Richardson’s big night powers Baxter boys to second at home

BAXTER — Matt Richardson had a big day on the oval for the Baxter boys track and field team on Monday.

The junior began his night by anchoring the Bolts’ 4x800-meter relay team to a season-best time and finished it with career-best times to win both the 800 and 1,600 at the Baxter Coed Invitational.

In between, he anchored the hosts to a win in the distance medley relay as the Bolts finished second for the first time this season.

Baxter scored 111 points and trailed only Class 2A South Hardin in the final standings. The Tigers won the meet title with 162 points.

Colfax-Mingo posted three top-three finishes and scored 53 points in sixth. The rest of the nine-team field included West Marshall (92), Van Meter (73.5), Ankeny Christian Academy (68), Saydel (52.5), Southeast Warren (52) and Colo-NESCO (43).

The Bolts’ first win of the night came in the 4x800 relay. The team of Logan Jones, Max Handorf, Cody Samson and Richardson posted a season-best time of 8 minutes, 44.53 seconds. That currently ranks ninth in 1A.

Richardson and Samson ran the final two legs of the distance medley relay. They were joined by Logan Rainsbarger and Treyton Travis and that foursome posted a winning season-best time of 3:52.8, which ranks 14th in 1A.

Richardson and Handorf finished 1-2 in the 1,600. Richardson won the race in a career-best time of 4:45.47 and Handorf’s runner-up time was 4:49.66.

The Bolts also doubled up in the 110 high hurdles, 800 and the discus.

In the 800, Richardson won the with a career-best time of 2:08.26 and Samson finished fifth in 2:17.39.

Samson was part of a Baxter trio that was recognized for Senior Night. He was joined by Travis and Jones.

Carter Smith and Grant Anderegg were 3-4 in the discus. Smith’s career-best toss of 131 feet, 5 inches ranks 14th in 1A, while Anderegg was fourth with a career-best heave of 124-7 1/2.

Smith also was third in the shot put with a career-best toss of 42-0 and Travis finished third in the high jump with a leap of 5-8. Rainsbarger scored a fourth-place finish in the long jump with a leap of 18-3 1/2.

Rainsbarger (16.96) also took fourth in the 110 high hurdles, while Lincoln Betterton (19.52) was sixth.

Cael Wishman posted a career-best time of 25.14 seconds to place fifth in the 200, while Jones was fifth in the 400 with a season-best time of 56.7. Jones also placed fifth in the 400 hurdles with a season-best time of 1:02.11.

Samson, Wishman, Jones and Rainsbarger teamed up in the 4x400 relay and the Bolts were fifth in 4:06.56.

Colfax-Mingo was held out of the win column, but Xavier Woods finished second in the high jump, third in the 110 high hurdles and fourth in the 400 hurdles.

Woods reached 6-0 in the high jump, finished the 110 high hurdles in 16.73 and completed the 400 hurdles in 1:01.73.

The Tigerhawks doubled up in the 110 high hurdles as Wyatt Thornton placed fifth in 18.29.

Sullivan Wilkins ran a career-best time of 5:13.33 to finish fourth in the 1,600 and Owen Ament (12:39.29) was fifth in the 3,200.

Thornton, Davion Long, Woods and Wilkins finished second in the distance medley relay with a time of 3:59.68. That’s a season best by almost 17 seconds.

Colfax-Mingo’s 4x400 relay team featured Long, Izaiah Lewis, Ament and Wilkins. That group finished fourth in 4:04.12.