DARLINGTON - Coming on the heels of prom and a more than 7-hour, 30-minute track meet in Deerfield last week, Darlington sophomore Tyson Miehe was motivated to get back on the track in the Redbird Invitational on Monday.
"I went to the prom and that is kind of draining," Miehe said. "Today was a day to get back in the flow of things after a long week and get woke up."
Miehe won the 1,600-meter run with a time of 4 minutes, 32.6 seconds, which was about six seconds ahead of Pecatonica-Argyle senior Wyatt Massey who took second (4:38.32) and Albany's Jose Ramirez who was third (4:42.30).
"It's important to keep consistent," Miehe said. "When you are in a situation to run good times you have to take advantage of it. I haven't been pushed much in my last couple of races. If I can still run a 4:30 or in the 4:20s that will be good. I'm excited for June. I can't wait to see what happens."
Lancaster outdistanced Darlington 136-99 for the Redbird Invitational title. Black Hawk finished fifth (76), Pecatonica-Argyle was sixth (61), Albany took seventh (33.5) and Monroe's freshmen and sophomore crew took eighth (33) at the 12-team meet on Monday.
Monroe sophomore Grant Keith finished second place in the pole vault after clearing 11 feet, 6 inches.
"That's my PR," Keith said. "I'm happy with that. I'm just getting ready for conference next week. Hopefully, I can do something there."
Keith said the most challenging aspect of the pole vault is being able to adjust to new poles with a different bend while racing on the runway.
The Black hawk sprinters turned in some top performances. Black Hawk senior Jace Johnsrud won the 100 (:11.34) and sophomore Jayden Rufenacht was second (:11.56). Black Hawk senior DeeJay Warrell took third in the 200 (:24.28).
The Warriors' 400 relay team of Johnsrud, Hayden Schliem, Warrell and Rufenacht finished second with a time of 44.9 seconds, which was their fastest time of the season and about three seconds ahead of Monroe. Monroe's 400 relay team of Cody Wolf, Noah Thompson, Blake Bast and Riley Buol took third (:47.90). Rufenacht and Warrell teamed with Kyle Woodruff and Shawn Woodruff to take second in the 800 relay with a time of 1:38.79, which was 0.9 seconds ahead of Darlington.
Schliem also won the long jump (19-11) and Johnsrud was third (18-11).
The Redbirds swept the top three spots in the 3,200. Darlington senior Kent Miehe won the 3,200 with a time of 10:11.44. Teammate Brady McDaniel took second (10:41.68) and Robert Martin was third (11:17.42). Darlington's Kyle Johnson took first in the 300 hurdles (:45.05). The Redbirds' 1,600 relay team of Destin Komprood, Michael Sinclair, Quinn Cullen and Dane Siegenthaler took second (3:43.91).
Darlington coach Todd Bastian doesn't plan on running any of his long distance runners in the same race in each meet. He likes to mix it up.
"If you run them in the same race every meet, it's always been our philosophy that you will burn their mind out," Bastian said. "You want to keep them fresh and wanting to race. If you put them in too many races, they will forget how important they are."
"If he can keep improving, he might have a shot," Bastian said of state for Johnson.
Pecatonica-Argyle's Kyle Zwicker finished first in the 400 (:54.81) and Massey was second in the 800 (2:06.50). Pecatonica-Argyle's Nick Huffman finished second in the discus (132-9). The Vikings' 3,200 relay team of Nathan Loyd, Marcus Rubio, Matus Brziak and Cameron Colson finished first with a time of 8:52.24, which was about three seconds ahead of Lancaster and five seconds ahead of third-place Darlington.
Albany coach Tony Brewer is looking forward to the conference meet. He's using the last couple of meets before the postseason as a dress rehearsal.
"Right now we are in the phase of competing," Brewer said. "We just want to get better. We are still focusing on trying to find the holes where we can score more points at conference."
The Redbirds were without Storm Wiegel (tight hamstring) and Cedric Flesher (calf injury).
"If we can get them back, we will be a little better," Bastian said. "Hopefully, they will come back and we will be all right."
"I went to the prom and that is kind of draining," Miehe said. "Today was a day to get back in the flow of things after a long week and get woke up."
Miehe won the 1,600-meter run with a time of 4 minutes, 32.6 seconds, which was about six seconds ahead of Pecatonica-Argyle senior Wyatt Massey who took second (4:38.32) and Albany's Jose Ramirez who was third (4:42.30).
"It's important to keep consistent," Miehe said. "When you are in a situation to run good times you have to take advantage of it. I haven't been pushed much in my last couple of races. If I can still run a 4:30 or in the 4:20s that will be good. I'm excited for June. I can't wait to see what happens."
Lancaster outdistanced Darlington 136-99 for the Redbird Invitational title. Black Hawk finished fifth (76), Pecatonica-Argyle was sixth (61), Albany took seventh (33.5) and Monroe's freshmen and sophomore crew took eighth (33) at the 12-team meet on Monday.
Monroe sophomore Grant Keith finished second place in the pole vault after clearing 11 feet, 6 inches.
"That's my PR," Keith said. "I'm happy with that. I'm just getting ready for conference next week. Hopefully, I can do something there."
Keith said the most challenging aspect of the pole vault is being able to adjust to new poles with a different bend while racing on the runway.
The Black hawk sprinters turned in some top performances. Black Hawk senior Jace Johnsrud won the 100 (:11.34) and sophomore Jayden Rufenacht was second (:11.56). Black Hawk senior DeeJay Warrell took third in the 200 (:24.28).
The Warriors' 400 relay team of Johnsrud, Hayden Schliem, Warrell and Rufenacht finished second with a time of 44.9 seconds, which was their fastest time of the season and about three seconds ahead of Monroe. Monroe's 400 relay team of Cody Wolf, Noah Thompson, Blake Bast and Riley Buol took third (:47.90). Rufenacht and Warrell teamed with Kyle Woodruff and Shawn Woodruff to take second in the 800 relay with a time of 1:38.79, which was 0.9 seconds ahead of Darlington.
Schliem also won the long jump (19-11) and Johnsrud was third (18-11).
The Redbirds swept the top three spots in the 3,200. Darlington senior Kent Miehe won the 3,200 with a time of 10:11.44. Teammate Brady McDaniel took second (10:41.68) and Robert Martin was third (11:17.42). Darlington's Kyle Johnson took first in the 300 hurdles (:45.05). The Redbirds' 1,600 relay team of Destin Komprood, Michael Sinclair, Quinn Cullen and Dane Siegenthaler took second (3:43.91).
Darlington coach Todd Bastian doesn't plan on running any of his long distance runners in the same race in each meet. He likes to mix it up.
"If you run them in the same race every meet, it's always been our philosophy that you will burn their mind out," Bastian said. "You want to keep them fresh and wanting to race. If you put them in too many races, they will forget how important they are."
"If he can keep improving, he might have a shot," Bastian said of state for Johnson.
Pecatonica-Argyle's Kyle Zwicker finished first in the 400 (:54.81) and Massey was second in the 800 (2:06.50). Pecatonica-Argyle's Nick Huffman finished second in the discus (132-9). The Vikings' 3,200 relay team of Nathan Loyd, Marcus Rubio, Matus Brziak and Cameron Colson finished first with a time of 8:52.24, which was about three seconds ahead of Lancaster and five seconds ahead of third-place Darlington.
Albany coach Tony Brewer is looking forward to the conference meet. He's using the last couple of meets before the postseason as a dress rehearsal.
"Right now we are in the phase of competing," Brewer said. "We just want to get better. We are still focusing on trying to find the holes where we can score more points at conference."
The Redbirds were without Storm Wiegel (tight hamstring) and Cedric Flesher (calf injury).
"If we can get them back, we will be a little better," Bastian said. "Hopefully, they will come back and we will be all right."
