Warrior boys track and field putting together a solid season despite weather, injuries
By Willis Patenaude, Times-Register
It’s been a rainy start to the boys track and field season, with cancellations and postponements wreaking havoc on the schedule. Injuries have also prevented the lineup from achieving full strength, but even in the face of all that adversity, Central coach Colten Ledbeter believes “the team has continued to improve at each opportunity so far.”
The Warriors demonstrated some of this improvement at the Oelwein Huskies Invitational, where they scored 18 points and finished eighth out of 12 teams. Sean Wilwert led the scoring with 9.25 points and Evan Schroeder scored 5.25.
The meet was highlighted by two events, the 1600-meter distance medley relay, where the Warriors finished fourth, and the 200 meter dash, where Wilwert crossed second with a time of 24.20 seconds and Schroeder just missed a medal in fourth place. Both finished less than a second off the winning time of 24.04 seconds.
Other sprinters included Dan McGreal, who was 24th in the 100, and Sam Fettkether, who crossed 26th. Kale Doeppke finished the race 34th.
The Warriors had three runners in the 400, with Jack Scherf leading the way in 15th, followed by Vaughn Zittergruen in 24th and Carter Krugger 26th.
Scherf returned in the 800 meter run, finishing in 20th, while Maddux Eglseder was 23rd and Zittergruen placed 33rd. Eglseder also competed in the 3200, finishing sixth with a time of 11:31.52 and earning one point.
The Warriors added another top-10 finish in the 400-meter hurdles, as William Moser took eighth. Brayden Finley ran to 15th and Krugger was 24th.
The team also had some success in the relays, starting with the 4x100, where they achieved eighth with runners Wilwert, Corey Weber, Moser and Schroeder. The Warriors finished 12th in the 4x200 and 14th in the 4x400, but in the 800-sprint medley, the group of Wilwert, Weber, Schroeder and Moser cruised to sixth and earned one point.
In the other highlighted event, the 1600 distance medley relay, the Warriors were fourth with runners Wilwert, Schroeder, Moser and Gavin Holst.
In the field events, the discus had McGreal finish 27th, Fettkether 29th and Doeppke 30th. Fettkether also took part in the shot put, with a team high finish of 27th. Krugger placed 29th in the long jump.
The Warriors return to the track April 25, at Maquoketa Valley, followed by a meet on April 28 at Clayton Ridge.