Bulldog Track Breaks More School Records, Qualify More for Drake

Charlee Morton qualified for the Drake Relays in the discuss last week and accomplished the same in the shot put this week.  The boys 4x100, made up of Jack Drier, Tate Murray, Gavin Meader, and Tony Valenzuela, also met the blue standard this week and will be headed to the Drake Relays.  The boys coaches are still hoping that Jack Drier could qualify individually in the 100m dash or the 4x200 could also make it down to run on the blue oval.  The 4x100 group also broke school records this past week running in the beautiful Iowa spring weather.

Tuesday April 11th the Lady Bulldogs headed to Clarion for the Cowgirl relays.  Morton continued her run there, claiming both shot put and discus titles.  Teammate Kasey Springer finished runner-up in the discus and 4th in the shot put.  Aubryee Showalter finished 4th in the long jump, and Teaghan Bird followed finishing 8th.  Lily Hambly finished 6th in the high jump.  The Bulldogs also found success in the running events, with Aubree Gronewold finishing 5th in the 100m dash and 4th in the 400m dash.  Lydia Maas ran to a 6th place finish in the 800m and the 1500m, while claiming a 3rd place finish in the 3000m.  Hambly would finish 8th in the 800m.  Abby Drier finished 3rd in the 100m hurdles, and teammate Teaghan Bird finished 5th in both the 100m hurdles and the 400m hurdles.  The relay teams also had some success with the 4x100 relay, bringing home the silver, taking 4th in the 4x200, and in the sprint medley claiming the bronze.

Tuesday night the boys headed to Clear Lake and success, finishing 3rd place overall as a team with Gage Plagge winning the long jump as well.  Scott Harr finished 4th in the shot put and 3rd in the discus, while teammate Grant Subbert finish 7th.  Plagge then took 3rd in the 400m dash and the 400m hurdles.  Aiden Polk finished 5th in the 110 high hurdles and  Colin Bird would claim 7th in the 400m hurdles.  The Bulldogs also claimed second in a close relay race against Clear Lake in the sprint medley.  In the final tally, the Bulldogs finished 3rd in the shuttle hurdle relay and took 5th in the 4x800.

Friday night both teams headed to Aplington-Parkersburg for the Falcon Co-ed Invitational where the boys would finish 3rd and the girls would finish 5th.  Charlee Morton battled to the top to claim titles in both the discus and the shot put. In girls action Teaghan Bird also took the title in the 400m hurdles.  Lydia Maas and the shuttle hurdle relay would claim 2nd.  Aubree Gronewold took 7th place in the 100m dash and  Lily Hambly took 3rd place in the 400m.  Abby Drier would claim 3rd in the 100m hurdles while Teagan Bird took 4th.  Lydia Maas turned in a 6th place finish in the 800m.  The 4x100 relay team finished 5th.  Hambly finished 5th in the high jump, and Showalter 6th in the long jump.  TIn an exciting bit of sports theater, the Bulldogs would win the 4x100m dash, breaking a school record.  The relay also turned in a win in the 4x200.  Gage Plagge also won the 200m dash and the shuttle hurdle would finish 3rd, with  Jayson Stevens taking 8th in the 800m run.  

The Bulldogs have less than a week to qualify for Drake with any other events that are close to making it and will have two opportunities this week to do so.  The boys and girls both run Tuesday with the boys heading to Brooklyn, while the girls head to Garner.  The boys then head to South Hamilton on Thursday, while the girls will go to Belmond on Friday.