Area teams take top spots at Wilber meet

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Milford’s girls were first and boys were second while the Centennial girls were second at the Wilber-Clatonia Invitational March 29.

“The girls won. They’ve had a doggone good start for the season,” MHS Coach Marty Hingst said.

The athletes had to compete against a strong wind from the south, which made the finish difficult.

“Any event that required running into the wind was really tough at the meet,” CHS Coach Rob Johansen said.

Camille Stauffer led the Eagle throwers with a first-place toss of 118-0 in the discus. She also finished second in the shot put.

“She had a big smile on her face,” Hingst said.

MHS high jumpers went 1-2 in the event. Sarah Spahr won at 5-2 and Marissa Walker was second. Hingst said Spahr had to come back to clear 5-2 after she ran one of her races.

Freshman Izzy Yeackley had a good day in the 100-meter hurdles, finishing second in 18.5 seconds.

Senior Sydney Stelling sprinted to first in the 100-meter dash with a time of 13.81 seconds and looked good, Hingst said. She also earned third in the 200-meter dash, followed by Spahr in fourth.

Lilly Kenning swept the distance races, winning the 1,600-meter run in 5:49.45 and the 3,200-meter run in 12:47.31.

“I liked her grit and the way she competed,” Hingst said.

Caitlyn Adams picked up a couple golds on the day, winning the 400-meter dash in 1:05.86 and the 800-meter run in 2:43.58.

“It was pretty fun,” Hingst said.

Centennial’s girls finished 44 points behind the Eagles but won all three relays.

“That doesn’t happen very often,” Johansen said.

The 4x100-meter team of Cambria Saunders, Karley Naber, Samara Ruether and Savannah Horne won in 55.14 seconds. The 4x400-meter team of Gracen Fehlhafer, Naber, Molly Prochaska and Cora Payne finished in 4:35.05, and the 4x800-meter team of Payne, Lillian Butzke, Ella Wambold and Prochaska crossed the line in 11:06.75.

The relay medal was one of four on the day for Saunders, who was third in the triple jump and 100-meter hurdles and fourth in the 300-meter hurdles.

“She had an outstanding meet and made some big improvements,” Johansen said.

Savannah Horne was the team’s other gold medalist, winning the 200-meter dash in 30.44 seconds.

Earning second places for the Broncos were Ruether in the pole vault, Wambold in the 1,600-meter run and Madison Brandenburgh in the 3,200-meter run.

The Milford boys’ team finished behind Wilber-Clatonia, which dominated its home competition. WCHS scored 163 to Milford’s 90.

Kaleb Eickhoff earned a gold medal in the 3,200-meter run, finishing in 11:14.03, 11 seconds ahead of second place. He also placed third in the 1,600-meter run.

“He’s a wild card,” Hingst said, adding that Eickhoff has not competed in track before because of covid.

Carter Roth was a double gold winner, holding off Jon Zoubek of Wilber-Clatonia to win the 800-meter run in 2:15.56 and the 1,600-meter run in 4:58.2, outsprinting Tri County’s Carter Siems to the line.

Carter Springer picked up a silver in the 400-meter dash and ran a faster time in the open race than he did on the relay, Hingst said.

The 4x100-meter relay team of Tyce Lopez, Dane Kolb, Springer and Ayden Shook finished second.

Shook ran his fastest 100-meter dash and finished second in 11.5 seconds. He was also second in the high jump.

“I thought we competed hard despite the wind and elements,” Hingst said. “The kids got out and competed.”

Centennial senior Carson Fehlhafer won the discus with a throw of 161-8, a season best, and was second in the shot put. Jake Bargen finished second in the 300-meter hurdles in 44.76.

Bargen was also third in the high jump.

Both teams are scheduled to compete at Malcolm Wednesday, April 6. Field events start at 10 a.m., with running events beginning at 12:30 p.m. The meet will use fully automatic timing, so there will be no preliminary heats.