Clear Lake and GHV teams compete on blue oval

GHV’s Smith wins two events; breaks state record in one

by Marianne Gasaway and Michelle Watson

It was a weekend of memorable moments for area teams that competed on the blue oval at the State Track meet held at Drake Stadium, in Des Moines.  Despite some inclement weather on a few of the days, Clear Lake and Garner-Hayfield-Ventura teams posted some of their best times of the season.

A highlight of the meet was GHV’s Reece Smith capping off his high school career by winning two distance events, posting a new state record time in one.

Clear Lake

The Lions qualified for State in 10 events, with one featuring two Clear Lake runners.  Coach A.J. Feuerbach said his team experienced some improvements, as well as struggles at State.

The Lions started off on Thursday with Jagger Schmitt and Jaden O’Brien-Green running the 400 meters.  Schmitt had Clear Lake’s top placement, finishing seventh in a time of 50.23.  O’Brien-Green was 13th in a time of 51.77.

Friday a number of Lions competed in a driving rain storm.

The best finish of the day was provided by the 4x200 team of Schmitt, Austin Warnke, Nick Danielson and Kody Kearns.  The relay was 10th in 1:32.84.

Kearns, Danielson and Schmitt joined Justin Wright to compete in the Distance Medley and were 16th in 3:42.93.

Kearns and Danielson were also members of the 4x100, along with Tyres Green-Harrington and O’Brien-Green.  That relay placed 19th in 45.0.

The Lions’ 4x400 team of Tanner Reimann, Drew Enke, Schmitt and Wright  placed 24th in 3:38.66.

Enke also participated in two hurdle events. The senior was 17th in the 110 high hurdles in 15.80 and 24th in the 400 lows in 1:00.70.

In field events, Clear Lake’s Jorge Rivera placed 15th in the long jump with a mark of 19’8.25.

Wright also competed on Saturday in the 800 meters, posting a time of 2:00.93 to finish 15th.

The Sprint Medley relay with Tyres-Green Harrington, Nick Danielson, Kody Kearns and Justin Wright experienced a dropped baton and did not finish.

“We had a phenomenal year and we can’t thank our seniors enough for running track.  Drew Enke, Jared Penning, Noan Colby, Austin Young, Davis Pruisman, and Bridger Thomsen were great guys to be around and we wish them the best for their futures.  We have a ton of youth and experience coming back for next year, we will work hard to keep improving each day and hopefully we can get even more kids to the blue oval next year and surpass this year,” said Feuerbach.

GHV

GHV’s Reece Smith capped off his high school career by setting a new state record in the 3200 meter run.  For a majority of the race, Smith was pushed by Jerry Jorgenson, from Treynor.  Smith was not going to be denied, and kicked it into high gear and ran the final two laps in 2:09 to capture the title and the record.  The tough competition pushed him to his personal best time.  His winning time of 9:11.33 beat his previous best time of 9:15.88. The future University of Iowa runner broke the previous State mark of 9:17.69, set by Monticello’s Michael Melchert in 2014.

Smith also anchored GHV’s distance medley relay to a second place finish on Friday with a time of 3:35.59.  Other members of the relay included Caleb Renner, Jace Pringnitz and Devion Moore.  The team’s previous fastest time was 3:38.30.

Smith was not done proving what he could do, earning even more hardware on Saturday. He won the 1600 in 4:17.82, another personal best.  His previous fastest time was 4:22.64.

“We peaked at the right time, with personal records in each event,” said Coach Ryan Hinders.  “They were running for something bigger this weekend, they were out there running for each other.  I am proud of these guys and this was a total team effort.  Each and every member of this team should be proud of what they accomplished this year.”

The team’s effort paid off, with GHV finishing in sixth place in the 2A team totals.

The GHV girls didn’t have as much success as the boys at the State Meet, but they recognized that just competing at the State level is an honor.

Maddie Hinz, finished in 11th place in the 100 meter hurdles with a time of 15.93.  Hinz anchored the shuttle hurdle, which also finished in 11th place.  The relay ran the race in 1:10.59.

“Both events were hoping to make it the finals, but it just didn’t happen this year,” said Coach Dyan Childress.  “Needless to say, they are already hungry for next year.”