Comets win two-team relay

4-by-800 victory over Decorah highlights track meet for Charles City boys

By John Burbridge

sports@charlescitypress.com

DECORAH — There were five teams participating at the Decorah Early Bird Meet on Monday. Only two showed up for the 4-by-800 relay.

The less the merrier according to Charles City boys track coach Ryan Rahmiller.

“It made for a great race,” Rahmiller said. “Just two teams, two runners at a time. It was close all the way through.”

In the end, the Charles City foursome of Adam Stewart, Mason Deeter, Gavin Connell and Jon Zander bested Decorah’s Tim Meyer, Garret Hemesath, Andrew Larson and Blake Schmeizer by less than 2 ½ seconds — 8:53.98 to 8:56.29.

“Jon Zander ran a great final leg for us,” Rahmiller said. “The whole group ran well.

“It was cold and windy, and this is a new lineup for us. It was one of the highlights of the meet for us.”

Another highlight for the Comets came in the long jump as Charles City recorded a 1-2-3 sweep with senior Shane Feller leading the way with a first-place leap of 20 feet, 4 ¾ inches.

Junior Brandon Bluhm was second at 20 feet, ¼ inch; Nate Baltes was third (18 feet, 7 ½ inches).

“Good things are happening for us in the long jump,” Rahmiller said. “We had two guys over 20 feet. We could only be happy about that.”

Feller also won the 100-meter dash with a time of 11.70 seconds; Bluhm was fifth (12.12 seconds).

Charles City earned second-place finishes in the 110 hurdles (Bryce Foxen 18.36), 4-by-200 relay (Nate Baltes, Tyler Brockney, Dylan Koresh, Brandon Bluhm 1:41.15) and 1,600 medley relay (Foxen, Brockney, Stewart, Zander 4:03.80).

Overall, Charles City placed fourth with 42 team points.

Decorah, led by event individual champs Andrew Larson (800 2:14.63), Lane Rahlf (110 H 16.43), Gabriel Varney (400 H 58.33) and Shawn Shindelar (HJ 5-feet, 10 inches), won the meet with 99 team points.

Charles City’s boys team won’t be back in action until Monday when it returns to Decorah for an invitational.

“It will be nice to be home for awhile,” Rahmiller said. “Hopefully, we can get some practices outside if the weather allows.”

Decorah Early Bird Meet

Team Results

1. Decorah 99.00, 2. South Winn 46.00, 3. New Hampton 43.00, 4. Charles City 42.00, 5. Waukon 30.00.

Event Winners
and Charles City Point Placers

100 — 1. Shane Feller (CC) 11.70, 5. Brandon Bluhm (CC) 12.12.

200 — 1. Trevor Ambrose (NH) 23.94, 5. Bryce Foxen (CC) 24.44.

400 — 1. Nathan Ward (SW) 52.70.

800 — 1. Andrew Larson (D) 2:14.63, 6. Chris Campbell (CC) 2:24.69.

110 H — 1. Lane Rahlf (D) 16.43, 2. Bryce Foxen (CC) 18.36.

1600 — 1. Tyler O’Neill (W) 4:49.67, 3. Gavin Connell (CC) 4:58.85.

3200 — 1. Tyler Vande Lune (D) 10:57.35, 5. Tyson Stromer (CC) 11:39.24.

400 H — 1. Gabriel Varney (D) 58.33.

DISC — 1. Carson Lensing (SW) 148-07, 5. Noah Robbins (CC) 116-02.

HJ — 1. Shawn Shindelar (D) 5-10.00, 4. Cade Hemaseth (CC) 5-04.00.

LJ — 1. Shane Feller (CC) 20-04.75, 2. Brandon Bluhm (CC) 20-00.25, 3. Nate Baltes (CC) 18-07.50.

SP — 1. Matt Hulford (NH) 50-11.00.

4-by-100 Relay — 1. Decorah (Cole Mincks, Michael DeVore, Robert Smedsrud, Drake Bauer) 47.10.

4-by-200 Relay — 1. Decorah (Cole Mincks, Dawson Meyer, Shawn Shindelar, Robert Smedsrund) 1:38.00, 3. Charles City (Nate Baltes, Tyler Brockney, Dylan Koresh, Brandon Bluhm) 1:41.15.

4-by-400 Relay — 1. Decorah (Garret Hemesath, Shawn Shindelar, Brendan Numedahl, Bryce Hosting) 3:43.88.

4-by-800 Relay — 1. Charles City (Adam Stewart, Mason Deeter, Gavin Connell, Jon Zander) 8:53.98, 2. Decorah (Tim Meyer, Garret Hemesath, Andrew Larson, Blake Schmeizer) 8:56.29 .

1600 Medley Relay — 1. Decorah (Jackson Varney, Cade Klimesh, Dawson Meyer, Tim Meyer) 3:59.00, 2. Charles City (Bryce Foxen, Tyler Brockney, Adam Stewart, Jon Zander) 4:03.80.