Waukon boys track team places fifth at NEIC Meet, three State Meet qualifications fuel sixth-place finish at Class 2A State Qualifying Meet


Return flight to Des Moines ... Waukon boys track senior Isaiah Welch takes flight on his way to a first-place effort of 20’0.75” in the long jump at the Indians’ Class 2A State Qualifying Meet at Osage Thursday, May 10. Welch’s championship effort in the event automatically qualified him for this week’s State Track Meet in Des Moines for the second consecutive season. He also joined fellow senior Abe Schwartz and the sophomore pair of Brock Hatlan and Dawson Baures in an at-large State Meet qualification with their third-place 4x200 relay finish in a time of 1:34.27.

Runner-up effort automatically qualifies ... Waukon boys track junior Brady Sullivan unleashes a shot put effort at the Indians’ Class 2A State Qualifying Meet at Osage Thursday, May 10. Sullivan’s 53’10” effort at the meet placed him second and earned him automatic State Meet qualification for the first time in the event.

Welch returns in long jump, Sullivan debuts in shot put, 4x200 earns at-large berth for State Meet

The Waukon boys track team competed in a pair of significant meets this past week that matched the Indians up against some of their fellow conference and class colleagues, and ultimately proved to be an extension or extinction of their season. The Indians first battled to a fifth-place team finish at their Northeast Iowa Conference Meet hosted by Charles City Monday, May 7 after postponement from its original Thursday, May 3 date due to storms.

The track Tribe then competed for season extension at its Class 2A State Qualifying Meet hosted by Osage High School Thursday, May 10, finishing sixth as a team and earning advancement on to the State Track Meet in three events. Senior long jumper Isaiah Welch, junior shot putter Brady Sullivan and the 4x200 relay crew of Welch, senior Abe Schwartz and the sophomore tandem of Brock Hatlan and Dawson Baures earned qualification for the season grand finale. Details of their season-extending competition later this week in Des Moines appear elsewhere on these same Sports pages in a shaded box in the print edition and e-edition of The Standard.

NEIC Meet ...
The end to the regular season was postponed just a bit for the Waukon track boys, as their original Thursday, May 3 Northeast Iowa Conference (NEIC) Meet at Charles City was postponed to Monday, May 7 due to stormy weather. Five event finishes within the top-three placewinnings paced the Indians to 57 team points and a fifth-place finish, including a lone Northeast Iowa Conference championship finish in record-setting fashion.

TEAM SCORES
Decorah 150; New Hampton 134; Waverly-Shell Rock 113; Oelwein 66; WAUKON 57; Charles City 42; Crestwood 27

JV TEAM SCORES
Decorah 32; Charles City 24; WAUKON 24; Oelwein 16; Waverly-Shell Rock 16; New Hampton 10

State Qualifying Meet ...
The Waukon track boys looked to extend their season as much as possible at their Class 2A State Qualifying Meet hosted by Osage High School Thursday, May 10, and did so in a trio of events. Behind the strength of two automatic qualifications for the State Track Meet with one first- and one second-place finish, along with another at-large qualification third-place finish, the Indians racked up 57.25 team points to finish sixth in the meet’s final 12-team standings.

TEAM SCORES
Forest City 109; North Fayette Valley 103.25; New Hampton 82; Denver 76; Lake Mills 68; WAUKON 57.25; Central Springs 50.25; Sumner-Fredericksburg 49.25; Oelwein 49; Garner-Hayfield/Ventura 42; Osage 33; Hampton-Dumont 22

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