TRACK & FIELD: Fantastic finish at Hinders Field

ROCK FALLS – What could be better than a down-to-the-wire 4x400 relay to close out a track meet? Why, following that up with another down-to-the-wire 4x400 relay, of course.

That double feature came at Hinders Field on Thursday, with a girls relay decided on the final stretch outdone by a boys relay decided on the final step.

In the girls 4x400, it was neck-and-neck most of the way between Rock Falls and Sterling. Though Rock Falls had a slight lead after two legs, it was the Golden Warriors leading by the time Kylie Nicklaus took the baton for the anchor leg. But Rock Falls’ Emily Spooner was never far behind Nicklaus, eventually catching and passing her with about 20 yards left.

“Just stay with [Nicklaus] as long as I can and pass her right at the end,” Spooner said. “I knew I had it in me, I just needed to save it until that last section.”

Spooner, Cadence Williamson, Tayli Hultin and Hana Ford finished in 4:32.25. Nicklaus, Lillian Peavy, Addy Sullivan and Rhylee Wade clocked in at 4:32.67.

The boys’ 4x400 looked at first like it was not going to be nearly as close. The Sycamore team of Caden Emmert, Carson Campbell, Nicholas Kocher and Donald Gramer built a sizable lead through the first two legs. Rock Falls’ Booker Cross, Matthew Marcum, Alan Carter and Bud Hillard were able to chase them down, with Marcum getting the lean at the finish line to post a winning time of 3:37.67, 0.12 seconds ahead of Sycamore.

Marcum was looking at a sizable deficit with 150 meters to go, with Dixon’s Brock Drengenberg challenging him for second, but he was able to keep Drengenberg at bay while also taking the lead at the wire.

“I got to the curve and I was looking to keep in second, keep him in sight,” Marcum said. “I kicked and he was closer than I thought, so I just wanted to stick with him and get him at the end.”

Drengenberg, Jericho Kirby, Jackson Ortgiesen and Cadyn Grafton took third in 3:38.35, 0.56 seconds behind Sycamore.

“I heard people saying, ‘Go Brock, go Brock,’ and I was like, ‘Oh geez,’” Marcum said. “So I knew I had to go now or else I’m done.”

For Marcum, it was the second close finish of the day. In the 300 hurdles, he and Sycamore’s Tyler Carter were neck-and-neck down the stretch, with Carter slightly ahead but Marcum appearing to have the momentum to overtake Carter. Marcum clipped the final hurdle, but still came out ahead, finishing in 41.09 to win by 0.07 seconds.

Rock Falls also won the boys 4x100 with Marcum, Cross, Hillard and Alan Carter finishing in 45.55 seconds to beat a pair of Dixon teams.

“We had really good handoffs,” Cross said. “None of us left early, so we had good handoffs, and we all ran really hard.”

The Dixon girls ended up taking first overall with 66 points to beat Rock Falls (57) and Sterling (49).

The Duchesses’ Taylor Hills won the 400 in 1:07.70, and Emma Smith won the 800 in 2:36.43, neck-and-neck with Peavy for much of the race before pulling away over the final 200 meters.

Dixon got a dominating 1,600 win from Jade Miller, who finished in 5:42.83. Teammate Emily Conderman took second, 16.65 seconds back.

“I wasn’t racing it full out because we have sectionals next week and I was trying to pace some of it for what I’m supposed to run for sectionals,” Miller said. “The first lap was slow, second fast, third slow, fourth lap fast, so I went from 1:30s to 1:20s on and off. It was a good workout. I finished where I was supposed to, so it was really good.”

Dixon’s 4x200 relay of Victoria Grossman, Nora Fordham, Brooke Sanchez and Shea Lahey won in 1:57.89. Miller, Hills, Smith and Layni Lappin teamed up to take the 4x800 relay in 10:15.40.

Makenzie Welch swept the throws with a 10.07 meters in the shot put and 33.31 in the discus. Peyton Book won the triple jump, going 9.33 meters, and took second in the long jump.

Rock Falls got a pair of hurdles wins from Aniyah Thomas, taking the 100 in 19.42 and the 300 in 1:00.06. Amara Thomas cleared 4 feet, 10 inches to win the high jump. Carli Kobbeman won the long jump with a leap of 4.74 meters.

The Rockets’ 4x100 relay of Spooner, Kobbeman, Lilyana Spotts and Makenna Arickx won with a time of 55.97.

Spooner also won the 100 with a time of 14.05 seconds, beating Sterling’s Hannah Mobarak (14.13) and Dixon’s Grossman (14.28).

Mobarak led a strong group of Warriors in the 200, finishing in 28.60 as Sterling swept the top five spots.

“I think it was really hard with the weather, but I’m glad I got to run the way I did,” she said. “At first I was a little concerned with how I was going to do, and not having warmed up enough I feel, but I feel I ended it good.”

Kaydence Weeks was second in 29.77, Anna Aulwes was third in 30.27, Sofia Rumbolz was fourth in 30.90, and Caroline Mobarak was fifth in 30.92.

Nicklaus ran the 3,200 in 12:58.62. Aulwes won the pole vault, clearing 6 feet, 9 inches.

Sycamore cruised to the win in the boys meet with 93 points. Dixon and Rock Falls both put up 60.5 for second place, and Sterling had 51.

Dixon’s 4x200 relay of Myles Nally, Kirby, Rylan Ramsdell and Tyler Shaner won in 1:36.59. Dixon also got a 4x800 relay win from Ortgiesen, Jack Johnson, Dominic Lazano and Isiah Kuehl in 9:11.40.

The Dukes’ Dre Jackson won the shot put with a throw of 13.66 meters and took second in discus with a throw of 39.0 meters, trailing only Sycamore’s Neye Ericson.

The Sterling boys got a win in the 800 from Sam Brown, who ran a 2:05.92 to beat Kocher by 2.0 seconds. Freshman Dale Johnson won the 3,200 with a time of 10:02.83. Andrew Bland cleared 5 feet, 10 inches to win the high jump, and leapt 5.67 meters to win the long jump.

Rock Falls’ Kohle Bradley won the pole vault, clearing 8 feet, 9 inches.

For the Sycamore boys, Jeffrey Ostreicher’s win in the 100 and 400, and William Stewart beating Dixon’s Nally by 0.25 seconds in the 200 offered up a dominating run through the sprints. Alex Taylor won the 1,600, Tyler Carter won the 110 hurdles, and Noah Schmidt won the triple jump, going 12.0 meters.