Track and field: Dixon boys place 1st, Rock Falls girls take 2nd at Rocket Invite

ROCK FALLS – The Dixon, Newman, Rock Falls, Amboy, Forreston-Polo, Fulton and Bureau Valley boys and girls track and field teams competed Friday at the Rock Falls Rocket Invite at Hinders Field.

On the boys side, Dixon topped the 12-team field with 123 1/2 points. Forreston-Polo claimed third with 90 1/2, Rock Falls took fourth with 83 and Newman finished fifth with 54 to round out the top 5. Bureau Valley (45) secured sixth, Amboy (26) came in seventh and Fulton (2) took 12th.

Tyson Dambman led the Dukes as a triple winner in the 300-meter hurdles (41.85 seconds), the long jump (6.29 meters) and the triple jump (12.56). He also ran a leg in Dixon’s third-place 4x100 (44.96) with teammates Michael O’Neal, Cullen Shaner and David Smiley.

“It was pretty good. I PR’d in everything except for long jump,” Dambman said. “I was pretty close to [the state-qualifying time] in 300 hurdles. I just wanted to try to get that. And then I was like an inch off in long jump, too.”

Dixon’s Averik Wiseman (9:53.98) and Dean Geiger (9:53.99) finished 1-2 in the 3,200. Jayden Toms took second in the 110 hurdles (17.24), Hayden Yingling took second in the pole vault (3.50), and Westin Conatser took second in the 1,600 (4:56.63) for the Dukes.

Hayden Fulton, Conatser, Kohlson Stumpf and Keegan Shirley added a fifth second-place finish in the 4x800 (8:47.53).

Newman’s Cody McBride, Lucas Schaab, Lucas Simpson and Wyatt Widolff won the 4x800 in 8:17.96 – almost 30 seconds faster than second-place Dixon.

“Coming in, we knew what we wanted to do. We knew the wind was going to be pretty tough, so just coming in and staying strong [was key],” McBride said. “I think overall we did pretty good. We know we can improve, but good race, good PR.

“Originally, we were hoping for that meet record here, but once we got out here the wind was pretty strong, and it kind of held us back a little bit. Sub 8:09 was kind of our goal.”

“I was happy with the race, especially with Cody, because we’ve been looking for a fourth runner that can hang with me, Wyatt and Lucas [Schaab],” Simpson said. “It was good for him to get a 2:12 today, a great PR for him. I’m happy with our effort overall today.”

Simpson also took fourth in the long jump (5.90), and Simpson, Widolff, Carter Rude and Brady Williamson won the 4x400 in 3:32.67. Schaab won the 1,600 (4:39.56) and Widolff took second in the 400 (51.86).

Rock Falls’ Adan Oquendo won the 200 (23.07) and teamed up with Gavin Sands, Easton Canales and Derek Prieto for a second-place finish in the 4x200 (44.77). Brady Root took second in the 800 meters (2:08.65), and Sands also had a second-place finish in the long jump (6.02).

Forreston-Polo’s Eli Ferris won the 110 hurdles (16.86) and took second in both the 300 hurdles (43.29) and the high jump (1.82). F-P’s Micah Nelson won the 800 (2:05.73) and teamed up with Brody Schwartz, Brock Soltow and Hayden Vinnedge for a second-place finish in the 4x400 (3:35.83). De’Angelo Fernandez, Schwartz, Soltow and Noah Dewey won the 4x100 (44.07) and 4x200 (1:34.46).

Amboy’s Joel Billhorn won the 400 (51.66), while teammate Ian Sundberg took second in the discus (41.83) and third in the shot put (13.67).

Bureau Valley’s Landon Hulsing won the discus (46.60) and took third in the high jump (1.77).

On the girls side, Bureau Valley led an eight-team field with 146 points, followed by Rock Falls in second with 109 and Newman in fifth with 77.

The Rockets’ Hana Ford won the 800 (2:31.39) and the 4x800 (10:58.20) with Kat Scott, Brenna Burlack and Autumn Weatherby.

“The team performed really, really good, and we ended up getting first place, which was really nice,” Ford said. “And then the 800, it hurt – both of them hurt really bad, my legs were hurting – but once you’re done, it’s just like, ‘Yes! It feels so good.’ ”

As a senior, Ford went into the home track meet with a little extra motivation.

“To be truly honest with you, [the goal] was just to get first place since this is our meet and it’s my last Rocket Invite,” Ford said. “So my goal was just to get first place and just try to go as hard as I can with this terrible weather.”

Scott took second in the 800 (2:31.85), Ariel Hernandez took second in the 1,600 (5:34.57) and 3,200 meters (11:52.37) and Carli Kobbeman won the long jump (4.45) for the Rockets.

Also for Rock Falls, Kayla Hackbarth won the discus (31.91) and took fifth in the shot put (9.29). Elizabeth Lombardo took second in the 300 hurdles (57.27) and third in the pole vault (1.98).

Newman’s Elaina Allen won the 100 (13.16) and 200 (26.85), and teammate Ella Ford tied for first in the high jump (1.52) and was fourth in the 800 (2:45.15).

Kennedy Rowzee won the shot put (9.95) for the Comets, and Allen, Makenzie Duhon, Blair Grennan and Brooklyn Smith took second in the 4x200 (1:52.42). Smith, Lucy Oetting, John Rowzee and Matthew Blackert took second in the mixed 4x400 (4:15.19) for Newman.

For Bureau Valley, Maddie Wetzel took third in the 1,600 (5:41.73) and 3,200 (12:25.40), and Addison Wessel won the 300 hurdles (57.26) and took second in the 100 hurdles (19.10).

Connie Gibson, Taylor Neuhalfen, Kate Salisbury and McKinley Canady won the 4x100 (51.77) and the 4x200 in 1:51.30 for the Storm.

Landry Hitzler took second in the shot put (9.93), Carly Wiggim won the pole vault (1.98) and Lynzie Cady took second in the long jump (4.43) and third in the 400 (1:04.75). Canady won the triple jump (9.97), and Cady, Salsbury, Canady and Gibson won the 4x400 (4:26.02).