English Valleys continues to excel with mid-distance competition

It was a busy 48 hours for most of the English Valleys boys’ track team when they competed at Pekin on March 28 and then Belle Plaine the following day. In addition to the two meets, the boys also had to face the elements by battling the cold, wind and at times rain. Despite all the factors, E.V. was able to put together positive performances in the short and mid-distance races to open the outdoor season.

    The Bears finished up with some impressive results on the Davis Eidahl track at Pekin, including a couple first-place finishes, along with a handful of other quality finishes.

    “We run well at Pekin every year,” Bears coach Becky Becker said. “I’m extremely pleased with how we ran. We’ve never been competitive in the 4x100 and this year we will be with that time they ran, and they’ll continue to get better.”

    Cooper Andreassen helped E.V. gain their first point of the day as he finished sixth in the 100-meter dash, registering a time of 12.65 seconds, which was faster than half the field. Another five points were picked up from the combined efforts of John Fisher and Raif Axmear in the 800-meter run. Fisher took fourth with a time of 2:30.04, while Axmear finished in sixth (2:49.55).

    Jacob Glandon faced another big endurance test early in the season by competing in the 3200m, 1600m, long jump, shot put and was part of the distance medley relay team. Glandon edged out Pekin’s Colten Glosser in the final stretch of the 3200m to take first place with a time of 10:53.02. He had another top-five finish in the 1600m, taking fourth with a time of 5:20.83. In his two field events, Glandon took eighth in the long jump (14’-4.00”) and fifth in the shot put (33’-11.50”).

    “What Glandon did in the 3200 surprised both of us,” Becker said. “He iron-manned it, running the DMR, mile and two-mile race.”

    Among the other top finishes by the Bears was a first-place run by Clayton Moore in the 400-meter hurdles. Coming into the meet, Moore averaged a time of 1:08.00 and was able to shave off nearly seven seconds by crossing the line at 1:01.19 to take first and give E.V. 10 points.

    Other results are as follows:

    100-meter dash: Tommy Stecklein finished 13th (13.38)

    200-meter dash: Seth Thompson finished sixth (25.76)

    400-meter dash: Nolan Grove finished fifth (59.81)

    110-meter hurdles: Cael Hester finished sixth (21.40)

    4x100-meter relay: E.V. finished fourth (48.63)

    4x200-meter relay: E.V. finished fifth (1:47.00)

    4x400-meter relay: E.V. finished second (4:16.92)

    4x800-meter relay: E.V. finished second (10:47.85)

    800-sprint medley: E.V. finished fourth (1:56.36)

    Distance Medley: E.V. finished second (4:16.74)

    Shuttle Hurdle: E.V. finished third (1:14.00)

    Long Jump: Sam Kingland finished seventh (14’-10.50”)

    Shot Put: John Fisher finished fourth (35’6.00”)

    Discus: John Fisher took sixth (92’-1.00”), Derek Dulaney finished eighth (83’-2.00”)

    The Bears racked up 81 points, which earned them a third-place finish on the day. They came up just shy of taking second, with Waco accumulating 83 points.

    The Bears followed up their success with some more middle of the pack finishes at Belle Plaine on yet another cold and windy day.

    Kingland continued to lead his team by exhibiting his speed and versatility in a variety of races. He took ninth in the 100-meter dash, finishing with a time of 13.06 seconds and helped his team to a fourth-place finish in the 4x200-meter (1:47.18) relay. Andreassen also ran in the 100-meter dash, placing 11th (13.29) and was part of the relay team.

    E.V. had two boys finish within the top-10 in the 800-meter run with Fisher taking fifth and Axmear finishing in eighth. Fisher crossed the line with a time of 2:28.89, while Axmear clocked 2:46.87.

    Off the track the Bears were able to put together three top-10 finishes between the discus and shot put events. Derek Dulaney finished fifth in the discus, throwing for 87’-8.00” and Fisher took sixth with a throw of 82’-0.0”. In the shot put, Jacob Jackson finished seventh (34’-10.00”) and Fisher was 11th (33’-6.00”).

    Other results are as follows:

    200-meter dash: Caleb Peach finished eighth (26.76)

    400-meter run: Nolan Grove finished seventh (1:00.92)

    110-meter hurdles: Cael Hester finished sixth (22.16)

    4x100 shuttle hurdle: E.V. finished fourth (1:14.22)

    Sprint Medley Relay: E.V. finished fourth (4:15.87)

    English Valleys will be back on the track on April 5 when they head back down to Pekin.