’s boys finally got to stretch their running legs and throwing arms in outdoor track competition. The Cardinals competed in their first outdoor meet of the season Thursday.
Newton was ninth with 39 points in the 2018 Saydel Eagles Boys Invitational. Gilbert won the 16-team event with 113 points and Des Moines East was second with 85.5. A small contingent of Colfax-Mingo boys competed, finished 15th with 16 points.
Cardinal seniors Matthew Yeager and Matthew Karsten had strong showings in their individual races.
Yeager won the 400-meter dash in 51.70 seconds, which is the 11th fastest time in Class 4A and tied for 16th fastest in the state.
Karsten posted a second-place time of 11.28 seconds in the 100 meters. His time has him tied for 12th in 4A and tied for 22nd overall, which puts him in contention for a spot at the Drake Relays. The fastest 32 times in the state qualify for the Drake Relays.
Also on the track, senior Jack Callaghan ran fourth in the 800 in 2 minutes, 6.8 seconds. Junior Adam Hunter was fifth in the 1,600 in 5:03.10.
Newton didn’t place in team scoring spots in relays. The Cardinals’ 4x800 was ninth, the 800 sprint medley relay was 11th and the 4x100 and distance medley relays finished 12th.
The Cardinals had two third-place finishes in the throwing events. Senior Jace Lukefar’s throw of 140 feet, 1 inch took third in the discus. Throwing 50-2 in the shot put, senior Landon Hansen placed third.
The Newton boys compete at 10 a.m. Saturday in a meet hosted by Linn-Mar in Marion.
Contact Jocelyn Sheets at
641-792-3121 ext. 6535 or jsheets@newtondailynews.com