April 18, 2024

L-S boys win team championship at 1A state qualifying meet

Hawks lock up eight state meet entries, dominate relays at Wayne High School

By Troy Hyde

Lynnville-Sully's 4x100 team of (from left) Kyle Squires, Ryan Annee, Josh Hardenbrook and Corder Noun Harder returns to the blue oval this week for the Iowa High School State Track and Field Championships. The Hawks have eight entries in this year's state meet. Squires, Annee, Hardenbrook and Noun Harder are all in multiple events. (Troy Hyde/Newton News)

CORYDON — A strong showing in field events and a dominant effort in the relays propelled Lynnville-Sully’s boys track and field team to a championship on Thursday.

The Hawks won a pair of relays and finished second five times during the Class 1A State Qualifying meet at Wayne High School.

Lynnville-Sully scored 117 points to win the title. The Hawks were 12 points clear of Mount Ayr and Lamoni (92), North Mahaska (90) and Southeast Warren (70) rounded out the top five.

“Absolutely amazing for this group of 19 young men to put forth the effort, focus, preparation and determination to be able to earn the title of state qualifying meet champions,” L-S head boys track and field coach Darin Arkema said.

The lone individual win for the Hawks came in the shot put. Kyle Squires won the event and earned an automatic spot in the state meet following a career-best toss of 45 feet, 3 inches.

The winner of each event at each 1A state qualifier advances to the state meet and the next 14 best times, marks and distances earn at-large bids.

Lynnville-Sully junior James Gruver will compete in two events at the state track and field meet this week, including the 400-meter hurdles. (Troy Hyde/Newton News)

For the Hawks, they had three total auto bids and five at-large berths.

They won the 4x100 and 4x200 relays.

In the 4x100, Squires, Ryan Annee, Josh Hardenbrook and Corder Noun Harder won the race in 44.7 seconds.

The 4x200 team included Noun Harder, Annee, Hardenbrook and Conner Maston and they finished first in 1 minute, 33.5 seconds.

“The 4x100 group did exactly what was needed but making sure steps and marks were good so that the baton made it around the track,” Arkema said. “We knew they were going to run fast, just needed clean exchanges. Great for them to earn the victory and get back to the blue oval after competing up there for Drake.”

L-S also qualified for the state meet in the 4x400 and sprint medley relays.

The 4x400 team of Hardenbrook, Noun Harder, James Gruver and Maston finished second in a season-best 3:29.91.

The sprint medley foursome of Squires, Noun Harder, Hardenbrook and Maston were second in 1:37.93.

The shuttle hurdle relay also placed second but did not advance to the state meet. That foursome was Gruver, Bryce Richards, Aidan Stock and Austin Larson and they finished in 1:09.65.

The Hawks clinched three other state bids. Those all came in an individual event.

Annee placed second in the long jump with a leap of 20-7 1/4, Gruver was the runner-up in the 400 hurdles in a season-best 56.93 and Maston finished third in the 400 in 52.35. All three earned at-large state bids.

“Our first priority coming into the meet was to put guys in places that would hopefully get the most events to the state meet and/or have the best chance of placing at the state meet,” Arkema said. “And while we know of only three things that automatically qualified as an event winner, we ended the night feeling really good about several other events chances based on how the guys performed in them and what things looked like coming in.”

Zach Morningstar registered a pair of top-five finishes. He was third in the 3,200 with a time of 11:31.92 and took fifth in the 1,600 in a career-best 5:07.60.

Mason Rodibaugh (108-5) was fourth in the discus, Annee (season-best 24.43) and Stock (12.53) both were fifth in the 200 and 100, respectively.

Richards and Larson gave the Hawks double points in the 200 dash and 400 hurdles, respectively. They both finished sixth with times of 25.25 and 1:07.86.

After Southeast Warren in fifth the rest of the team standings included Seymour (59), East Union (45), Melcher-Dallas (42), Wayne (37), Moravia (30), Morman Trail (16) and Murray (15).

The Iowa High School State Track and Field Championships inside Drake Stadium in Des Moines kick off Thursday and run through Saturday.

The Class 1A portion of the meet competes in the morning sessions on Thursday and Friday.

The Hawks could make plenty of noise at the state meet. The 4x400 and 4x200 relays rank top five in 1A and the 4x100 and sprint medley relays rank in the top 10.

Annee is currently fifth in the long jump and Maston’s time in the 400 ranks in the top 10.