Records fall as boys win back-to-back NCC titles

by Michelle Watson

It was another record breaking night for the Clear Lake boys track team.  For the first time since the early 80’s, the team won back-to-back North Central Conference titles.  The NCC meet was run on Thursday, May 5, at Iowa Falls-Alden High School.

“Scoring 150 points meant it was a true team effort,” said Coach Troy Tysdahl.  “We got vital points from all areas, field events, sprints, distance and relays.  Our seniors made sure they did all they could to earn back the title.”

The night was kicked off with a long jump win by Jagger Schmitt with a leap of 20’5”.  Schmitt went on to run personal best times in the 400 and 200 before anchoring the 4x100 to another season best time.  Schmitt won the 400 meters with a time of 51.10.  He placed third in the 200 in 23.35. The 4x100 team, also consisting of LJ Bryant, Alex Kerr, and Titan Schmitt, finished in a time of 44.45, good for third place.

Tanner Reimann was also performing at his best level.  Reimann competed in the 400 and the 200, posting his best times of the season.  He won the 200 with a time of 23.19 and placed second in the 400, running the race in 51.44.

Vladimir Starrett and Joe Faber paced the long distance runners.  Starrett and Faber took second and third in the 3200 meter run.  Starrett ran the race in 10:33.59, and Faber in 10:36.83.  The duo also pushed each other in the 1600 meter run, taking third and fourth place.  Starrett was third with a time of 4:51.14.  Faber wasn’t far behind in 4:59.77.  Starrett and Faber didn’t get much rest before they took to the track again to run legs of the 4x800.  The relay, which also featured Andrew Mixdorf and Jaden Wright, won in 8:37.82.

“All of our relays performed well, which shows the depth of our team to be able to put together very competitive relays without using all of our top sprinters in all of them,” said Tysdahl.  “Our assistant coaching staff deserves a lot of credit.  They have done a tremendous job of preparing these young men to be ready to perform at their peak when it really matters.

Zeke Nelson placed second in the 110 meter hurdles with a time of 15.82.  He also competed in the 400 meter hurdles, taking third place in 58.54.

Other events earning points included:

•100 M: Reimann, 6th, 11.77

•800 M: Wright, 4th, 2:07.29; Mixdorf, 7th, 2:10.04

•110 M Hurdles: Derek Erpelding, 8th, 17.62

•400 M Hurdles: Blake Enke, 4th, 1:00.13

•Discus: Jacob Schoby, 8th, 112’11”

•High Jump: Dylan Little, 6th, 5’6”

•4x200: Bryant, Enke, Titan Schmitt, Kerr, 3rd, 1:33.80

•4x400: Jack Englin, Kerr, Enke, Aidan Manemann, 4th, 3:36.89

•Shuttle Hurdle: Erpelding, Enke, Cooper Cooke, Zeke Nelson, 3rd, 1:05.63

•Sprint Medley: Bryant, Titan Schmitt, Kerr, Nelson, 3rd, 1:38.56

•Distance Medley: Titan Schmitt, Aidan Hartl, Manemann, Wright, 2nd, 3:48.88