Van Buren County and English Valleys tied for first place in the team standings at the Pekin Ruritan Relays on Monday, March 30th, each finishing with 110 points in a windy and warm boys-only meet. Pekin finished third with 101, Sigourney fourth with 86, BGM fifth with 77, Cardinal sixth with 61, and Moravia seventh with 48.
Van Buren County Results
Van Buren County claimed six first-place finishes on the evening, led by standout performances from Kayden Simmons and Lincoln Bainbridge.
Kayden Simmons won the 110-meter hurdles in 15.99 and the high jump, clearing 6-00. Lincoln Bainbridge won the 800-meter run in a strong time of 1:58.62. The Warriors swept three relay events — Kayden Simmons, Jackson Meek, Gavin Noll, and Bainbridge won the 4×400 relay in 3:30.62; Jace Duncan, Kayden Simmons, Jeran Troxel, and Bainbridge won the sprint medley relay in 1:38.52; and Jayce Simmons, Parker Boley, Jaydan Pilcher, and Marion Yoder took first in the shuttle hurdle relay in 1:14.84.
Aiden Cooper placed seventh in the 200-meter dash in 26.03 and Kaimrin Ellingson 12th in 28.29. Kavin Carter placed 12th in the 100-meter dash in 13.94 and Ellingson 14th in 14.17. Jeran Troxel placed third in the 400-meter dash in 55.14.
Gavin Noll placed fourth in the 800-meter run in 2:18.32. Landry Loeffler placed third in the 1,600-meter run in 4:55.17 and second in the 3,200-meter run in 11:04.68. Kayden Farris placed seventh in the 1,600 in 5:42.15 and Sawyer Spiker fifth in the 3,200 in 13:15.60.
Camden Wells placed fourth in the 110-meter hurdles in 19.66. Jace Duncan placed second in the 400-meter hurdles in 57.75 and Jeran Troxel fifth in 1:02.93.
The 4×100 team of Aiden Cooper, Kavin Carter, Camden Wells, and Thomas Roberts placed sixth in 49.53. The 4×200 team of Kavin Carter, Jackson Meek, Joni Yoder, and Thomas Roberts placed sixth in 1:46.25. The 4×800 team of Jackson Meek, Thomas Roberts, Kayden Farris, and Carver Goehring placed fifth in 10:01.14. The distance medley team of Jace Duncan, Camden Wells, Aiden Cooper, and Gavin Noll placed third in 4:04.53.
Jace Duncan placed eighth in the long jump at 17-00 and Joni Yoder 11th at 16-01. Ryder Simmons placed 11th in the shot put at 34-05 and Kaden Miller 14th at 31-05.75. Ryder Simmons placed 10th in the discus at 98-00 and Jackson Meek 15th at 82-00.
Van Buren County boys head coach Mike Bainbridge was proud of how his team handled the conditions.
“It was a very windy night, but it wouldn’t be a Pekin meet without the wind,” Bainbridge said. “I’m really proud of how the team performed tonight. The wind at Pekin can get in your head if you let it, but the boys were focused and performed well. Kayden Simmons and Lincoln Bainbridge continued their outstanding seasons, combining to account for five of the team’s six first place finishes. Overall, it was a great team effort on a tough night to run. It was great to see some JV wins as well with Sawyer Spiker picking up a win in the mile and Carver Goehring winning the long jump.”
Pekin Results
Pekin finished third in the team standings with 101 points and came away with five first-place finishes.
Nolan Glick won the 100-meter dash in 12.24 and Jaxon Mefford won the 400-meter hurdles in 56.99. The 4×200-meter relay team of Aliyas Brock, Alijah Brock, Riley Smith, and Nolan Glick won in 1:32.11. The 4×800-meter relay team of Cole Millikin, Mason Dahlstrom, Lane Fariss, and Brody Sobaski took the victory in 9:11.91. The distance medley team of Aliyas Brock, Alijah Brock, Mason Dahlstrom, and Lane Fariss crossed the finish line with a mark of 4:01.75.
Henry Eubanks placed 10th in the 100-meter dash in 13.63 and Henry Adam 11th in 13.79. Eubanks placed 10th in the 200-meter dash in 26.94. Cael Silvers placed fourth in the 400-meter dash in 57.11, Brody Sobaski 10th in 1:01.56, and Cody Silvers 13th in 1:05.17.
Cole Millikin placed 12th in the 800-meter run in 2:33.90 and Cael Silvers 13th in 2:38.14. Millikin placed second in the 1,600-meter run in 4:52.82, with Will Daniels ninth in 5:57.52 and Garrett Greiner 12th in 6:11.98. Garrett Greiner placed eighth in the 3,200-meter run in 13:51.36.
Keegan Dickey placed fifth in the 110-meter hurdles in 20.14 and Jaxon Mefford sixth in 21.51. The 4×110-meter shuttle hurdle relay team of Jaxon Mefford, Ethan Porter, and Ryann Hammes placed third in 1:23.02.
The 4×100 team of Henry Adam, Henry Eubanks, Aliyas Brock, and Alijah Brock placed fifth in 47.33. The 4×400 team of Nolan Glick, Mason Dahlstrom, Riley Smith, and Lane Fariss placed second in 3:34.47. The 800-meter sprint medley team of Aliyas Brock, Alijah Brock, Riley Smith, and Nolan Glick placed second in 1:41.46.
Brody Sobaski placed second in the high jump clearing 5-10, Jaxon Mefford ninth at 5-02, and Colton Harvey ninth at 5-02. Henry Adam placed fifth in the long jump at 17-06.50, Keegan Dickey seventh at 17-04.50, and Ethan Porter 14th at 14-04.50. Brantyn Sieren placed fifth in the shot put at 40-04.50 and Cal Miller eighth at 36-03. Jonathan Delaney placed 11th in the discus at 96-01 and Cowen Weaver 13th at 90-05.
Pekin boys head coach Davis Eidahl reflected on the meet’s format and his team’s performance.
“It was a small seven team meet with varsity and junior varsity,” Eidahl said. “This was one of the few meets where everyone gets to compete. We let different runners run in different relays, which that makes it fun. We came away with five first-place finishes, four second-place finishes, and eight third-place finishes. We also got 14 personal records for the team.”
Sigourney Results
Sigourney finished fourth in the team standings with 86 points and had several strong individual performances throughout the meet.
Troy Klett led the way for the Savages with two event victories, winning the 1,600-meter run in 4:51.29 and the 3,200-meter run in 10:52.62. Aiden Knepper also claimed a win, taking the long jump at 20-00.75.
Lance Walden placed sixth in the 100-meter dash in 12.72 and Carson O’Rourke eighth in 12.90. Aiden Knepper placed fourth in the 200-meter dash in 25.16 and Wyatt Wehr seventh in 26.11. Gauge Little placed fifth in the 400-meter dash in 57.79 and Brayden Wood sixth in 59.13.
Troy Klett placed second in the 800-meter run in 2:03.54, Levi Myers seventh in 2:23.22, and Jordan Anderson 11th in 2:33.66. Cole Klett placed third in the 3,200 in 12:08.05 and sixth in the 1,600 in 5:34.93.
The 4×100 team of Carson O’Rourke, Lance Walden, Carson Davis, and Aiden Knepper placed fourth in 47.23. The 4×200 team of Carson O’Rourke, Lance Walden, Carson Davis, and Aiden Knepper also placed fourth in 1:39.35. The 4×400 team of Wyatt Wehr, Gauge Little, Brayden Wood, and Troy Klett placed fifth in 3:50.06. The 4×800 team of Levi Myers, Isaac Jones, Jordan Anderson, and Gauge Little placed fourth in 9:56.69. The 800-meter sprint medley team of Carson O’Rourke, Lance Walden, Wyatt Wehr, and Brayden Wood placed fifth in 1:47.30. The distance medley team of Graham Moore, Levi Jaeger, Hunter Sellers, and Isaac Jones placed seventh in 4:41.36.
Carson Davis took bronze in the high jump clearing 5-10 and Hunter Sellers fifth at 5-06. Graham Moore placed third in the shot put at 40-11, Levi Jaeger ninth at 35-06.50, and Aidyn Parker 17th at 29-02. Hunter Sellers placed sixth in the discus at 107-04, Levi Jaeger seventh at 105-04, and Aidyn Parker 17th at 75-05.
Sigourney boys head coach Jared Jensen was pleased with how they started.
“I thought we competed really well,” Jensen said. “Comparing times from the start of last season to now we are ahead of the game. These early meets we don’t get caught up in anything but get a time down and compete against that time every time you step out there.”
Other Varsity Results
Blake Lamansky of Cardinal had a dominant day in the throwing events, sweeping both the shot put with a throw of 42-03.50 and the discus at 129-10. Braydon Anderson of English Valleys was equally impressive in the sprints, winning the 200-meter dash in 23.01 and the 400-meter dash in 50.00. BGM claimed the 4×100-meter relay with a winning time of 44.96.
Junior Varsity Results
Pekin won the junior varsity team title with 104 points, followed by BGM with 91, Van Buren County with 66, Moravia with 35, Sigourney with 34, Cardinal with 26, and English Valleys with 23.
Among the three featured schools, Asaa McCabe of Pekin won the 100-meter dash in 13.20, Cole Klett of Sigourney took the 800-meter run in 2:27.47, and Sawyer Spiker of Van Buren County claimed the 1,600-meter run in 6:02.58. Ethan Porter of Pekin won the 110-meter hurdles in 23.69 and Ryann Hammes of Pekin took the 400-meter hurdles in 1:06.62. Pekin swept the 4×100-meter relay in 50.72, the 4×800-meter relay in 10:11.85, and the distance medley in 4:41.44. Carver Goehring of Van Buren County won the long jump at 15-03, and Cowen Weaver of Pekin took the shot put at 34-00.50.
Photos by A.J. Roe.
