April 25, 2013
Sports
15
Boys’ events on to Drake Girls’ 4x100 qualifies The Iowa weather this track season has caused many cancellations for meets, including the one on last Tuesday, April 9, at the Linn-Mar Lion Relays. Although the weather has put a strain on the track members’ schedules, it has not stopped the Xavier boys’ track members from improving in their events. The Xavier boys’ track team competed in the Draxton-Stiers Classic at Kingston Stadium on Friday, April 13, and placed fifth overall with 64 points. Senior Craig Murtha has been a constant first place winner in the discus event. He captured a first place finish in the discus and a second place finish in the shot put. Senior Nick Steingreaber won the 100 meter dash, finishing with a time of 11.15 seconds and followed with a third place finish in the 200 meter dash with 23.18 seconds. Sophomore Noah Clasen climbed up from second place in the 400 meter hurdles at the Wilkinson Relays on Friday, April 5, to placing first at the Draxton-Stiers Classic. He was 1.31 seconds faster than the second place opponent. “We all have our own goals and we all need to do what we need to in order to reach those goals,” Murtha said. The boys’ track team then moved on to race in the Cedar Rapids
Prairie Invite on Tuesday, April 16. The team finished sixth overall with a total of 55 points. Murtha won the discus and came in third place for the shot put event. Steingreaber won the 100 meter dash with a near record time of 10.73 seconds. Senior Brandon Gradoville placed third in the 400 meter dash, clocking in a time of 51.86 seconds. Clasen came in third for the 400 meter hurdles. The Bettendorf Invite which was scheduled for Friday, April 19th was postponed due to weather. The next meet the boys’ track team participated in was the South Tama Invite on Tuesday, April 23. The boys’ team also qualified in several events for the Drake Relays which will be held at Drake University in Des Moines April 25-27. Participants include Steingreaber in the 100M dash, Murtha in the discus, and the men’s 4x100 relay which includes junior Miles Sullivan, freshman Nick Stark, senior Trey Sampson, and Steingreaber.
With the Drake Relays occuring this weekend, the girls’ track team has had many opportunities to qualify to compete. Senior Audrey Richards, junior Allison Schwach, and junior Molly Breitbach will make another appearance at the Relays along with newcomer freshman Sydney Oakley to compete in the 4x100. In addition to these returning runners from last season, the team is working hard towards qualifying for State. Sophomore Carlie Jurgens qualified for last year’s meet and participated in four events, including the 4x400 relay and 4x800 relay. Her first place finish in the 400 meter dash on Saturday, April 4, at the Wilkinson Relays at Kingston Stadium helped
Shannon Mulcahey Sports Writer Junior Molly Breitbach runs the last leg of the 4x100, qualifying for the Drake Relays. Megan Lynch Photo.
the girls’ team finish seventh with 35 points overall. Sophomore Taylor Skala placed second in the 400 meter dash with a time of 1:05.98. Members of the 4x100 relay finished second overall with a time of 51.90 seconds. At the following track meet on Thursday, April 18, the girls’ team finished with 80 points overall, increasing 35 points from the previous meet. “Even though our team is a small team and it is difficult to gain as many points as our opposing teams, we try our hardest to do our personal bests,” Jurgens said. The Bettendorf Invite brought in many wins and improvements for the girls’ team. Jurgens finished first overall in the 400 meter dash. Junior Jenna Fenske won the 200 meter dash with a time of 30.59 seconds. Senior Allison Pitz came in third place in the 1500 meter race. Breitbach had a time of 14.08 seconds in the 100 meter dash, allowing her to place third. Sophomore Christine Jengwa participated in the 100 meter hurdles. Her time of 18.74 seconds earned her third place. The girls’ team participated in the Mustang Relays on Tuesday, April 23.
Shannon Mulcahey Sports Writer