SVM track & field roundup: Rock Falls boys, girls win again in Princeton

The Rock Falls boys and girls track & field teams both took home titles at the Ferris Invite on Tuesday in Princeton, while the Sterling boys and girls both won at the Sandwich Coed Meet, and the Dixon boys topped the field at the Oregon Open.

Boys track & field

Ferris Invite: Rock Falls scored 266 points to top runner-up Kewanee (249) in a six-team meet in Princeton, taking its fourth straight Ferris title.

Adan Oquendo won the 100 (11.50 seconds) and the 200 (23.26) for the Rockets, while Brady Root (2:11.36) and Christian Cid (2:12.13) went 1-2 in the 800, and Devin Tanton (3.35 meters) and Kohle Bradley (3.20 meters) went 1-2 in the pole vault. Anthony Valdivia won the 1,600 (4:52.62) and Jose Gomez took the 3,200 (10:46.40), and Christian Hernandez finished first in the long jump (5.70 meters).

Cid, Seth Wade, Root and Gomez ran to first in the 4x400 (3:46.20), and Root, Cid, Gunnar Damhoff and Valdivia topped the field in the 4x800 (8:56.37) for Rock Falls, which also took second in the 4x100 and 4x200 relays.

“I don’t think we were supposed to win it if you look at the seeds coming in. We knew it’d be tight. We’d knew it be close,” Rock Falls coach Eric Bontz said. “This is a meet we’ve won the last few years, a meet we really like coming to. There’s a lot of good athletes, and I told my guys they were going to have to compete well. We had a lot of PRs and good things that went a long ways for us tonight.”

Oregon Open: The Dixon Dukes scored 161 points to easily take the title at a five-team meet at Landers-Loomis Field, with North Boone placing second (89) and the host Hawks taking third (56).

Dixon won nine events and added runner-up finishes in seven others. The Dukes took the top six spots in the long jump, and had 1-2-3 finishes in the 400 and 1,600.

Jacksen Ortgiesen won the 400 (55.54 seconds), Aaron Conderman took the 1,600 (4:54.77), and Tyson Dambman led the charge in the long jump (6.15 meters). Cullen Shaner won the 110 hurdles (16.64 seconds) and took second in the 300 hurdles (45.55), while Matt Warkins won the shot put (13.38 meters), Alec Fulton took the high jump (1.82 meters), and Hayden Yingling won the pole vault (3.05 meters).

Dambman and Shaner joined Michael O’Neal and Owen Belzer to win the 4x100 (46.39 seconds), and Fulton, Dambman, Belzer and O’Neal won the 4x200 (1:37.23) for the Dukes, who also took second in the 4x800.

Evan James won the discus for Oregon with a toss of 39.16 meters, and he also ran a leg on the winning 4x400 relay (3:51.31); he was joined by Aidan Guida, Trevor Burkhardt and Emmett Peterson. The Hawks also ran to first in the 4x800 (9:22.57) with the quartet of Chris Bolisenga, Daniel Gonzalez, Caleb Brooks and Ryan Noisten.

The foursome of Guida, Peterson, James and Griffin Marlatt ran to second place in both the 4x100 (46.50 seconds) and the 4x200 (1:37.63).

Sandwich Coed Meet: Led by triple-winner Andrew Bland, Sterling scored 262 points to easily top host Sandwich (134) in a four-team meet.

Bland won the 110 hurdles (16.19 seconds), the high jump (1.83 meters) and the triple jump (11.92 meters) for the Golden Warriors, who took the top five spots in the triple jump. Ryan Gebhardt won the 100 (12.12 seconds), and Kyle Knutsen won the 200 (24.76) as Sterling took the top six spots in that race.

Dale Johnson took the top spot (1:58.42) as the Warriors went 1-2-3 in the 800, and Aalin Schmidt won the 1,600 (4:57.61). In the field, Nathan Cavazos won the discus (34.02 meters), Brandeis Shore won the pole vault (3.35 meters), and Kaedon Phillips took the long jump (5.55 meters). Christian Beasley was runner-up in both the shot put (12.37 meters) and the discus (33.07 meters).

Sterling also won three of the four relay races, taking the 4x100 (46.97 seconds) with the team of Maurice Delacruz, Phillips, Justin Benson and Mason Emin; the 4x200 (1:35.48) with the quartet of Delacruz, Phillips, Carter Chance and Benson; and the 4x400 (3:30.60) with the foursome of Johnson, Jordan Britt, Parker Blakeslee and Thomas Holcomb.

Panthers win Rockridge quad: Erie-Prophetstown scored 113 points to run away with the win at a four-team meet in Edgington, as the host Rockets were second (58 points), Newman took third (51), and Orion finished fourth (36).

Hayden Summer and Charlie Link won two races each for the Panthers. Summer took the 110 hurdles (19.24 seconds) and the 300 hurdles (50.91), and Link won the 800 (2:06.23) and 1,600 (4:46.42). Caleb Naftzger finished first in the shot put (13.19 meters) and second in the discus (40.34), and Parker Holdorf (3.66 meters) and Aidan Jepson (3.51 meters) went 1-2 in the pole vault.

Jeremiah Kochevar won the long jump (5.18 meters), Caleb Eads took the triple jump (11.67 meters), and Tyson Skinner took the 3,200 (11:18.96) for Erie-Prophetstown.

Lucas Simpson won the 400 (53.42 seconds) for Newman, while Wyatt Widolff (55.53) and Cody McBride (58.18) finished second and third. Simpson and Widolff also teamed with Kenny Boesen and Lucas Schaab to win the 4x800 relay (8:57.55).

Schaab took second in the 800 (2:07.99) and 1,600 (4:57.42), and George Jungermann was runner-up in the long jump (5.08 meters). Liam Schmall took third in both the long jump (5.04 meters) and triple jump (10.60).

Lena-Winslow Invite: Fulton finished fourth at a five-team meet in Lena, scoring 50 points; Galena-East Dubuque-River Ridge won with 124 points, and the host Panthers were second (105).

Braiden Damhoff won the shot put (15.00 meters), Lukas Schroeder won the long jump (4.94 meters), and Daken Pessman took the triple jump (12.19 meters) for the Steamers. Pessman, Jace Smith, Carson Wherry and Baylen Damhoff also ran to first place in the 4x200 (1:35.08).

Smith, Pessman, Klayton Schipper and CJ Struckman placed second in the 4x400 (3:45.08), and Landon Leu took third in the high jump (1.57 meters) for Fulton.

Girls track & field

Ferris Invite: Rock Falls topped host Princeton 270-214 in a five-team meet at Bryant Field, the Rockets’ fourth Ferris title in the last five years.

Carli Kobbeman won the long jump (4.59 meters) and took second in the 100 (13.41 second) and 400 (1:04.97) for the Rockets, and Ariel Hernandez won the 3,200 (11:52.82) and was runner-up in the 1,600 (5:48.85) behind teammate Hana Ford (5:40.31). Kat Scott (2:34.60) and Tayli Hultin (2:39.11) went 1-2 in the 800, and Amara Thomas (1.50 meters) and Aniyah Thomas (1.40 meters) took the top two spots in the high jump. Aniyah won the 300 hurdles (56.67 seconds), and Amara was third (59.86).

The quartet of Hultin, Ford, Scott and Gracie Rippy won both the 4x400 (4:29.70) and the 4x800 (10:19.76) for Rock Falls.

Sandwich Coed Meet: Sterling eked past Rochelle 177-159 to win a four-team meet in Sandwich.

Anessa Johnson won the 100 (13.71 seconds) and took second in the 200 (27.35), while Rhylee Wade (12:15.59) led a 1-2-3 finish for the Warriors in the 3,200. Carmella Cathey won the 100 hurdles (21.23) and took third in the 300 hurdles (57.84), and Ellie Kested finished first in the triple jump (8.78 meters).

Kate Rowzee was second in both the shot put (10.69 meters) and the discus (32.55 meters) for Sterling.

Oregon Open: The host Hawks won a five-team meet at Landers-Loomis Field, scoring 128 points to outdistance runner-up Dixon (84).

Hadley Lutz was part of four wins, and Rylie Robertson took part in three wins for Oregon. Lutz won the 200 (27.74 seconds) and the long jump (4.99 meters); she also joined Robertson, Lexi Ebert and Ava Wight to win the 4x100 (52.97 seconds), and teamed with Wight, Miranda Ciesiel and Grace Tremble to win the 4x200 (1:52.05). Robertson also won the 100 hurdles (17.84 seconds) and the 300 hurdles (55.27).

Wight won the triple jump (9.75 meters) for the Hawks, who also got first-place finishes from Daleanah Koertner in the 400 (1:09.22), Skylar Bishop in the high jump (1.47 meters), and Sonya Plescia in the pole vault (2.90 meters). Oregon went 1-2 in the 400 and the two sprint relays, and Alease McLain was runner-up in both the shot put (8.92 meters) and the discus (25.89 meters).

Olivia Cox led Dixon with wins in the shot put (9.22 meters) and the discus (30.42 meters), while Hannah Steinmeyer clocked a 2:30.39 as the Duchesses took the top five spots in the 800. Nora Fordham, Teyla Wendt, Veronica Wade and MyKinzie Love ran to first in the 4x400 (4:42.86), and Solis Thompson was second in the 300 hurdles (56.66 seconds) and third in the 100 hurdles (19.09).

Fulton Invite: The host Steamers placed second at their 11-team Lady Steamer Invitational, scoring 80 points to finish behind only Clinton (Iowa)’s 98 points.

Erie-Prophetstown finished fourth (57), Amboy and Milledgeville-Eastland tied with Riverdale for fifth (53), West Carroll placed eighth (33), Newman tied for ninth with Alleman (10), and Morrison took 11th (4).

West Carroll’s Emma Randecker and Amboy’s Elly Jones led the local contingent with a two first-place finishes each. Randecker won the 100 (12.67 seconds) and the 200 (26.34), and she also took second in the 400 (1:01.27). Jones won the 100 hurdles (16.17 seconds) and the triple jump (9.84 meters), and took third in the 300 hurdles (51.88 seconds) and fifth in the long jump (4.64 meters).

Erie-Prophetstown’s Claire Reymer and Milledgeville-Eastland’s Quinc Haverland tied for first in the discus, as each recorded a toss of 32.10 meters. E-P’s Brianna Neumiller was second in the shot put (9.32 meters) and third in the discus (31.82).

Fulton was runner-up in three individual events and three relay races. Emery Wherry was second in the 100 hurdles (17.37 seconds) and fourth in the 300 hurdles (53.52), Paige Cramer took second in the long jump (4.77 meters), and Haley Smither was second in the triple jump (9.53 meters). Cramer and Smither teamed with Brooklyn Thoms and Miraya Pessman to take second in the 4x100 (52.31 seconds); Thoms and Pessman joined Annaka Hackett and Grace Dykstra to place second in the 4x200 (1:49.75); and Jessa Read, Jordin Rathburn, Brooklyn Brennan and Jasmine Moreland were runners-up in the 4x800 (11:16.34).

Thoms also added a third in the 100 hurdles (17.70 seconds) for the Steamers, and Rathburn took third in the high jump (1.42 meters).

Other E-P athletes in the top three were Jillian Norman, who took second in the 3,200 (13:47.01); Kennedy Buck, who took third in both the 200 (27.71 seconds) and 400 (1:02.67); and Aubrey Huisman, who was third in the 800 (2:43.78).

Amboy got a runner-up finish from Jillian Anderson in the high jump (1.52 meters) and a third place from Bella Yanos in the long jump (4.75 meters).

Milledgeville-Eastland got a second-place finish from Lynn Stringini in the 300 hurdles (51.56 seconds), while Leslie Mayne took third in the 3,200 (13:53.30). Stringini and Mayne teamed with Skyler Hartman and Kennedy Burkholder to place third in the 4x800 (11:20.77), and the Missiles also took third in the 4x200 (1:55.00) with the team of Shelby Groezinger, Trixie Carroll, Paige Joiner and Abi Sturrup.

Newman’s top finisher was Brooke Sanchez, who took third in the triple jump (9.50 meters); she also placed seventh in the long jump. Claire Crisham finished fifth in the 1,600 (6:02.95), and teamed with  Monica Healy, Gianna Sagel and Gianna Widolff to take fifth in the 4x800 (11:52.92).

Erika King and Emma Christin led Morrison with fifth-place finishes. King was fifth in the 400 (1:05.61), as well as eighth in the 200 and 10th in the 100. Christin took fifth in the 3,200 (14:18.31), and also placed ninth in the 1,600.

Cardinals win home triangular: Forreston-Polo scored 82 points to top Lena-Winslow (49) and Dakota (37) in a three-team meet in Forreston.

Letrese Buisker and Autum Pritchard both had a hand in three event wins for the Cardinals. Buisker won the 100 hurdles (19.02 seconds) and the high jump (5 feet), and added a second place in the 300 hurdles (55.32 seconds). Pritchard won the 200 (29.39) and the 400 (1:04.34), and teamed with Buisker, Elsa Monaco and Ennen Ferris to win the 4x100 (54.86).

Sydni Badertscher won both the shot put (32 feet, 9.5 inches) and the discus (97-5.25), and Monaco added a win in the 100 (13.94 seconds). Courtney Grobe, Hannah Harvey, Kyla Lamm and Jayleigh Newill ran to victory in the 4x800 (11:56.33) for F-P.

Storm 2nd in LaSalle: Bureau Valley scored 164 points to finish behind only the host Cavaliers (179) in their Senior Night meet.

Connie Gibson was part of three wins for the Storm, taking the top spot in the long jump (4.55 meters) and teaming with Ashlyn Maupin, Addison Wessel and Kate Salisbury to win both the 4x100 (54.17 seconds) and the 4x200 (1:457.39). Lynzie Cady won the shot put (9.17 meters), Jillian Hulsing took the high jump (1.50 meters), and they joined Salisbury and McKenzie Hunt to win the 4x400 (4:39.97).

Maddie Wetzell won the 1,600 (6:06.17), Jasmine Reeder took the 300 hurdles (58.93 seconds), and Izabel Wallace won the discus (29.96 meters). BV had 1-2-3 finishes in the discus and long jump.

Wessel added a pair of seconds in the 200 (29.02) and 100 hurdles (18.71), and Cady was runner-up in the 400 (1:06.54) and long jump (4.48 meters). Gibson added a second in the triple jump (9.66 meters) to her three wins.