April 27, 2025

Richardson’s four victories push Baxter boys to home meet title

Tigerhawks win 4x200 relay, finish fourth in team standings

By Troy Hyde
Matt Richardson

From left: Baxter sophomore Max Handorf, Colfax-Mingo junior Sullivan Wilkins and Baxter senior Matt Richardson compete in the 3,200-meter run at the Baxter Bolt Coed Invitational on Monday. Richardson won the race, Handorf finished second and Wilkins was fifth. (Troy Hyde/Newton News)

BAXTER — A big night on the oval by Matt Richardson and Max Handorf and a pair of top-two finishes by Carter Smith catapulted the Baxter boys track and field team to the meet championship at the annual Baxter Bolt Coed Invitational on Monday.

The Bolts registered five wins and 13 top-three finishes and scored 125.5 points at the top of the standings on a cold and windy spring night.

South Hardin (104) also cleared 100 points in second and the rest of the top five included West Marshall (84), Colfax-Mingo (67) and Colo-NESCO (55).

Lincoln Betterton

Baxter sophomore Lincoln Betterton helped the Bolts win the shuttle hurdle relay and also placed third in the 110-meter high hurdles during the Bolts' home track and field meet on Monday. (Troy Hyde/Newton News)

Ankeny Christian Academy (52), BCLUW (48), Saydel (42.5), BGM (37.5) and Southeast Warren (37.5) finalized the 10-team field.

Smith won the discus with a career-best toss of 148 feet, 6 inches. He also was the runner-up in the shot put with a career-best 44-9.

Richardson was part of four wins to lead the Bolts on the track. He won the 800, 1,600 and 3,200 and anchored the distance medley relay to a win.

Max Handorf was in the same four events and took second in both the 800 and 3,200 and was third in the 1,600.

Richardson won the 800 in a career-best 2 minutes, 7.19 seconds. Handorf was the runner-up in a career-best 2:08.88.

They also went 1-2 in the 3,200 with Richardson winning in 10:11.02 and Handorf taking second in 10:13.35. Richardson won the 1,600 in 4:44.53 and Handorf was third in 4:49.31.

Chase Trotter

Colfax-Mingo freshman Chase Trotter competes in the high jump at the Baxter Bolts Coed Invitational on Monday. Trotter helped the Tigerhawks win the 4x200-meter relay and placed second in the 200. (Troy Hyde/Newton News)

The coed meet ended after the 1,600 due to weather. There was not a 4x100 or 4x400 relay.

The Bolts’ final win came in the distance medley relay. The foursome of Lincoln Betterton, Logan Rainsbarger, Handorf and Richardson won the race in 3:53.45.

Colfax-Mingo’s lone win came in the 4x200 relay. The group of Xavier Woods, Wyatt Thornton, Tony Buenrostro and Chase Trotter finished first in 1:38.83.

Woods also was second in the high jump with a season-best leap of 6-0. Trotter finished second in the 200 with a time of 25.6 seconds.

Baxter’s shuttle hurdle relay team placed second in 1:11.37. That foursome was Betterton, James Esqueda, Eli Dee and Rainsbarger.

Dee competed in both the long jump and high jump and set career-best marks in both. He was third in the long jump with a leap of 19-9 and took fourth in the high jump with a mark of 5-8.

Maddux Tuhn made his debut in the 400 and placed third in 57.45 and Betterton (17.37) and Rainsbarger (17.43) finished 3-4 in the 110 high hurdles.

Eli Dee

Baxter junior Eli Dee set new career-best marks in the long jump and high jump on Monday. He finished third in the long jump with a leap of 19 feet, 9 inches. (Troy Hyde/Newton News)

Dee and Rainsbarger went head-to-head in the 200 and were separated by .5 seconds. Dee was fifth in a career-best 26.57 and Rainsbarger finished sixth in 26.62.

Sullivan Wilkins gave the Tigerhawks points in three events. He was fourth in the 1,600 in 5:08.37, placed fifth in the 3,200 in 10:52.7 and ended up sixth in the 400 in 58.71.

Thornton was fourth in the 400 hurdles in 1:00.92 and placed fifth in the 110 highs in 18.4. Woods registered a fifth-place finish in the 400 hurdles in 1:01.26.