Boys track team competes at North Fayette and Go-Hawk Invitational

Last week, Waukon’s boys track and field team competed in a couple of meets. The Tribe switched up its schedule to compete in an April 5 event at North Fayette, finishing third in the four-team field. Friday, April 8, Waukon competed at the Go-Hawk Invitational in Waverly. In the varsity division, the Indians were fourth, however the Tribe convincingly claimed the team championship in the freshman/sophomore class.

at North Fayette...

The Indians were scheduled to compete Tuesday, April 5, at Oelwein, however a late change in the schedule resulted with the Tribe heading to West Union instead for a four-team event. Waukon finished third overall behind Decorah (108) and the host Hawks (60).

TEAM SCORES

Decorah 108, North Fayette 60, WAUKON 57, West Central 26

Once again, the weather was exceptional for the Tribe, who used the meet as a chance to train.

“With only four teams competing, the meet went by pretty fast. We focused on using the night for training and conditioning,” said coach Joe O’Neill. “The kids competed hard. We aren’t too concerned with times just yet, but we’re satisfied with the results.”

Two members of the Tribe also remained focused on earning a position in the April 28-30 Drake Relays. “A couple of our guys are still focusing on improving their times for Drake. (Seniors) Ryan Snitker and Kyle McCormick both had good nights,” the coach added.

Snitker claimed one of the Indians’ two individual championships with a 55.40 run in the 400-meter hurdles. “Ryan improved his time by a little over one second. Qualifying for Drake in the 400 hurdles is pretty tough because they only take the top eight times. I think he’s sitting fourth right now, but he’s still going to have to improve every night out,” O’Neill stated.

McCormick finished second in the 110-meter high hurdles despite lowering his time. The senior earned silver with a 15.17 run. “Kyle’s improved his time a little. At Waukon his time was borderline for Drake and one or two-tenths of a second can make a difference,” the Indian coach remarked.

Senior Eric Osterhaus also scored a first place finish for the Indians. He raced to a 4:43.63 showing to win the 1600. “Eric’s been running the two mile and 800 and we put him in the mile to see what he can do. He responded very well to be the mile champion,” O’Neill said.

Waukon only managed one relay champion in the talented field as the 4x400 squad of senior Adam Schon, sophomores Nic Lloyd and Jeremy Hirth, and Snitker posted a 3:41.65 showing. “The 4x400 is one of our main relays and we focus on getting it to state every year. These four are coming along well with each other. We’re hoping they continue to drop their times and get themselves into position by the end of the season,” the coach mentioned.

Schon was also the runner-up in the 400 with a 56.8 effort. He was joined in the top three by Lloyd’s third place 57.18 showing.

Waukon’s medley relay squad boasted a silver finish as well. McCormick, Hirth, sophomore Jimmy Larson, and senior Junior Swart combined for a 4:01.7 performance in the event.

Osterhaus also posted a third place finish in the 800, running the event in 2:12.49. Fellow senior Kendal Sickels followed with a fourth place showing in 2:17.56.

Sickels had earlier been a member of the third place 4x800 squad which also included junior Lee Waters, freshman Isaac Fenn, and Swart. The quartet crossed the line in 9:04.37.

The Indians’ 4x200 and 4x100 squads were also bronze medalists. Sophomore Devan Kuehn, Hirth, McCormick, and junior Jon Seibert joined forces for a 1:46.06 effort in the 4x200 while sophomores Will Kramer, Mike Rausch, and Ryan Jones teamed up with Seibert for a 49.77 run in the 4x100.

Waukon also enjoyed some success in the field, posting points in three of the four events there.

In both the shot put and high jump, the Indians managed a pair of placewinning performances.

McCormick cleared 5 feet, 6 inches for second in the high jump while sophomore teammate Russ ReVoir topped 5’4” to place fourth.

Sophomore Sean Rea and freshman Levi Tinderholt went four-five in the shot. Rea recorded a 41’5” toss while Tinderholt’s best was 41’1-1/2”.

In the discus, sophomore Tony Drew flung the disc 117’1” for a fifth place showing.

Indian results from the North Fayette meet are as follows:

Shot put - 2. Sean Rea 41’5”; 5. Levi Tinderholt 41’1-1/2”; Dylan Newton 38’.

Discus - 5. Tony Drew 117’1”; Sean Rea 110’4”; Jake Harvey 90’.

High jump - 2. Kyle McCormick 5’6”; 4. Russ ReVoir 5’4”; Marcus Tweedy 5’2”.

Long jump - Ryan Snitker 18’8”; Devan Kuehn 18’5-1/2”; Jimmy Larson 17’2”.

110m high hurdles - 2. Kyle McCormick 15.17; Russ ReVoir 17.55; Marcus Tweedy 18.78.

100m - 5. Ted Kelly 12.15; Devan Kuehn 12.42; Jimmy Larson 12.65.

4x800 - 3. Kendal Sickels, Lee Waters, Isaac Fenn, Junior Swart 9:04.37; Luke Deal, Dan Mathis, Ryan Pederson, Luke Weber 10:16.55.

200m - 4. Ryan Snitker 23.73; Adam Schon 24.27; Ryan Jones 26.95.

1600m - 1. Eric Osterhaus 4:43.63; James Emerson 5:46.73.

4x200 - 3. Devan Kuehn, Jeremy Hirth, Kyle McCormick, Jon Seibert 1:46.06; Will Kramer, Mike Rausch, Dillen Mellick, Ryan Jones 1:44.16.

400m - 2. Adam Schon 56.8; 3. Nic Lloyd 57.18; Colin Egan 1:01.80.

400m hurdles - 1. Ryan Snitker 55.40.

Medley relay - 2. Kyle McCormick, Jeremy Hirth, Jimmy Larson, Junior Swart 4:01.7; Will Kramer, Mike Rausch, Dillen Mellick, Lee Waters 4:05.87.

800m - 3. Eric Osterhaus 2:12.49; 4. Kendal Sickels 2:17.56; Isaac Fenn 2:25; Luke Deal 2:28; Nathan Meyer 2:34.

4x100 - 3. Will Kramer, Mike Rausch, Jon Seibert, Ryan Jones 49.77; Devan Kuehn, Levi Newton, Dillen Mellick, Ted Kelly 48.71.

4x400 - 1. Adam Schon, Nic Lloyd, Jeremy Hirth, Ryan Snitker 3:41.65; Jimmy Larson, Russ ReVoir, Marcus Tweedy, Colin Egan 3:56.53.

at Waverly-Shell Rock...

Friday, April 8, the Indians traveled to Waverly for action on the oval. The Go-Hawk event was divided into junior-senior and freshman-sophomore divisions. In the top division, the Indians finished fourth overall while the young members of the Tribe glided to first place in the ninth and tenth grade division.

Junior-Senior Division...

In the junior-senior division, the Tribe racked up 70 points to finish fourth as a team. Decorah won the event with 165 points.

TEAM SCORES

Decorah 165, Waverly-Shell Rock 84.5, New Hampton 75.5, WAUKON 70, Sumner-Fredricksburg 48, Crestwood 33, Wapsie Valley 31, MFL-MarMac 20.

For the most part, Waukon ran only juniors and seniors in the upper division, although a few relays were rounded out by sophomore athletes. Having young varsity athletes competing in another class freed up the upperclassmen to run different events.

“It was good to give our varsity kids a chance to run events that they don’t always get to run in. Sometimes you get in a rut running the same kids in the same events so it was nice to run kids in other events. They still competed hard,” said O’Neill.

Five Northeast Iowa Conference teams competed in the meet, giving the Indians a chance to see where they may fit in at the May 9 NEIC meet. “We got to see where we can score points at conference and where the other teams are at,” the coach added. “In the team points we finished about where we thought we would be. Even with some of our varsity kids competing in the ninth-tenth grade division, we were still in the mix in most events. It’s good to see other kids fill in.”

Osterhaus continued to race well in the distance events, claiming both of Waukon’s first place finishes. He won the 3200 in 10:13.27 and then took the 1600 in 4:40.53. He nearly completed a distance triple, staying in good position in the 800 before ultimately finishing fourth in 2:10.10.

“Eric ran a distance triple for us and had an excellent night. He won the mile and two-mile and was in position to win the 800 until about the last 200 meters,” O’Neill pointed out.

Despite finishing second, Snitker lowered his school record in the 400 hurdles. He set a mark of 55.21 last spring, but dropped his time to 55.12 at Waverly. “Ryan continues to run unbelievable times at this point in the year,” O’Neill added.

Snitker also joined with sophomore Hans Walleser, Sickels, and Waters to finish second in the 4x800 relay in 9:00.08.

McCormick also recorded a pair of silver showings at Waverly. The senior skimmed over the 110-meter high hurdles in 15.31 and cleared 5’10” in the high jump, his best effort of the season. “Kyle just missed at six-foot, so he’s definitely taking some positive steps,” the coach added

The Indians claimed no third place finishes, but picked up a trio of additional fourth place efforts. Schon was fourth in the 400 in 54.38 while the 4x200 relay of McCormick, senior Jesse Volbrecht, Rausch, and Seibert took fourth in 1:38.59 and the medley relay of Volbrecht, Rausch, Seibert, and Waters matched that placing in 4:00.57.

Snitker was also fifth in the long jump with a 19’2-3/4” leap.

Eleventh and twelfth grade results from Waverly-Shell Rock are as follows:

Shot put - Tyler Oder 35’5-1/2”; Kale McCormick 32’9”.

Discus - Josh Brink 94’10-1/2”; Matt Tobin 74’7”.

High jump - 2. Kyle McCormick 5’10”.

Long jump - 5. Ryan Snitker 19’2-3/4”.

110m high hurdles - 2. Kyle McCormick 15.31.

100m - Adam Schon 12.00; Nic Lloyd 12.39.

3200m - 1. Eric Osterhaus 10:13.27.

200m - Adam Schon 24.79; Jesse Volbrecht 25.35.

4x800 - 2. Ryan Snitker, Hans Walleser, Kendal Sickels, Lee Waters 9:00.08.

1600m - 1. Eric Osterhaus 4:40.53; James Emerson 5:38.48.

4x200 - 4. Kyle McCormick, Jesse Volbrecht, Mike Rausch, Jon Seibert 1:38.59.

400m - 4. Adam Schon 54.38.

400m hurdles - 2. Ryan Snitker 55.12.

Medley relay - 4. Jesse Volbrecht, Mike Rausch, Jon Seibert, Lee Waters 4:00.57.

800m - 4. Eric Osterhaus 2:10.10; Kendal Sickels 2:15.93.

Weightmens 4x100 - Zach Howe, Matt Tobin, Mike Miller, Levi Tinderholt 55.06.

4x100 - Kyle McCormick, Jesse Volbrecht, Ryan Snitker, Adam Schon 46.77.

4x400 - Kendal Sickels, Lee Waters, Hans Walleser, Isaac Fenn 4:01.92.

Freshman-Soph. Division...

The Indians easily cleaned up in the freshman-sophomore class, notching 149 points to win the team race by a 65-point margin.

TEAM SCORES

WAUKON 149, Waverly-Shell Rock 84, New Hampton 64, MFL-MarMac 49, Sumner-Fredricksburg 47, Decorah 46, Crestwood 43, Wapsie Valley 4.

Waukon has been participating in this meet for several years, but the Tribe didn’t always take advantage of the meet’s divisions. “Normally we don’t separate the team, but this year with our big numbers in the sophomore and freshman classes, we decided to load up that division,” O’Neill mentioned. “In fact, it was our goal to come out on top of the ninth-tenth meet.”

The Tribe accomplished their goal, giving the Indian coaching staff a lot to be excited about. “We had a bunch of kids run, throw, or jump a personal best and that makes things look pretty positive for us in the next few years,” the coach stated.

In all, Waukon claimed eight championships, including a pair of relay wins.

The 4x100 squad of Kuehn, freshman Ted Kelly, Rausch, and Kramer took gold in 49.00 while Lloyd, ReVoir, Larson, and Hirth teamed up to win the 4x400 in 3:49.08.

Individually, several members of the Tribe had fantastic nights.

ReVoir leapt a personal record of five feet, nine inches in the high jump and ran a 17.66 race in the 110 high hurdles to win both events. “It’s nice to see Russ winning those events. Next year, we won’t have Kyle McCormick in the high jump and high hurdles so we’ll have to see if Russ can step up in the years down the road,” O’Neill remarked.

Hirth recorded one-two finishes in the 200 (25.67) and 400 (55.78), winning the shorter race before being edged out by Lloyd (55.75) in the quarter-mile event.

“Jeremy is one of our returning state qualifiers so we expected a big night out of him,” O’Neill said. “And Nic also had a great night. Going into the year, one of our question marks was who would fill that hole in the 4x400. If Nic keeps bringing his time down he’ll fit there nicely for us.”

In the 400 hurdles, Larson took championship honors in 1:02.77 while Kuehn topped the long jump field with a personal best effort of 18 feet, 6-3/4 inches.

A second place finish was added by the 4x800 squad of freshmen Luke Deal, Ryan Pederson, and Nathan Meyer and sophomore Jason Bartling in 10:05.08.

Kelly was runner-up in the 100 in 12.48 while Kuehn finished third in 12.53.

Freshman Levi Tinderholt was third in the shot put with a 41’3” toss while freshman Marcus Tweedy was the bronze finisher in the 110 hurdles in 19.19.

The medley relay squad of Kramer, Jones, Mellick, and Walleser was third in 4:17.70.

Ninth and tenth grade results from Waverly-Shell Rock are as follows:

Shot put - 3. Levi Tinderholt 41’2”; 5. Mike Miller 38’8”.

Discus - 5. Jake Harvey 100’2”; 6. Zach Howe 97’3”.

High jump - 1. Russ ReVoir 5’9”.

Long jump - 1. Devan Kuehn 18’6-3/4”; 5. Jimmy Larson 16’7-1/4”.

110m high hurdles - 1. Russ ReVoir 17.66; 3. Marcus Tweedy 19.19.

100m - 2. Ted Kelly 12.48; 3. Devan Kuehn 12.53.

4x800 - 2. Luke Deal, Ryan Pederson, Jason Bartling, Nathan Meyer 10:05.08.

200m - 1. Jeremy Hirth 25.67; 4. Devan Kuehn 26.15.

1600m - 4. Luke Weber 5:15.78; 5. Isaac Fenn 5:16.05.

4x200 - Will Kramer, Russ ReVoir, Dillen Mellick, Ryan Jones DQ.

400m - 1. Nic Lloyd 55.75; 2. Jeremy Hirth 55.78.

400m hurdles - 1. Jimmy Larson 1:02.77; 5. Marcus Tweedy 1:06.59.

Medley relay - 3. Will Kramer, Ryan Jones, Dillen Mellick, Hans Walleser 4:17.70.

800m - 5. Isaac Fenn 2:22.66; Luke Weber 2:26.93.

4x100 - 1. Devan Kuehn, Ted Kelly, Mike Rausch, Will Kramer 49.00.

4x400 - Nic Lloyd, Russ ReVoir, Jimmy Larson, Jeremy Hirth 3:49.08.

The Indians hit the track again this Thursday, April 14, at West Delaware. Waukon then travels to Decorah Monday, April 18 for more action. Both meets are slated to begin at 5 p.m.