Pekin boys rule 1A field at WACO

WAYLAND ? The Pekin boys? track team rose to the occasion at its district track meet hosted by WACO Thursday and will once again be well-represented at the state meet.

In all, the Panthers tallied an astounding 199 points to crush the 12-team field thanks to victories in 11 of 18 events. WACO finished a distant, distant runner-up with 75 points, and Lone Tree came in third with 71.

?One characteristic of our team is they rise to the occasion,? said Pekin head coach Davis Eidahl. ?Our runners were ready and competed very on the track and at the field events.

Assuring spots at the state meet were Bryce Sines, Derek Morales and Bailey Donovan in individual events as well as five Pekin relays.

Sines, no stranger to the state meet, made sure he?ll be going back to Des Moines with wins in four events. Sines blazed to titles in the 100-meter dash (11.18) and 200-dash (22.61), and he topped the high jump (6? 2?) and long jump (21? 4?) fields.

Morales was the shot put champion with a toss of 48-feet, 5.25-inches, and Donovan won the discus with a throw of 140-feet, 9.5-inches.

The five wins in relays and thus state-qualifiers include Pekin?s 4x100 (46.25), 4x200 (1:34.79), 4x400 (3:35.41), distance medley (3:47.68) and shuttle hurdle (1:02.48).

Other individuals on ?bubble watch? include Derek Morales in the discus (128? 11.25?) and Eric Adam in the shot put (46? 3.25?).