Raiders sweep 400s at WaMaC indoor meet

GRINNELL — The indoor track and field season has come and gone with outdoor meets starting up this week.

Williamsburg closed its indoor portion of the season at the WaMaC conference indoor championships at Grinnell College Tuesday.

The highlight for both the boys and girls team was the 400-meter. The Raiders swept the individual titles.

Ava Hocker finished in 1:00.35 to win the girls race, and Grant Hocker won the boys race in 52.31.

The Raider’s other two titles came on the boy’s side from Rayce Heitamn in the 200-meter with a time of 22.91 and from Adam Arp, with a 20.41 time in the 60 wheelchair.

“Rayce and Grant stood out with impressive victories in the 200- and 400-meters, posting (indoor) times that are among the fastest I’ve coached since I began in 2013,” Williamsburg boys coach Matt Matthes said.

The boys had nine other individuals place, highlighted by third place finishes from Hocker in the 200 and Grady Wetjen in the 60.

“Grady has had a strong indoor season so far, already surpassing his personal best in the long jump, setting the stage for an exciting junior year,” said Matthes.

“Overall, the team has made significant strides in the first month of the season, and I’m excited to see how we can continue to grow and improve as we move forward.”

On the girl’s side, the Raiders added five more top three finishes to go along with Hocker’s win in the 400.

Second place finishes came from the distance medley relay, from Ellie Nielsen in the high jump and from Edie Axmear in the 800.

Nielsen, as of Friday, is tied for seventh in the state in the event.

Ailea Wetjen set another personal best in the 60, for third place, and Lilly Ness was third in the shot put.

In total, the team set 20 personal bests.

Wartburg meet #3

WAVERLY — Wartburg College held its third and final indoor high school meet of the season Tuesday, and Iowa Valley and HLV-TC both took their boys and girls teams to the meet.

The area highlight was HLV-TC’s Ema Roberts clearing the Drake Relays blue standard in the girls’ high jump.

On the girl’s side, the Warriors placed in two relays — the 4x400 (fifth) and 4x800 (sixth).

Sean McCulloch placed for the Warriors boys in the high jump, clearing five feet, 10 inches.

Aidan Van Waus was the team’s next highest finisher, placing 14th in the 200.

The Iowa Valley boys scored 27 total team points, highlighted by winning the 4x400 in 3:31.79.

In the early going, that ranks second in Class 1A.

Nolan Kriegel added third- and fifth-place finishes in the long jump and 55-meter hurdles. Chance Hoyt placed fifth in the 55 hurdles.

The Tigers were one of the busier teams this indoor season, competing in four total meets.

“We did some really good things in indoor,” Iowa Valley boys coach Casey Krull said. “We had some guys step up that were not on our radar.

“Getting these indoor meets in helps us get an idea if what we might have for outdoor and we are excited.”

Lydia Krigel placed second in the shot put for the girls. The throw of 38 feet and five inches is in the top 20 in the state as of Friday.

Maeci Marshall set a personal best in the long jump with a mark of 14 feet, 11 inches, placing fifth.