Panthers have ups, downs at State

     It was a meet of ups and downs for the Monticello High School boys track and field team at the May 17-19 state meet in Des Moines.

     The Panthers competed in five events at Drake Stadium, performing at their absolute best in some and having some tough breaks in others.

     “I was happy overall with the team’s performance in the events we competed in,” Monticello coach Greg Williams said.

     Junior Avery Martensen had the highest event finish for the Panthers at the meet, but it was bittersweet. After qualifying for the finals as the top seed in the 110-meter hurdles with a time of 15.15 seconds, Martensen had an unfortunate fall near the end of Saturday’s finals and ended up seventh.

     “The final was a great race between him and the eventual winner (Grant Fjelstad of Lake Mills),” Williams said.

     Assistant coach Donnie Kremer added: “I cannot fault his effort; he went for the win. It is unfortunate that he fell, but he did get up and finish. He can use this as motivation for next year.”

     The 4x100 relay team of Max Keleher, Alex Nealson, Martensen and Gavin Cooper also had a bittersweet result. On the one hand, its time of 44.46 was the second-fastest in that event in school history. On the other, at this meet it was good for 10^th place, missing the finals by .22 of a second.

     “These guys ran a near-perfect race down there,” Williams said. “They improved their season best by over half a second. Our 10^th place finish was great.”

     Kremer added: “They have worked really hard the past week to get faster and stronger, and I think they proved that they were.”

     Cole Cruise, a sophomore running at State for the first time, finished 12^th in the 3,200 on Thursday.

     “Cole ran a great race for his first time at State,” the coach said. “He ran right at his best time for the year.”

     Martensen also competed in the high jump, finishing in a tie for 15^th at 5-foot-11. Aaron Loes ran in the 1,600 on Saturday, and finished 23^rd.

     “Avery’s high jump fell short of his expectations, but that happens in that event,” Williams said. “Aaron has been struggling with an injury the last part of the season. I know he was disappointed that his last race as a Panther did not end differently.”

May 17-19

State Class 2A Meet

(at Drake Stadium,

Des Moines)

MONTICELLO RESULTS

     3200: 12, Cole Cruise, 10:21.15.

     High jump: 15 (tie), Avery Martensen, 5-11.

     110 hurdles: 7, Avery Martensen, 23.79.

     4x100: 10, Monticello (Max Keleher, Alex Nealson, Avery Martensen, Gavin Cooper), 44.46.

     1,600: 23, Aaron Loes, 4:48.78.