Newton boys add 4x200 relay to Drake’s Blue Standard qualification

DES MOINES — Newton’s boys 4x200-meter relay team would have qualified for the Drake Relays with their previous best time of the season.

But the foursome of Nick Thomason, Reilly Trease, Christian Ergenbright and Caden Klein decided to make things official on Thursday with a Drake Relays Blue Standard time that now ranks second in all of Iowa.

Nick Milburn also unleashed a huge career-best throw to win the shot put, and the Newton boys track and field team placed fourth at the Saydel Invitational.

The Cardinals scored 77 points, which trailed Nevada (79) by two. Des Moines Christian won the meet title with 92 points and Gilbert finished second with 85.5.

Bondurant-Farrar (57) and Roland-Story (57) tied for fifth and the rest of the 15-team field included Webster City (50), Pleasantville (47), Madrid (38), North Polk (34), Ballard (27.5), Oskaloosa (18), Des Moines Roosevelt (17), Saydel (15) and Des Moines East (8).

Thomason, Trease, Ergenbright and Klein teamed up to win the 4x200 and 4x400 relays.

They won the 4x200 in a season-best 1 minute, 28.27 seconds, which leads Class 3A. The Drake Relays Blue Standard time was 1:29.

Klein edged Gilbert’s Will Hawthorne at the finish line. Gilbert (1:28.34) also hit the blue standard time.

The quarter posted a winning time of 3:27.06 in the 4x400 relay. That season-best time ranks sixth in 3A.

The sprint medley relay team placed fifth. The foursome of Jace Auen, Dawson Maki, Ali Yahia and Colter Shaw finished the race in 1:41.05.

Milburn now ranks sixth in 3A in the shot put. His career-best throw of 55 feet, 5 inches won the event. It ranks 12th in the state, too.

Isaiah Hansen matched a career-best mark in the high jump as he was second with a leap of 5-10.

Yahia turned in a pair of career-best performances in the 200- and 400-meter dash. He was third in the 200 in 23.45 seconds and finished fourth in the 400 in 53.09.

Cade Bauer and Mason Mendez went 4-5 in the 400 hurdles. Bauer was fourth in 59.28 and Mendez finished fifth in a career-best 59.85.

Lance Zaabel (10:26.06) took fourth in the 3,200, Zach Felten placed fifth in the discus with a season-best toss of 134-9 and Austin Arauz finished fifth in the 110 high hurdles in a career-best 16.22.

The Newton boys will officially compete in seven events at the Drake Relays.

Klein is an individual qualifier in the 100, 400 and 400 hurdles. He hit the blue standard times in the 100 and 400 hurdles and ranks top-six in the state in all three events.

The Cardinal junior was part of five events that qualified for the Drake Relays, but he’s only permitted to compete in four. Aside from the three individual races, Klein is expected to anchor the 4x200 relay. A Cardinal teammate likely will replace him in the 4x100 relay, which also features Thomason, Trease and Ergenbright.

The other two individual qualifiers are Trease and Milburn in the 110 high hurdles and shot put, respectively.

Cardinals finish third at Chariton

CHARITON — Bauer ran a career-best time in the 400 hurdles and the Newton boys won four relays during the Chariton Charger Relays on Tuesday.

The Cardinals inserted Klein into the shuttle hurdle relay for the first time this season and the foursome nearly qualified for the Drake Relays.

Bauer’s individual gold helped Newton score 106.5 points in third. Davis County won the AA meet title with 160 points and host Chariton was the runner-up with 146.5 points.

The rest of the seven-team field included Knoxville (105), Creston (83), Clarke (56) and Carlisle (45).

The shuttle hurdle relay team posted a season-best time of 1 minute, 0.41 seconds. The foursome of Klein, Arauz, Bauer and Trease won the race, but fell about .41 seconds short of a Drake Relays berth.

The Cardinals also won the sprint medley, distance medley and 4x100 relays.

Hansen, Mendez, Jaysean Evans and Yahia won the sprint medley relay in 1:42.84 and the distance medley relay team of Auen, Mendez, Shaw and Levi Zaabel had a winning time of 3:57.52.

Auen, Evans, Dawson Maki and Yahia won the 4x100 relay in 45.48.

Newton doubled up in the 110 high hurdles, 400 hurdles and 1,600.

Bauer won the 400 hurdles in a career-best 58.96 and Arauz finished third in 1:01.1. Trease (15.32) and Arauz (16.65) went 3-4 in the 110 high hurdles.

Lance Zaabel (5:07.93) and Levi Zaabel (5:19.77) were 4-5 in the 1,600, Lance Zaabel (12:47.12) took fourth in the 3,000, Hansen (5-10) finished third in the high jump and Dawson Maki (54.54) ended up third in the 400.

Reagan Maki (2:12.98) and Drew Bauer (25.55) came in fifth in the 800 and 200, respectively.