Track & Field sweeps competition
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Centerville
It was a successful second meet for the Raider and Raiderette track teams as they both placed second in Centerville at the Big Red Relays last week.
Boys Team Scores
1 Davis County 135
2 Mount Ayr 120
3 Chariton 117
4 Moravia 84
5 Keokuk 73
6 Centerville 71
7 Wayne 67
8 Seymour 42
9 Mormon Trail 23
During the relays, 19 events were scored, in which Mount Ayr placed in the top three in 10, while winning five events.
Ryce Reynolds won two individual events, the 400 meter hurdle and the open 400 meter run.
The hurdles saw Reynolds finish in state leading time of 53.8 which is an automatic qualifier for the 2023 Drake Relays at the end of April.
The open 400 meter run saw Reynolds finish in a time of 49.79.
The Raiders would then see success in the relays, winning the 4×100, 4×400 and 4×800.
The 4×100 team of Preston Fleharty, Jaixen Frost, Braydon Pierson and Jaydon Knight finished with a time of 45.37.
The 4×400 team of Jackson Ruggles, Jaydon Knight, Braydon Pierson and Ryce Reynolds finished with a time of 3:34.79.
The 4×800 team of Drew Ehlen, Adan Trujillo, Tegan Hill and Garrett Walter finished in a time of 9:03.1.
Girls Team Scores
1 Davis County 206
2 Mount Ayr 121
3 Wayne 119.5
4 Central Decatur 82
5 Keokuk 64
6 Chariton 42
7 Centerville 41
8 Seymour 24.5
9 Moravia 20
10 Mormon Trail 17
The Raiderettes finished second, well behind Davis County, but saw a battle with Wayne throughout the night that came down to the 4×400.
Needing to beat the Wayne Falcons in the 4×400, the Raiderette team of MaKenna Jones, Kaylie Shields, Anne Newton and Aubree Shields took second with a time of 4:30.21, while Wayne finished third in 4:33.97, putting the Raiderettes in second place by 2.5 points.
The Raiderettes saw other stellar perfomances on the night with nine top three finishes and two outright wins.
Aubree Shields cleared 5-01 in the high jump to take first place while the girls distance medley team of MaKenna Jones, Aubree Clark, Kaylie Shields and Anne Newton finished first with a time of 4:46.45.
Zoey Larsen has been succeeding well in field events as well, with a second place finish in the discus, throwing 95-01 and a second place in the shot put with a throw of 32-01.
Creston
The Mount Ayr track and field teams traveled north to Creston on Monday, April 10 where they swept the competition with outstanding performances in multiple events.
Raiders
The meet started off rough for Mount Ayr, as the sprint medley relay had a rough handoff and were disqualified. However, the team regrouped and saw a 4×800 team take the first victory of the night for Mount Ayr as Garrett Walter chased down Creston to win in a photo finish with a time of 9:38.7.
Walter was happy to win and after coming off the track, his teammates of Tegan Hill, Aidan Murphy and Michael Adkisson were there to hold him up and congratulate him on his run.
“I just wanted to win and be competitive,” said Walter on his anchor leg victory. “You know your guys have your back no matter what.”
It would be two more victories after that with the Raider shuttle hurdle relay and the 100 meter with Ryce Reynolds as the Raiders sat in second behind Clarke.
Jackson Ruggles second place high jump finish helped push the Raiders closer to the front spot, as did Reynolds first place finish in the 800 meter run and Adan Trujillo’s victory in the 400 meter hurdles.
Mount Ayr had extended its lead by nearly 10 points.
Two more victories of the night came for the Raiders in the 4×100 and the 4×400, putting the Raiders on top as they took their first meet win of the season.
Raiderettes
The Raiderettes had a similarly fantastic night on the track, taking multiple event wins and improving season-best times overall.
In field events, Aubree Shields took first place, clearing 5-2.25, close to her best height from a year ago at 5-3.
The Raiderette shuttle hurdle team saw the first victory of the night for the Mount Ayr girls, while MaKenna Jones added points in the open 400 meter run with a second place finish.
Zoey Larsen continued her success in the discus with a second place finish, throwing 92-1.
The Raiderettes were second behind Atlantic just halfway through the meet.
The 400 meter hurdles saw Jones get the win with a time of 1:10, around four seconds off of the Drake Relays Blue Standard.
Jones was in second until the final 100 meters where she kicked it into gear and finished infront of the pack.
“When I got to the eighth hurdle I had to tell myself to get over it. It’s the one I struggle the most with,” said Jones. “I got over it good and I knew I could kick it in and get her.”
Anne Newton secured another first place finish for Mount Ayr in the 800 meter run, while Karlie Larsen was right behind her to finish second for a big double points finish.
The Raiderette 4×400 team took the victory to end the night with Mount Ayr on top, sweeping the competition.
