Indians qualify five events for state

The usual suspects stepped up for the Spirit Lake Park boys' track and field team, which qualified four long distance events and one field event for state during the Class 3A district meet Friday, May 15 in Orange City.

Senior Tyler Gustafson and junior Brandon Griffin, who were each a part of last season's state championship 4x800-meter relay quartet, had the most impressive performances for the Indians. Gustafson and Griffin teamed up with Jesse and Alec Baldwin for a runner-up finish in a down to the wire two-mile relay race. Sioux City Bishop Heelan edged SLP by slightly over two seconds in the race with a speedy time of 8:01.32.

The Indians turned in the second-quickest time in school history in 8:03.66, finishing behind only last season's state championship 4x800 team. Gustafson, Griffin and Alec Baldwin each clocked splits of two minutes or less. Jesse Baldwin was timed at 2:03.

"All year we've been running those four guys. We just missed the Drake Relays, which was quite a letdown for as hard as they have worked, but we really didn't have too many good conditions to run in. Then we got to the harder part of our meets, so we had to move one or two of them around to another race. But it was nice to have them back running together again," said Spirit Lake Park head coach Brad Travis. "We ran an 8:16 at the beginning of the year, then we ran an 8:12 at conferences and then we ran a 8:03, so to better their relay time from the beginning of the year to the end by 14 seconds is a big feat. They have come in and ran four or five miles a day before or after school in practice, and it's nice to see them running at their peak performance right now."

Griffin and Gustafson qualified for the state meet in the open-800 as well. Griffin, who had the fifth fastest half-mile time in the state entering the meet, ran away with the race with a strong kick. He was timed in 2:01.65. Gustafson placed third behind Heelan's Matt Lord with a clocking of 2:03.14.

"In the half mile, it was a fitting end for those guys to run two hard races," said Travis. "We were somewhat nervous because we didn't know what some of the other schools would do. To qualify two guys in an open event is a tough thing to do. They ran smart and showed their experience in running that event. They're both part of that 4x8 team. But it nice to see them qualify in another event, and it speaks to the quality that we do have on that 4x8 team."

Freshman Keith Byers ended up one out of two in his quest for state. Byers fell short of a state bid in the 3,200 after placing fourth in 10:05.64. The top three runners each turned times of 10:00.31 or faster. Byers redeemed himself with a runner-up finish in the mile. He was a second behind district champion Sean Guthmiller of MOC-Floyd Valley in 4:45.75. Heelan's Nate McKewon was hot on his heels coming down the homestretch, finishing in 4:46.34.

"They were just great races. It was one of the toughest districts I've ever seen in distance events," Travis said. "Keith Byers just missed in the two mile. His time would have beaten 10 other guys that qualified for state. When it came to the mile, he gutted one out and ran a really strong race against some good competition. He came out with a second that was well needed and well deserved."

Sophomore Dalton Kelley was the final state qualifier for the Indians. Kelley unloaded a third-place throw of 136-feet, 11 inches in the discus. District champion Justin Baker of Heelan uncorked the second-best throw in 3A with a toss of 168-7.

"Dalton's had a great year all year and started to gain some confidence as the year went along," Travis said. "For a sophomore to qualify in the throwing events is something you don't see a lot. It's usually reserved for the bigger senior type guys. He's going to go down there and see what the state meets is all about. Hopefully he can go down there and throw a PR. He's worked hard all year and is learning where that hard work can get him."

SLP finished fourth in two races and came in fifth overall in five events -- falling short of a state berth in those events by the slimmest of margins.

The Indians finished sixth in the team race with 90 points. Heelan won the district title with 127 points. Sergeant Bluff-Luton was second with 112, followed by Storm Lake in third with 102. MOC-Floyd Valley ended up fourth with 98 and Le Mars completed the top five with 91 points.

Travis likes his how his team has been performing in the meets leading up to state and thinks they can do some damage when they get to Des Moines if they can stay focused and have fun.

"We just have to remind them to have fun and compete at their best," he said. "They're going to have to believe in themselves. What happens (at state) happens. They're excited about it and I think they'll run some good races. This is where all that training that they've done throughout the year comes into place. It's just another run, but it has a little more importance about it."

The 2009 Iowa State Co-Ed Track & Field Championships gets started tomorrow morning at 9 a.m. in Class 1A and 4A. The 2A and 3A squads spring into action at 2:40 p.m.

Class 3A District Meet (CENTERED AND BOLD)

Team scores -- 1. Sioux City Bishop Heelan 127; 2. Sergeant Bluff-Luton 112; 3. Storm Lake 102; 4. MOC-Floyd Valley 98; 5. Le Mars 91; 6. Spirit Lake Park 90; 7. Spencer 46; 8. Estherville Lincoln Central 29.

Shot put -- 13. Doug Johnson 38-5 1/4; 14. Adam Dreeszen 31-4.

Discus throw -- 3. Dalton Kelley 136-11; 12. Adam Dreeszen 92-2.

High jump -- 5. Jordan Brown 5-6.

Long jump -- 8. T.J. Johnson 18-10 1/4; 9. Aric Waltz 18-2 3/4.

100 dash -- 9. Jordan Brown 11.82.

200 dash -- 14. Jordan Brown 25.28; 15. Andrew Brooks 25.52.

400 dash -- 11. T.J. Johnson 56.96; 12. Drew Dau 57.24.

800 run -- 1. Brandon Griffin 2:01.65; 3. Tyler Gustafson 2:03.14.

1,600 run -- 2. Keith Byers 4:45.75; 5. Alec Baldwin 4:55.51.

3,200 run -- 4. Keith Byers 10:05.64; 6. Adam Simpson 10:57.80.

110 high hurdles -- 5. Kyle Heidebrink 16.72; 7. D.J. Smith 17.22.

400 low hurdles -- 6. T.J. Johnson 1:02.37; 13. Jon Messer 1:05.45.

4x100 relay -- 5. Spirit Lake Park (Ryan Jennings, Aric Waltz, Luke Kabele, Mychal Sheridan) 45.87.

4x200 relay -- 7. Spirit Lake Park (Ryan Jennings, Luke Kabele, Mychal Sheridan, Kayne Feldick) 1:39.14

4x400 relay -- 5. Spirit Lake Park (Jesse Baldwin, Aric Waltz, Luke Kabele, Kayne Feldick) 3:39.18.

4x800 relay -- 2. Spirit Lake Park (Tyler Gustafson, Alec Baldwin, Jesse Baldwin, Brandon Griffin) 8:03.66.

Distance medley -- 4. Spirit Lake Park (Ryan Jennings, Mychal Sheridan, Kayne Feldick, Jesse Baldwin) 3:46.17.

Shuttle hurdle -- 5. Spirit Lake Park (D.J. Smith, Aric Waltz, Ricky Wilson, Kyle Heidebrink) 1:06.59.