Creston freshman wins H10 shotput title

SHENANDOAH — The Panthers put together 20 scoring events at the Hawkeye10 track and field meet Thursday in Shenandoah. The girls placed 10th, matching their performance from a year ago while the boys jumped from 11th place to seventh.

Freshman Tom Mikkelsen was a big contributor for the boys, his throw of 52-07 earning the conference title in shot put. It was a personal best from his previous best mark of 51-05. Senior Quinten Fuller also scored for the Panthers in the event, placing fourth. His throw of 47-05.5 was an improvement over his previous season best of 46-11.5.

In discus, Brayden Schoon earned eighth place to earn a team point. He threw 130-10.25.

The boys team scored in every relay event, but placed the best in the 4x800, 4x400 and the distance medley relays.

The 4x800m relay team of Austin Evans, Tyler Riley, Davin Wallace and Brandon Briley was in contention for the title, but ended with silver.

The relay came in with a season-best time of 8:39.62, but Evans got the relay going in the first leg, running a 2:01.5 to hand the baton off in first place. A few runners got ahead of Riley in the second leg, but Wallace was able to make up much of the difference in the third, leaving the team in a better spot when he handed off to Briley. In the anchor leg, Brandon ran a 2:01.8, but couldn’t close the gap with Lewis Central. The Panthers finished in 8:22.78, cutting 17 seconds off their previous best.

The distance medley relay was again a battle with Lewis Central, this time for second as Glenwood claimed the lead spot.

Casen Dryden and Seth Gordon ran the 200m legs while Wallace took the 400. When Evans got the baton, the Panthers and Titans were neck and neck. Throughout the two laps, the runners took turns passing each other. The Titans had the lead prior to the final corner, but Evans passed the runner and claimed second for Creston. The team ran a 3:42.49, shaving a couple seconds off their previous best.

The top three finishers in the 4x400 came in with nearly identical seed times. Shenandoah took the win, but again it was Creston in a battle for second - this time with Glenwood.

The team of Wallace, Evans, Gordon and Briley ran a 3:30.29, Briley holding off Glenwood by less than half a second.

Briley ran the open 800 where he placed fifth with a time of 2:01.89. The field was tough, the top four runners all earning new season best times.

The sprint medley relay took fifth; the 4x200 earned 6th, the shuttle hurdle placed 7th and the 4x100 was eighth. The boys finished only 2.5 points behind Clarinda in sixth place. Glenwood swept the meet, winning the boys and girls titles.

Girls

The Panthers 4x800 relay team smoked their season-best time and was only two seconds away from a conference title.

The relay of Payton Davis, Avery Staver, Maylee Riley and Hope Henderson put together a 10:02, averaging 2:30 split. Davis ran a season-best time and the other three all broke their personal bests. The team’s previous best was 10:21. Glenwood came in with a seed time of 10:11.75, but was also able to pull off a PR as they ran a 10:00.54 to take the H10 title.

While the girls didn’t have any other events crack the top three, they scored in three individual events and five other relays.

In the 100m high hurdles, senior Grace Travis ran a new PR, placing fifth. Her time of :17.7 trumps her previous best of 18:13.

Also placing fifth was the distance medley relay of Travis, Karter Clayton, Riley and Staver, running a 4:33.54.

The 4x200, 4x400 and shuttle hurdle relays all placed sixth, and the 4x100 placed eighth.

Riley earned points in the open 800m run where she placed sixth in a time of 2:33.08. No one in the top eight ran faster than their seed time.

In the 200m dash, Staver ran a :27.13, right on par with her personal best of :27.11. The time earned her sixth place.

The Panthers compete in their last regular season meet tonight at Central Decatur before traveling to Atlantic Thursday for the State Qualifying Meet.