Brown leaps into victory circle

CEDAR FALLS - There were over 55 boys entered in the high jump competition at the Dickinson Relays Tuesday in Cedar Falls at the UNI-Dome. Many were from some of the largest schools in the state.

The winner of the high jump was Mid-Prairie sophomore Cain Brown. Competing in an event that is a high profile attraction would be a bit intimidating. Especially if competing for the first time in a high school event.

'Cain had a great night, especially since we missed last season,” Mid-Prairie head track coach Dain Jeppson said. 'So he hadn't jumped in a meet since his eighth grade year.”

Brown not only jumped and not only won, but he blew away the competition. The winning height was 6 feet, 5 inches. Second place was 6-2. Third place was a three-way tie at 6 feet. Nine competitors cleared 5-10.

'Six-five is an impressive height to start the season,” Jeppson said. 'And he has had limited practice opportunities.”

Brown also ran a 'great leg in our 4x200.” The Golden Hawks were 26th of 46 teams in that relay with a time of 1 minute, 40.11 seconds.

Although Brown had a single week to practice, Golden Hawk long distance runners are always practicing.

'Thaddeus Shelter, Jamison Stutzman, Lucas Bontrager and Chandler Hershberger all had really nice races to lead our distance crew,” Jeppson said. 'They have put in a lot of miles over the winter, so it was fun to see them getting rewarded for their hard work.”

Shelter and Stutzman took 17th and 18th in the 1600 meters, each finishing in 4:46.

In the 3200 meter race, Bontrager was 24th in 10:50.48 and Hershberger was 32nd in 11:15.87.

Another 24th place finish was Clarke Latcham in the 60-meter hurdles in 9.46 seconds.

'That was Clarke's first race over the high hurdles,” Jeppson said. 'So we are excited to see what he can do in the future.”

Mid-Prairie has 45 boys out for track and a lot of them desire to be sprinters, 'So we think we can put together some nice relays,” Jeppson said.