Pekin boys track opens indoor season

PELLA ? Just eight days into the season, the Pekin boys? track and field team got its first taste of competition at Friday?s Bulldog-Panther Indoor at Central College.

The Panthers placed in seven of 11 events at the indoor.

?Many of the schools that placed were 3A and 4A schools that have been practicing for three weeks, so I feel good about how our season got started,? said Pekin head coach Davis Eidahl.

Pekin freshman Colton Lanman was the top individual with two top-six finishes. The Panther cleared 5-feet, 4-inches in the high jump to finish third and was fourth in the 55-meter hurdles with a clocking of 11.26.

Sophomore Clayton Essary was fifth in the 3,200 with a time of 12:56, while Quentin Garrels ran the 55-meter dash in 6.76 to take sixth.

In the relay races, Pekin was third in the opening 4x800. Tyson Lamb, Eli Harper, Graham Wittrock and Cade Millikin combined for a time of 9:31, less than 3 seconds behind the first-place team. In the California mile, which is a 8x200, Pekin finished fourth in a time of 3:40. The relay team of Nate Buch, Cory Loyd, Aaron King and Quinton Garrels ran the 4x200 in 1:47 for sixth place.

Pekin?s Bryce Sines, Trey Sathoff and Josh Sterling were on a mission in Haiti and were unable to attend.

The Pekin boys will return to Central College for the Pekin Indoor on Thursday.