Track teams find success at recent meets

Recently both the men’s and women’s track teams had success at Waterloo Central and Cedar Rapids. The men’s team won on Monday, April 10 in Waterloo. The women’s team also had success with their meet, which took place at Kingston stadium in Cedar Rapids. 

The men’s success started off with sophomore Jaxon Schreiber winning the high jump with his final height of 5-11.00. He was followed by senior Will Wolf in second place with a final height of 5-07.00.

Junior Jake Peters won the discus with a throw of 150-05, which earned him the 21st best throw in Cedar Falls program history. 

In the Sprint med, the Tigers won with a time of 1:37.22 In the 3200m. Freshman Gaige Martin finished third, with his time of 11:00.12.

In the 4×800, the team narrowly missed the Drake blue standard with their time of 8:08.25, which is the sixth best time in the state so far this year. This team featured seniors Gavin Denhom, and Derek Woods, sophomore Keegan Steege and freshman Jaden Merrick. They finished first overall. 

The shuttle hurdle relay also had a good run, as the team won overall and ran a time of 61.30, which places them as the third fastest team in Cedar Falls history. They missed the Drake automatic qualifying standard by .3 of a second. 

Senior Conner Trunell won the 100m with his time of 11.55. Freshman Will Remmert was close behind, with his time of 11.60, which earned him second place, but also the seventh best freshman time in Cedar Falls history. 

In the 400m, senior Cayden Schellhorn finished first with his time of 50.7, which earned him the 23rd fastest time in Cedar Falls history. Sophomore Hunter Russell finished third overall, with his time of 51.42, and the fifth best sophomore time in CF history. 

In the 200m dash, freshman Shane Demkiw finished second with his time of 23.92, which was the eighth fastest freshman time in CF history. 

In the 1600m, the Tigers finished 1-5. Junior Luke Hartman finished first with his time of 4:30.5. He was followed by sophomore Connor Martin who finished in 4:31.08, senior Colby Cryer at 4:32.08, senior Pascal Cuhat at 4:40.96 and freshman Charlie Wiering in 4:41.64. Both Martin and Wiering’s times were the second fastest times in program history for their classes.  

“I was very happy with the 1600m, being able to take the second all time freshman time, and almost breaking 4:40 for the first time. This year has been a learning one so far, but each week I feel that I am improving, and getting better and better. I can’t wait to see what the rest of the season has to offer,” Wiering said. 

On the women’s side, they also had a very good meet on Saturday April 8., 2023. 

Sophomore Josee Simonson was one of the stand out athletes at the meet in Cedar Rapids Kingston.

“So far, as a whole the women’s track team has had a great start to the season. In our indoor season many people were able to learn a lot, which helped us to prepare for our outdoor season. At Kingston, I got the chance to run my first sprint med with some great athletes and it was an amazing experience as I had a PR in my 400 with a sub 60 time. Following the sprint med, I competed in the open 800 meter race with a PR and a Drake Relays qualifying time of 2:18. Ending off the meet running in the 4×4 I was able to PR once again. Overall the team and I had a very successful meet,” Simonson said. 

Another highlight event of the day was the 3000m. Junior Anna Becker, who had to sit out sophomore year of high school due to foot surgery, and major setbacks, ran the 24th fastest time in Cedar Falls history, with over a minute faster then her time as a freshman. She won the race with a time of 11:12.

“Dealing with setbacks is something that is not easy. Having a huge PR and being able to compete with a big group of people that are all amazing level athletes is something truly special. I cannot wait to see what we can do the rest of the year, along with how the team is next year as well. It is going to be very fun,” Becker said. 

The men’s team will be competing next on Thursday, April 13, in Dubuque. The women’s team will be competing Saturday April 15, in Iowa City. Both teams will be trying to knock out more drake standards, as the end of April comes closer.