Tigers triumph with Class 1A State Championship

DES MOINES — New London had its doubters, but those people were silenced on Saturday as the Tigers stood alone atop the Class 1A team standings to win their first ever state title at the Iowa High School State Track and Field Championships.

It was tight race between the Tigers, Earlham and Lisbon.

Coming in, Lisbon was projected to be the biggest threat, but Earlham was there in the end.

Everything fell into place for New London.

Seth Bailey and Rylan Martin, who battled through a sprained ankle, got the Tigers off to a good start on the day with fourth and seventh-place finishes in the 800-meter final. Both clocked personal records of 1:59.02 and 2:02.27.

Thanks to stellar final runs by Bailey and Alexander Julian, who went four and five in the 1600-meter, the Tigers got a clear path to the title.

The senior duo combined for nine points in the event to top Earlham’s second-place eight point finish.

“The goal was to come out with as many points as possible to win the team title,” Julian said. “We wanted to give our 4x100 team the best chance possible to give us the team title and bring home the trophy.”

Needless to say they got the job done. It was a total team effort.

Josh Catala, who is nursing a quad injury, sat out of the 200-meter final to ensure he was good to go in the 4x100.

It all worked out.

The quartet of Boden Pickle, Joel Lacy, Reean Seberg and Catala needed only a fifth-place finish at best, they delivered with a fourth to ensure victory.

“A state championship for New London,” Pickle said. “It doesn’t get any better than that.”

“It’s great,” Catala said. “It’s huge, not only to us, but to the New London community.”

In the end, It was a spectacular state championship run for the Tigers of New London.

“Couldn’t be prouder,” New London head coach Lance Ingwersen said. “We saw so much teamwork here. We knew this was a possibility. We went to the indoor championship and I told them we could win it. From that moment on they knew what they were capable of and continued to grow.”

Kade Benjamin wins the high jump state title

New London’s Kade Benjamin has been one of the top jumpers in the both the state and Class 1A all season long.

While he’s already shown his talents time and time again, he reached new heights on Saturday winning the Class 1A high jump state championship at Drake Stadium.

“That was so much fun,” Benjamin said. “I came in last year and had a whole bunch of nerves and I was running on a sprained ankle. This year I came in healthy. I was like, ‘I’m going to go out and do my best and see where it goes and it led to a state championship.”

Benjamin won the title with a leap of 6 feet, 7 inches, edging Lisbon’s Luke Czarnecki by one inch.

It was a battle between the two jumpers.

Czarnecki nearly went out at the 6’4 mark and the 6’5 mark, but ended up hitting both on his last attempt before hitting 6’6 on his first go to make Benjamin go one step higher.

It wouldn’t make a difference.

For Benjamin, it was a flawless run. The junior cleared every single jump without touching the bar until his three bonus attempts at 6’9.

“It’s an amazing feeling,” Benjamin said. “I thought it was going to end at 6’6, but huge shout out to Luke. He pushed me. He’s a great jumper. He’s a junior, too, so I look forward to competing against him next year, too.”

Not only was it a battle between the two jumpers, but significant points were earned in the team races as well.

Carter Allen shows out in the shot and discus

The Tiger’s Carter Allen had himself a fantastic final state meet in both the shot put and discus.

The senior picked up a second-place finish in the discus with a throw of 155 feet, 6 inches to give the Tiger an additional eight points.

“It feels great to even medal up here with all the great throwers,” Allen said. “They’re all great guys. Unfortunately, I didn’t get first, but those things happen. It’s been a great high school experience so far.”

On Thursday, Allen finished third overall in the shot put with a toss of 52 feet, 3.50 inches, good enough for six total team points. Allen gave the Tigers 14 total points in the competition.

Allen said he was wanting to throw the shot a little farther, but is happy to help his team pick up some points.

“I was hoping to throw a little farther and get a new PR, but it didn’t work out that way,” Allen said. “That happens. It’s great to get the team points. We’re hoping to bring home a trophy, which would be awesome.”

Tiger ascendancy

New London wasn’t too shabby in the relays as well.

The quartet of Benjamin, Julian, Martin and Seth cruised to a runner-up finish in the 4x800, clocking a blistering season-best of 8:11.57 for a new school record.

Bailey said nerves were there in 4x800, but he knew their worth.

“I was super nervous coming into this one, because I knew we were going to have a really mean battle with Madrid,” Bailey said. “I knew it was going to be tough, but when I saw that Kade stepped up and ran a 2:04, I knew we had it in the bag.”

Seberg, Jordan Sharp, Bailey and Martin posted a time of 3:37.51 for a third overall finish in the distance medley.

Julian grabbed himself a personal best time in the 3200-meter. The cross-country star, crossed the line in a time of 9:43.99 for third in the event.

“It was a great first day,” Julian said. “My first time at the blue oval, it was nice to get those nerves shaken off.”

New London gained additional points in the 4x200, with Pickle, Lacy, Cam Kasel and Sharp running a season-best of 1:32.42.

The Tigers group of Seberg, Benjamin, Julian and Martin missed qualifying for the final in the 4x400, ending in 14th.