EU Invite proves warm and record-breaking

AFTON – A number of area teams took part in the East Union Invite Thursday with the East Union boys and the Murray girls earning the best team finishes of those in attendance.

The Eagle boys were led by their sprinters as Caleb Comstock picked up fourth and seventh place finishes in the 100 and 200 meter dashes.

Colton Mitchell and Gus McNeill grabbed fifth and seventh in the 800 meter run, respectively, while Kanyon Huntington earned fourth in the 400 meter dash.

East Union’s 4x100, 4x200, 4x400 and 4x800 relay teams all took top three finishes as well on their way to 71 team points to place third as a team.

McNeill threw the discus for the first time and recorded a throw of over 105 feet, shattering expectations of his coach as well.

“He’s got some pretty good leverage,” said EU boys coach James Hardy.

Cole Nelson also impressed, cutting over 15 seconds off of his 3,200 meter time. Hardy acknlowedged his work as well as how impactful the warm weather was for his runners.

East Union’s Gabrielle Valencia demolished her previous best in the 3,000 meters, shaving nearly 25 seconds off her previous best, winning the event in a time of 12:30.21.

Mattie Riemenschneider placed third in the 3,000 and also cut upwards of 20 seconds off her best time.

Both performances caught the attention of girls head coach Rich Bryson

“Great performance,” said Bryson. “I knew she’d (Valencia) run well but I didn’t think she’d shave 25 seconds. Especially, we really haven’t had a chance to get outside and train really well.”

Mustangs warm up with weather

The Murray Mustangs saw plenty of improved performances as well.

Freshman Megan Keller continued to impress, tying a school record in the high jump with a mark of 4-10 previously set by Alyssa Staudt, who is now a high jumper at Western Illinois.

Kylie Shields took second in the 3,000 meter run and crossed the line in fifth for the 1,500 meter run.

The Lady Mustangs’ 4x100 and 4x200 relays both took second as well.

“We’ve had our best times of the year, which our kids have been looking forward to,” said head coach Kieth Shields. “That’s one of the things we’ve been talking about is getting better each time you step out on the track.”

The Murray boys ended the invite tied for sixth as a team thanks to quality finishes from Colton Siefkas and their relay teams.

Orient-Macksburg missed tying Lenox and Murray by one team point on the boys side.

Brenden Christensen of Lenox took third in the disucs with a throw of 115-1.25, his best throw of the season. Blake Sevier of O-M ended the discus event right behind Christensen in fourth.

The Tigers’ Brad Larson grabbed fourth in the long jump, launching over 17 feet into the sand.

“We got a lot of guys that are getting a lot of good experience in,” said assistant coach Tyler Peterson.

On the girls side, Orient-Macksburg grabbed a third place finish in the sprint medley, a focus of the Bulldogs said coach Kim DeJongh.

“The girls right now we are focusing basically on the sprint med to try and get the time we want for the conference meet. They’re right where they need to be,” said DeJongh. “We just need to keep working on our starts and our handoffs and hopefully we can shave a little bit off.”

Overall, the warm weather helped nearly everyone in the field earn a personal record or season best finish, leaving coaches hopeful that the forecast continues to project upwards.

Boys results

(Top 15 listed in each event)

Team standings – 1. Des Moines Christian, 180; Panorama, 164; 3. East Union, 71; 4. Lamoni, 69; 5. Central Decatur, 35; t6. Lenox, 19; t6. Murray, 19; 8. Orient-Macksburg, 18; 9. Mormon Trail, 7.

100 meter dash – 1. Spencer Hunt, Pan, 11.45; 4. Caleb Comstock, EU, 12.38; 5. Treyg Webb, OM, 12.6; 6. Brad Larson, Lenox, 12.64; 7. Dillon Weis, EU, 12.73; 9. Chance Lecy, Murray, 13.20; 13. Juan Alonso, Lenox, 13.82; 15. Jhordan Montiel, Lenox, 14.08.

200 meter dash – 1. Spencer Hunt, Pan, 23.49; 5. Brenden Christensen, Lenox, 25.31; 7. Caleb Comstock, EU, 25.76; 8. Brad Larson, Len, 25.84; 9. Treyg Webb, OM, 25.93; 10. Garrett Skarda, EU, 27.24; 12. Danny Ramirez, Len, 28.11.

400 meter dash – 1. Spencer Hunt, Pan, 53.13; 4. Kanyon Huntington, EU, 57.94; 6. Josh Hardy, EU, 1:00.18; 9. Ethan Mitchell, EU, 1:01.60; 11. Jace Rodecker, Mur, 1:06.95; 13. Levi Exline, EU, 1:08.14.

800 meter run – 1. Eric Redding, DMC, 2:12.99; 4. Colton Gordon, Len, 2:19.16; 5. Colton Mitchell, EU, 2:25.46; 7. Gus McNeill, EU, 2:29.87; 11. Vinh Nguyen, OM, 2:36.18; 13. Chance Kiddoo, OM, 2:37.72; 15. Frank Cruz, Len, 2:44.67.

1,600 meter run – 1. Danny Nordquist, Pan, 5:04.91; 5. Colton Siefkas, Mur, 5:25.34; 10. Cole Nelson, EU, 5:41.70; 13. Brody Kinyon, EU, 6:15.19; 14. Blake Rychonovsky, Len, 6:17.29.

3,200 meter run – 1. Josh Carstens, Pan, 10:47.46; 6. Colton Siefkas, Mur, 11:19.83; 8. Cole Nelson, EU, 12:11.83; 12. Blake Rychonovsky, Len, 15:01.37.

110 meter hurdles – 1. Justin Groen, DMC, 16.35; 4. Matthew Wittstock, EU, 18.75.

400 meter hurdles – 1. Justin Groen, DMC, 1:00.14; 3. Matthew Wittstock, EU, 1:04.84; 4. Dillon Weis, EU, 1:06.80; 9. Jace Rodecker, Mur, 1:19.35; 10. Rex Hoffman, Len, 1:19.78.

4x100 meter relay – 1. DMC, 48.39; 3. EU, (Anthony Smith, Kanyon Huntington, Jarryn Stephens, Caleb Comstock), 49.94; 6. OM, (Stephen Buckman, Zayden Rawlings, Quincey Davis, Blake Sevier), 59.36.

4x200 meter relay – 1. Lamoni, 1:40.12; 3. EU, (Anthony Smith, Jarryn Stephens, Levi Parrott, Caleb Comstock), 1:46.18; 4. Murray, (Chance Lecy, Cole Lecy, Josh Webb, Damien Kitner), 1:47.07; 6. OM, (Andrew Hribal, Izak Hribal, Quincey Davis, Chance Kiddoo), 1:54.41.

4x400 meter relay – 1. Lamoni, 3:44.47; 4. EU, (Matthew Wittstock, Alex Carrigan, Levi Parrott, Josh Hardy), 4:00.11; 5. Murray, (Cole Lecy, Josh Webb, Damien Kitner, Jace Rodecker), 4:19.31.

4x800 meter relay – 1. DMC, 9:10.70; 2. EU, (Kanyon Huntington, Gus McNeill, Colton Mitchell, Josh Hardy), 9:44.84.

Sprint medley – 1. DMC, 1:42.41; 4. Murray, (Josh Webb, Chance Lecy, Damien Kitner, Jace Rodecker), 1:50.45; 5. EU, (Anthony Smith, Jarryn Stephens, Ethan Mitchell, Alex Carrigan), 1:52.93; 7. OM, (Andrew Hribal, Izak Hribal, Treyg Webb, Chance Kiddoo), 1:57.28.

Distance medley – 1. CD, (Hayden Leymaster, Isaac Hall, Dakota Davis, Nick Bishop), 4:16.93; 2. EU, (Kole Seals, Garrett Skarda, Alex Carrigan, Dylan Steinhoff), 4:17.39; 3. Murray, (Chance Lecy, Cole Lecy, Josh Webb, Damien Kitner), 4:24.81; 6. Len, (Rex Hoffman, Trey Whipple, Frank Cruz, Chase Johnson), 4:35.53; 7. OM, (Andrew Hribal, Izak Hribal, Chance Kiddoo, Vihn Nguyen).

Shuttle hurdle – 1. DMC, 1:07.25; 2. EU, (Dillon Weis, Levi Parrott, Jarryn Stephens, Matthew Wittstock), 1:12.95.

Shot put – 1. Daniel Jensen, Pan, 46-4; 2. Blake Sevier, OM, 42-4; 6. Brayden Martinez, EU, 38-8; 9. Trey Whipple, 36-9; 11. Isaias Ramos, Len, 32-7; 12. Wyatt Myers, Murr, 30-9.5; 13. Ethan Myers, EU, 30-6.5; 15. Cole Lecy, Murr, 30-0.

Discus – 1. Daniel Jensen, Pan, 139-7; 3. Brenden Christensen, Len, 115-1.25; 4. Blake Sevier, OM, 108-11.5; 6. Trey Whipple, Len, 108-4; 9. Gus McNeill, EU, 105-4.75; 11. Kole Seales, EU, 92-6.75; 12. Brayden Martinez, EU, 92-3.75; 13. Wyatt Myers, Murr, 89-9.25.

High jump – 1. Gracen Welberg, Pan, 6-0; 5. Ethan Mitchell, EU, 5-2.

Long jump – 1. Justin Groen, DMC, 20-1; 4. Brad Larson, Len, 17-1.25; 5. Treyg Webb, OM, 16-10.25; 6. Dillon Weis, EU, 16-10; 9. Danny Ramirez, Len, 15-10.25; 14. Brody Kinyon, EU, 13-9.5.

Girls results

(Top 15 listed in each event)

Team standings – 1. Panorama, 197; Central Decatur, 109; 3. Murray, 75; 4. East Union, 66; 5. Des Moines Christian, 48; 6. Lamoni, 44; 7. Mormon Trail, 28; 8. Orient-Macksburg, 11.

100 meter dash – 1. Dakota Evans, DMC, 13.55; 6. Hailey Chew, Murr, 15.0; 7. Jayden Welcher, EU, 15.21; 8. Katy Gibbs, Murr, 15.24; 9. Mikenna Cass, EU, 15.47; 11. Delia Mozqueda, Murr, 16.25.

200 meter dash – 1. Payton Gwinn, Mormon Trail, 28.07; 5. Megan Keller, Murr, 29.86; 6. Zoie Lecy, Murr, 30.37; 8. Beth McKnight, EU, 30.90; 9. Grace Nixon, EU, 31.48; 10. Kinzee Eggers, Murr, 32.09; 11. Cortney Gross, OM, 32.45; 12. Haylee Meyer, OM, 33.24.

400 meter dash – 1. Payton Gwinn, MT, 1:02.36; 4. Megan Keller, Murr, 1:09.52; 6. Katy Gibbs, Murr, 1:16.74; 7. Caitlyn Gist, OM, 1:17.78; 8. Ansley Waigand, EU, 1:19.76; 9. Taylor Miller, EU, 1:20.62.

800 meter run – 1. Devyn Kemble, Pan, 2:23.88; 4. Gabby Valencia, EU, 2:52.69; 5. Kylie Shields, Murr, 3:02.86; 7. Mattie Riemenschneider, EU, 3:10.59; 8. Caitlyn Gist, OM, 3:17.47; 10. Taylor Miller, EU, 3:21.98; 11. Clarissa Kunkle, EU, 3:26.38; 12. Hallee Ashby, Murr, 3:27.52; 14. Haylee Gardner, OM, 3:46.87.

1,500 meter run – 1. Bri Hoffman, Pan, 5:43.55; 3. Gabby Valencia, EU, 5:52.34; 5. Kylie Shields, Murr, 6:14.76; 8. Ansley Waigand, EU, 7:09.27; 11. Taylor Miller, EU, 7:40.10.

3,000 meter run – 1. Gabrielle Valenica, EU, 12:30.21; 2. Kylie Shields, Murr, 13:11.19; 3. Mattie Riemenschneider, EU, 13:16.91.

100 meter hurdles – 1. Emma Atwood, CD, 16.43; 3. Sidney McFee, EU, 18.05; 9. Maddy Hayes, EU, 19.23; 11. Emma Decker, Murr, 21.87.

400 meter hurdles – 1. Emma Atwood, CD, 1:13.29; 4. Molly McNeill, EU, 1:17.41; 7. Maddy Hayes, EU, 1:22.14.

4x100 meter relay – 1. Pan, 52.31; 2. Murr, (Hailey Chew, Macy Grief, Kelli Romero, Zoie Lecy), 58.05; 3. EU, (Callie Gossman, Mikenna Cass, Beth McKnight, Sidney McFee), 59.13; 6. OM, (Haylee Meyer, Caitlyn Buckman, Haylee Gardner, Brooklyn Sammons), 1:06.93.

4x200 meter relay – 1. Pan, 1:56.56; 2. Murr, (Hailey Chew, Macy Greif, Kelli Romero, Zoie Lecy), 2:04.19; 4. EU, (Beth McKnight, Olivia Cheers, Mikenna Cass, Jayden Welcher), 2:08.01; 5. OM, (Haylee Meyer, Brooklyn Sammons, Cortney Gross, Kaela Eslnger), 2:09.16.

4x400 meter relay – 1. Pan, 4:14.75; 3. EU, (Grace Nixon, Olivia Cheers, Maddy Hayes, Molly McNeill), 4:59.68; 5. Murray, (Delia Mozqueda, Emma Dekcer, Kinzee Eggers, Kendra Boles), 5:25.12.

4x800 meter relay – 1. Pan, 10:58.96; 3. Murr, (Mackenzie Keller, Autumn Ashby, Hallee Ashby, Kylie Shields), 13:10.11; 4. EU, (Kylie Tate, Taylor Miller, Clarissa Kunkle, Ansley Waigand), 13:15.36.

Sprint medley – 1. DMC, 1:59.94; 3. OM, (Haylee Meyer, Brooklyn Sammons, Cortney Gross, Kaela Eslinger), 2:10.98; 4. Murr, (Kelli Romero, Emma Decker, Macy Greif, Zoie Lecy), 2:11.00.

Distance medley – 1. Pan, 4:55.68; 3. EU, (Callie Gossman, Grace Nixon, Olivia Cheers, Mattie Riemenschneider), 5:10.23; 5. Murr, (Ally Waske, Kennedy Hildebrand, McKayla Henrichs, Hallee Ashby), 6:25.70.

Shuttle hurdles – 1. Pan, 1:09.25.

Shot put — 1. Emma Decker, Murr, 31-1; 5. Kaela Eslinger, O-M, 28-10; 6. Jessica Kelley, EU, 28-1.5; 9. Kendra Boles, Murr, 25-1.5; 10. Kinzee Eggers, Murr, 25-1; 11. Rakenzy Pryor, EU, 24-5; 12. Caitlyn Buckman, O-M, 23-4.

Discus — 1. Lydia Knapp, Pano, 126-8; 4. Kendra Boles, Murr, 87-7; 6. Rakenzy Pryor, EU, 77-8; 7. Kaela Eslinger, O-M, 71-0; 8. Brooklyn Sammons, O-M, 69-5; 11. Mackenzie Keller, Murr, 60-4; 13. McKayla Henrichs, Murr, 52-2.

High jump — 1. Emma Atwood, CD, 5-4; 3. Megan Keller, Murr, 4-10.

Long jump — 1. Bailey Beckman, Pano, 16-4.5; 4. Hailey Chew, Murr, 14-11; 7. Cortney Gross, O-M, 13-3.5; 8. Kelli Romero, Murr, 12-10.75; 10. Grace Nixon, EU, 12-1; 11. Katy Gibbs, Murr, 11-7.