Wildcats romp to Tri-Rivers title

Boys track

     Maquoketa Valley scored 163 points, won seven events, and earned the championship of the Tri-Rivers Conference at its annual conference meet May 2 at Edgewood-Colesburg.

     Calamus-Wheatland finished second with 136 points, and North Linn was third with 92.

     “The victory was a total team effort,” Maquoketa Valley coach Pat Meehan said. “We had everyone on the team contribute. It was fun to watch the boys enjoy the moment with each other. They conducted themselves with true sportsmanship.”

     Individual Conference champions for the Wildcats included Chance Downs in the 400-meter dash, 52.32 seconds; Chad Neuzil in the 110 hurdles, 15.23 and James LeGassick in the 400 hurdles.

     The ‘Cats also won four relay conference titles: the 4x100 relay team of Daniel Hunter, Evan Hoefer, Zach Digman and Neuzil, 45.20; the 4x400 relay team of Derek Becker, Hoefer, LeGassick and Downs, 3:30.89; the sprint medley relay team of Hunter, Neuzil, Hoefer and Downs, 1:37.45; and the shuttle hurdle relay team of Derek Becker, Tim Harmon, Teige Hunt and Neuzil, 1:04.29.

     Runners-up were Derek Becker in the 400, A.J. Ambundo in the high jump and Blake Becker in the discus.

     Third place finishers were Derek Becker in the 200, Downs in the 800, Ethan Doyl in the 1,600 and Norman Wilson in the shot put, 45-11.5,

     Earlier, Maquoketa Valley competed in the Marion Invitational April 29, taking fourth place out of 12 teams with 74 points.

     Neuzil won the 110 hurdles in 15.45. LeGassick was the 400 hurdle champion in a time of 56.11. Maquoketa Valley also won the shuttle hurdle relay in 1:01.92 with the team of Derek Becker, LeGassick, Hunt and Neuzil.

     The 4x100 throwers’ relay also went to MV, with the team of Wilson, Alex Digman, Devin Smith and Blake Becker in 50.01.

     Taking second place were Hunter in the 100 and Derek Becker in the 400.

     Finishing third was the 4x100 team of Hunter, Hoefer, Zach Digman and Neuzil.

Girls track

     Maquoketa Valley narrowly finished second in the Tri-Rivers Conference Girls Track and Field Meet, scoring 95 points to fall three points short of champion North Linn.

     The meet was held May 2 at Edgewood-Coleburg.

     “We had our opportunities to win that meet,” Maquoketa Valley coach Creig Dunlap said. “We went into that meet thinking we were going to win. Each kid poured themselves into their events, and we competed at a high level.

     “We were disappointed, especially knowing we were so close, but I was very proud of how everyone got after their own events.”

     The Wildcats had one conference champion, the 4x400 relay team of Payton Beaman, Kylie Chesnut, Amaya Hunt and Sam Wall in 4 minutes, 15.08 seconds;

     Finishing second were Wall in the 100 and the 200, Amaya Hunt in the 400 and Lydia Helle in the shot put.

     In third were Helle in the discus and the shuttle hurdle relay team.

     “Our freshmen have been tremendous for us all season,” Dunlap said. “Carissa Sabers dropped a minute and a half in the 3,000 to place eighth, and Mackenzie Hoefer placed ninth in the same event. Kylie Chesnut ran an 800, a 400, and in the 4x400. Amaya Hunt ran three 400s for us. Our shuttle hurdle team has two freshmen, Leah Ries and Caelyn Sands, who helped their relay get third place.

     “But our freshmen do not perform as well as they do if we don’t have outstanding upperclassmen. Our sophomores through our seniors are talented athletes and fantastic leaders. Sam Wall, Hannah Lahr and Maddy Anderegg have been awesome this year being the leaders.”

Golf

     Maquoketa Valley’s boys competed in the Tri-Rivers Conference West Division Tournament April 29 at Meadowview in Central City. The Wildcats were seventh overall with a score of 427. Edgewood-Colesburg won the division championship with a score of 357.

     Isaac Zirtzman shot an 85 to finish third individually. Ethan Streicher of Ed-Co was the individual medalist with a 72, and Trey Johnson of East Buchanan was second with an 84.

     Other MV scores included Austin Snyder with a 103, Morgan Hermanson 119, Tony Offerman 120, Dylan Lane 132 and Jackson Hunter 147.

     “Overall we as coaches were happy to see how the guys responded after a couple of them had slower starts than anticipated,” Maquoketa Valley coach Tim Andrews said. “Hats off to Isaac on placing third individually in a very competitive conference. It's fun to see individuals achieve success when they put in the work to get to where they are.”

     On May 2, the Wildcat girls completed an undefeated regular season by defeating Anamosa 178 to 184 at Hart Ridge. Erika Supple led MV with a 42, Kelly Winter shot a 44, Faith Hunt carted a 45, and Chloe Roling had a 47.

     “That kind of balance will serve the team well, as we head into the postseason,” Andrews said.

     The MV boys also played Anamosa, finishing with a 190 to 190 tie, but losing because of the fifth score tie-breaker rule.

     Zirtzman and Offerman both shot 42, Hermanson had a 52 and Austin Snyder had a 54.