Mascoutah wins final MVC T&F title, Triad takes third
By Ray Popkess
Triad High School hosted the final iteration of the Mississippi Valley Conference Track and Field Championships last week on Wednesday, May 13 and athletes from all six schools arrived with intentions to etch their name in conference record books forever.
The day began with the throwers, where the Knights had three medalists in the two separate events. Bryce Van Tieghem took bronze in the shot put with a throw of 14.21m (46’ 7.5”). Gavin Dobbs took silver in the discus with a throw of 38.60m (126’ 7.75”). Drayke Williams-Reynolds took bronze in the discus with a throw of 37.73m (123’ 9.5”).
Jayden Rodgers had himself a busy day starting with placing fifth overall in the high jump. He cleared the bar at 1.70m (5’ 7”) and set a new personal best. He also competed in the long jump and took bronze with a leap of 6.15m (20’ 2”). Henry Parker finished just behind Rodgers in the long jump in fourth with a leap of 6.01m (19’ 8.5”).
Collin Baka set a new personal best and took silver in the triple jump. His last jump of the day landed him in second with a leap of 12.77m (41’ 10.75”).
Zane Meier leaped far and above the rest of the field in the pole vault. He cleared the bar at 4.18m (13’ 8.5”), earning himself gold.
In the 100m dash, Mascoutah’s Carson Norman set a new conference record with a time of 10.66s, earning first overall. Brock O’Toole was the fastest Knight in the event, finishing third with a time of 10.92s. Brody Mriscin helped the Knights earn some crucial points by finishing fifth overall with a time of 10.94s.
Norman set another personal best in the 200m with a time of 22.24s and finished first in the event. Triad’s Jacob Odle took third overall with a time of 22.45s, also setting a new personal best.
Silas Thomason set his best pace of the season in the 400m, finishing third overall with a time of 51.10s. Cody Bagwell took fifth in the same event with a time of 52.65s.
Samuel Skirball set a new personal best in the 800m, rounding out the top five with a time of 2:02.40s.
Civic Memorial’s Max Weber set all-time records in both the 1600m and the 3200m. The Illinois State commit ran a 4:23.62 in the mile and a 9.29.64 in the two-mile, times that will forever sit atop the conference record books.
Triad’s Caden Meier took seventh in the 1600m with a time of 4:53.89s. He also placed fifth in the 3200m with a time of 10:09.48s.
Camden Geiler and Jayden Rodgers competed in both the 110m and 300m hurdles for the Knights. Geiler finished fifth in the 110m hurdles with a time of 17.05s and fourth in the 300m hurdles with a time of 42.39s. Rodgers took sixth in the 110m hurdles with a personal best time of 17.18s and finished seventh in the 300m hurdles with another personal best time of 44.77s.
Triad’s 4x100m relay team of Mriscin, O’Toole, Jayden Howell and Thomason finished second with a time of 42.34s, a time the group has run consistently throughout the season.
Triad’s 4x200m relay team set a new conference record with a time of 1:28.06s. The team of Mriscin, Odle, O’Toole and Howell were the only gold medal winners for the Knights on the track.
The Knights now look ahead to hosting their Sectional meet on Wednesday, May 20 as they try to punch their tickets to the state championship at Eastern Illinois University.
