Cardinals boys finish third at home, lock up more Drake Relays events

With the first really good weather of the night of the season, Newton’s boys track and field team had a big decision to make during the Newton Cardinal Coed Invitational on Friday.

The Cardinals had to decide which relays to take a legitimate shot at for the Drake Relays.

Newton already had a strong time in the 4x800-meter relay but didn’t feel as good about the 4x400 and distance medley.

In the end, Newton head boys track and field coach Chad Garvis let the athletes decide and the Cardinals chose to punt on the 4x800 and give their best efforts in the other two.

“We wanted to weigh our options with the three events. If we didn’t the run 4x800 there was a chance other teams could get us,” Treycen Garton said. “But we also wanted to give our best effort into the other two. And if we would have ran the 4x800, it most likely would have affected us for the other two relays.”

The Cardinals will be competing in the Drake Relays in the 4x800 and distance medley but came up short in the 4x400.

Garton will be part of both relays. So will Derek Beiner. The senior duo teamed up with Nate Maki and Christian Ergenbright to run a Drake Relays Blue Standard time in the distance medley relay and the Cardinals racked up nine top-three finishes at home during a third-place finish.

“The 4x400 and distance medley weren’t quite qualified yet so we wanted to make sure we gave those two our best,” Beiner said. “We had only ran the distance medley indoors so it wasn’t a great time.

“We ran the 4x800 faster than last year so we took a chance it would be a lock. We hoped that was enough. And if it wasn’t then we still have opportunities to qualify in the two others.”

Newton scored 94 points in third and trailed only ADM (155) and Clear Creek-Amana (149).

The rest of the 10-team field included Ames (77), Grinnell (63), South Tama County (61), Oskaloosa (52), Nevada (48), Saydel (22) and Perry (13).

The Cardinals’ lone win on the night came from Keith Moko in the high jump. He will be in this year’s Drake Relays in the event but won the home meet with a leap of 6 feet, 2 inches. Moko also placed second in the long jump with a mark of 20-3 1/2.

Newton, which was without standout distance runner Jackson Mace-Maynard, was second in two other individual events and two relays.

Dallas King was the runner-up in the shot put with a career-best heave of 46-5 1/2.

Maki also ran a career-best time in the 100 but settled for second. His career-best 11.09 also earned him a spot in the Drake Relays and the time is currently 11th best in Class 3A.

The distance medley relay was second to CCA. Both teams ran fast enough for the Drake Relays Blue Standard and the Cardinals’ time of 3:36.61 was a season-best. The time included a sub-51 second 400 split from Beiner.

“We came out of the 400 and I was in second and he kind of just pulled me right along,” Beiner said. “I sat on his back and tried to make a slight turn. With about 200 meters left, I knew I had him. I felt the energy and felt the crowd. I knew I had to do it for Drake.

“That was the first time I ran under 52. That’s just the runner I am. I knew I was capable of it.”

The distance medley relay is now 11th in the state and fifth in 3A. The 4x400 team of Klein, Jared Smith, Garton and Beiner ran a time fast enough to be top 10 in 3A but not quite quick enough to qualify for Drake. They finished second in the race in 3:30.71.

The Cardinals’ decided against bettering their 4x800 time but still qualified for Drake anyway.

“We were pretty sure we’d get in in the 4x800. I figured we had an 80 percent chance so we took the risk,” Garton said.

The Cardinals were third in three events. Cole Swank was third in the 110 high hurdles with a season-best time of 16.65 and Nate Davies grabbed the bronze medal in the discus with a throw of 133-2.

The 4x200 relay team of Reilly Trease, Ergenbright, Klein and Maki also made a run at Drake. They came up short, but the team’s season-best time of 1:32.2 sits seventh in 3A.

Newton also had season-best times in the 4x100 and shuttle hurdle relays.

Riley Lester, Maki, Trease and Colin Sharp ran 45.47 to place fifth in the 4x100.

The team of Curtis Payne, Reese Hammons, Trease and Bauer finished fourth in the shuttle hurdle with a season-best time of 1:06.03.

Klein grabbed a fourth-place finish in the 200 with a career-best time of 24.13. Bauer was fifth in the 400 hurdles with a season-best time of 1:01.20.