Columbus’ Miller, Highland’s Burton take bronze at state track

DES MOINES — The 2022 state track team was a busy one for the Union’s area teams. Local athletes lived in the Top 8, as nine of the area’s 14 schools scored points.

Among those scorers were the Columbus boys, who gathered 12 in the Class 1A competition.

Triston Miller brought his best game out in the high jump competition. Miller set a new personal record with a 6 foot, 4 inch jump to finish third place, giving the Wildcats six points.

Kaden Amigon collected a few points of his own. Amigon finished seventh in the 200-meter dash, crossing in 27.89 seconds after qualifying fifth with a personal record of 23 seconds flat. In the long jump, Amigon scooped another personal best, and another seventh-place finish, leaping 20 feet, 11.25 inches.

The Columbus boys had one relay finish in the Top-8. The 4X800 team of Isaac Acosta, Tyler Humiston, Damian Vergara and Freddy Vergara finished seventh, in 8:32.91.

Highland’s Sarah Burton had an interesting Thursday morning. Burton competed in the long jump, whilst also waiting out her turn to run in the 100-meter dash preliminaries.

Burton’s final leap was delayed by her 100-meter preliminary. After taking ninth in the dash, just one spot away from a finals qualification, Burton returned to break her personal record, leaping 16 feet, 10.5 inches for third place.

“Long jump is my better event, so I kind of focus on that more,” Burton said. “The 100-meter is kind of just my side gig.”

Burton nearly missed out on the long jump finals. She scratched on her first two attempts before earning three extra jumps with her third leap of 16 feet, 8.5 inches, which placed her in the Top-8 ahead of final jumps.

“ I was pretty excited, coming into this knowing I had a good chance to get into the Top-8,” Burton said. “I just had to prove to myself I could get into the lower Top-8.”

Mid-Prairie’s Cain Brown grinded out a fourth-place finish in a competitive Class 2A high jump competition. Brown lept 6 feet, 4 inches, his best state meet leap ever. That placed him in a tie for fourth, which netted 4.5 points.

Jayden Stafford polished off a solid first year in the wheelchair races with a triple silver. Stafford took second in the 100-meter wheelchair race, crossing in 18.10 seconds. He won silver in the 200-meter wheelchair race, in 33.25 seconds, and broke a personal record in the 400, crossing in 1:10.92.

“"It's an adrenaline rush,” said Stafford. “With fifteen thousand people, it makes you want to push harder and get a better time. Who knows next year at state maybe I'll come home with that gold medal."

The Winfield-Mount Union girls scooped up four points early on in the meet. Jobey Malone gave the Wolves a fifth-place finish in the shot put, throwing it 37 feet, 10.5 inches.

Van Buren County’s Anthony Duncan put the Warrior boys on the board on Friday. Duncan picked up fifth place in the boys’ 400-meter hurdles, crossing the tape in 55.62 seconds.

“It's a great experience,” said Duncan, who just began running hurdle events this spring. “It makes me run a lot faster, having the good competition and having the crowd watch.”