Rams qualify for state in 19 events


Glenwood’s Anthony Driscoll-Lee qualified for state in the long jump and the 110-meter high hurdles.

The Glenwood girls and boys track teams combined to qualify in 19 events for the state meet at Thursday’s Class 3A, District 3 State Qualifying meet in a rainy Carroll.

With chilly winds and a steady rain falling for most of the meet, the Glenwood girls won the district title with 137.5 points and qualified in 10 events. Council Bluffs Lewis Central captured the boys team title with 141 points. The Rams were third with 128 points and qualified for state in nine events.

The Iowa State Track and Field Meet commences Thursday at Drake Stadium in Des Moines. The Rams begin their hunt for a state title in the Class 3A portion beginning at 2:40 p.m.

In all, the Ram girls won four events and second in second in two others. The top two finishers qualify for state.

“We have prided ourselves all year on the overall strength of our team and it took everyone to claim the district title,” said Glenwood girls coach Jordan Bueltel. “This was an absolutely loaded district, we knew how strong the competition was in the Hawkeye 10 and then you throw in a very good Carroll team and some outstanding runners from Ballard and Storm Lake, and we had to have one of if not the most competitive district this year.”

Danika Arnold took home individual golds in the 200-meter dash, Breckyn Petersen in the 400-meter hurdles and added relay wins in the 4x100-meters and 4x200-meters.

The Rams had a particularly strong showing in the 400-meter hurdles with Petersen and Carlie Clemmer sweeping the top spots. Clemmer added a third finish in the 100-meter hurdles to earn an at-large state bid.

Arnold will be a four-event qualifier after also running legs on the 4x100, 4x200 and 4x400-meter relays.

Madelyn Berglund was fourth at Carroll in the 3,000-meters but her time of 11:18.09 was good enough to earn an at-large trip to state.

The Rams’ 4x400-meter relay placed second and their shuttle hurdle and 4x800-meter relays placed third to earn nods via at-large bids.

“Overall an outstanding night and a heck of a track meet, the weather was a bit crazy, but the girls got out there and preformed and we are excited to see what we can do this week at state,” Bueltel said.

Glenwood coach Mark Starner said he was pleased with his team’s performance even if punching nine tickets to state was less than he and his team hoped for.

“Weather was an issue for everyone,” Starner said. “At times it was a deterrent for good performances and other times, not as much.  We had a line-up that we believed would give us the best opportunity to get as many things as possible to the state meet and potentially compete for the team title.   We came up short of the team title, but we did get nine events qualified, and that’s not too shabby.”

Glenwood’s boys’ squad was led by the individual top finishes of Anthony Driscoll-Lee in the 110-meter hurdles and Bryant Keller in the 3,200-meters. Both were dual qualifiers with Driscoll-Lee finishing second in the long jump and Keller second in the 1,600-meters.

“He has been the go-to guy in hurdles this season for us,” Starner said of Driscoll-Lee.  “He has dominated the 110 highs at most of the meets we ran at, and this was no different.   He beat the field by half a second and left no doubt of qualifying as the top high hurdler.”     

In the field events, Logyn Eckheart and Reagan Skarnulis had strong showings, earning state bids in the discus and the shot, respectively.

“Eckheart entered the finals in third, but after the rain delay, was able to throw six feet further and finish runner up,” Starner said.   
Keller flip-flopped with Council Bluffs Lewis Central’s Ethan Eichhorn in both the 1,600 and 3,200.

“He (Keller) took a different strategy into the race and dictated his own pace instead of playing into Eichhorn’s hands,” Starner said. “Bryant forced him to work a little harder than he wanted to and was able to claim the 3200m title. In the 1600, it was essentially a two-man race that would come down to the final 50 meters.  Eichhorn would also take this race on a final sprint down the homestretch.”

After finishing a disappointing fourth in the 4x800-meter relay, the Rams’ distance medley relay team of Jackson Mulkins, Payton Longmeyer, Cooper DeLashmutt and Andrew Smith bounced back to run a 3:38.17 to finish second and earn a state bid.

“As a whole, the team collectively ran well, running five seconds faster than the season best time,” Starner said. “Our 200-meter guys were good through their exchanges and gave us good legs and handed the baton to sophomore Cooper DeLashmutt.  Cooper ran a gutty race, running down the pack and bringing us to the front for the final leg.  Smith in the anchor would take command and battle LC’s Eichhorn down the homestretch for an exciting finish.”  

Smith would go on to add a second-place finish in the 800-meters, again to the Titans’ Eichhorn. Smith also anchored the last race of the evening, the 4x400-meter relay – along with Victor Cruz, Jake Shannon and DeLashmutt – that placed third and earned an at-large bid.  

“While we were off our season’s best time, we battled through the elements and put a respectable time together to get into the state meet,” Starner said. “We know we can go faster, as we’ve demonstrated that earlier.  Hopefully with better conditions and fresher legs, we’ll get a second chance to run faster next week.”

The shuttle hurdle relay team Aaron McPherson, Aaden Lopez, Longmeyer and Driscoll-Lee ran their season best time, but missed the automatic bid fifteen-hundredths of a second to Lewis Central.

 

The Opinion-Tribune

116 S Walnut St Glenwood, IA 51534-1665
P.O. Box 377, Red Oak, IA 51566
Phone: 712-527-3191
Phone: 712-623-2566
Fax: 712-527-3193

Comment Here