Four wins highlight Baxter boys’ night at state qualifier

MADRID — Three individual wins and a relay victory propelled the Baxter boys’ track and field team to a third-place finish at the Class 1A state qualifying meet hosted by Madrid on Thursday.

The wins guaranteed the Bolts went home with four state qualifiers, but Baxter learned the following day that two other entries earned at-large berths.

Carson Scroggins won the 400-meter dash, Logan Rainsbarger claimed a win in the 110 high hurdles and Trice Clapper registered a win in the shot put. The Bolts also won the 4x100 relay and registered eight top-three finishes.

Baxter scored 93 points in third place. Madrid won the district championship with 153 points, while Earlham finished second with 130.

South Hamilton (81) and Collins-Maxwell (69) rounded out the top five and Southeast Warren (53), Colo-NESCO (46), Wayne (34), Ankeny Christian Academy (22), Martensdale-St. Marys (22), Grand View Christian (21), Woodward Academy (6) and Mormon Trail (5) completed the 13-team field.

The winner in each event in each 1A state qualifier secured a state berth and the next best 14 performances in each event also locked down at-large bids.

Scroggins won the 400 in a career-best 52.22 seconds. That was the 21st-best qualifying time.

Rainsbarger completed the 110 high hurdles in 16.31 seconds and that was the 24th-best qualifying time.

Clapper is headed to the state meet after winning the shot put with a toss of 47 feet, 8 inches, which is the 18th-best qualifying mark. Jake Travis finished sixth in the event with a career-best toss of 41-1.

The 4x100 relay team of Cade Robinson, Scroggins, Jake Travis and Cainan Travis won the race with a season-best time of 45.61 seconds. That was the 24th-best qualifying time.

The Bolts secured an at-large state berth in the 4x800 relay. Matt Richardson also clinched his first state berth in the 3,200.

Richardson placed third in the 3,200 with a career-best time of 10 minutes, 11.04 seconds. That’s the 15th-best qualifying time.

Perrin Sulzle, Cody Samson, Logan Jones and Cody Damman ended up second in the 4x800 relay with a season-best time of 8:37.21. They’ll go to the blue oval with the 19th-best qualifying time.

Sulzle, Samson and Damman were on the 4x800 relay team that placed 12th at the 1A state meet last spring.

Scroggins, Rainsbarger, Clapper, Robinson, Jones, Jake Travis and Cainan Travis join Richardson as first-time state qualifiers.

The Bolts finished third and fifth in the 100 with Robinson and Treyton Travis, respectively. Robinson posted a career-best time of 12.12 seconds and Treyton Travis hit the finish line in a career-best 12.25.

The 4x400 relay finished fourth. That team featured Cainan Travis, Rainsbarger, Robinson and Scroggins.

The distance medley relay was fifth but nearly clinched an at-large state berth. The foursome of Rainsbarger, Jake Travis, Cainan Travis and Richardson posted a season-best time of 3:48.91 and the final at-large spot was clocked in 3:48.63.

Treyton Travis finished fifth in the 200 (career-best 24.4) and sixth in the high jump (5-8), Logan Jones (1:03) was sixth in the 400 hurdles and Carter Smith (119-5) ended up sixth in the discus.

The final at-large height in the high jump was 5-10.