Washington boys, Mt. Pleasant girls are SEC track and field champions

MT. PLEASANT — It was a night of renewal and a night of revenge at the Southeast Conference track and field championships on Thursday night.

On the boys’ side, Thursday marked a back-to-back championship for the Washington Demons, who scored 204 points en route to a second-straight title. On the girls’ side, it was Mt. Pleasant that returned back to the top, scoring 204 points of their own.

The Demon boys won the meet by 82 points, out-dueling second-place Mt. Pleasant, which finished with 122.

Washington dominated the distance events. Senior Lance Sobaski left his mark on the meet by winning all three of his individual events.

“We came here with the mindset tonight to run to have fun, run for place and place as many as we can,” said Sobaski. “It means a bunch to us. It's setting that expectation for future years.”

Sobaski took the 800-meter race in 1 minute, 59.74 seconds. He took the 1600 in 4:50.03, and won the 3200 in 10:23.67.

Brayden Hartman had two individual wins for Washington, both in throwing events. Hartman threw the shot put 54 feet, 7.5 inches, and took the discus throw with a hurl of 142 feet, 1 inch.

Elijah Morris scooped up a win for the Demons in the 400-meter dash, winning the race in 49.74 seconds.

Washington had four relay wins on the day, capped off with Sobaski’s fourth victory. The 4X400 squad of Ethan Patterson, Sobaski, Logan McDole and Alec Ulin won in 3:33.49.

“We're so supportive of each other,” Sobaski said. “We get hyped up for each other for even the littlest things. That support is just unmatchable.”

The sprint medley team of Patterson, Austin Rebling, Jacob Miller and Ulin won in 1:37.36. The shuttle hurdle squad of Tayven Stuart, James Strabala, Mason Morgan and Rebling won in 1:06.90, and the distance medley team of Lucas Kroll, Brennen Westphal, McDole and Micah Rees won by a nose over Mt. Pleasant, nipping the Panthers with a final time of 3:56.13.

“ It feels awesome,” said Rees. “It's so encouraging to see all our work pay off.”

Mt. Pleasant’s Will Davidson won two events on the day. Davidson flew through the 110-meter high hurdles in 15.27 seconds. He nipped Morris of Washington at the line in the 200-meter dash, taking it in 22.10 seconds. Davidson and Morris are now first and forth respectively in Class 3A 200-meter times.

The Fairfield boys had one winner in the 4X800-meter relay team. The Trojan squad of Dylan Adam, Ben Boatright, Dallen Rippey and Gavin Van Veen took first, in 8:45.75.

The Mt. Pleasant girls earned vengeance over Fairfield after the Trojans snapped a lengthy Panther winning streak at the SEC championships last season. The Panthers put up 204 points, and Fairfield finished with 133.

It was a monster day for Mt. Pleasant senior Abby Blint. In her final SEC championship meet ever, Blint swept the distance races and anchored home a relay win.

“I'm really proud of myself, but I have to thank my teammates and my coaches,” said Blint. “I'm starting to peak this week and last week, and that's really perfect timing.”

Blint took the girls’ 800-meter run in 2:33.68. She won the 1500 in 5:20.27, and topped the 3000-meter field in 11:33.67.

Jadan Brumbaugh was a double-winner for Mt. Pleasant. Brumbaugh took both throwing events, winning the shot put throw with a toss of 48-06.5, and the discus throw with a hurl of 118-05.

Mt. Pleasant had two other individual wins. Kenna Lamm won the 100-meter dash in 12.79 seconds, and Elsie Lange took the 400-meter dash in 1:02.82.

The Panther girls had three relay teams win conference championships. The sprint medley squad of Courtney Raub, Josie Gilmore, Lange and Andi Scott took first in 1:55.08. The 4X400 team of Tristian Shull, Mica Carter, Lange and Lamm won in 4:25.64, and the shuttle hurdle team of Jenna Gilmore, Allie Westercamp, Josie Gilmore and Blint won in 1:10.70.

The Fairfield girls had three wins on the day. Kelsey Pacha was a double-wnner, taking the 200-meter dash in 26.70 seconds, and leaping 17 feet in the long jump for first place.

Anna Dunlap had the only other win for the Fairfield girls. She took first in the 100-meter hurdles with a time of 16.21 seconds.

The Washington girls had three wins of their own. The Demons’ 4X800 team of Kendall Hinrichsen, Abigail Kleese, Grace Voss and Lauren Horak won in 10:50.88. The distance medley team of Nevaeh Brown, Ada Kendall, Grace Voss and Kleese won in 4:35.94, and Voss cleared 5 feet in the high jump for the top spot.

BOYS’ TEAM SCORES

1. Washington 204

2. Mt. Pleasant 122

3. Fort Madison 97

4. Fairfield 86

5. Burlington 60

6. Keokuk 13

GIRLS’ TEAM SCORES

1. Mt. Pleasant 204

2. Fairfield 133

3. Washington 101

4. Fort Madison 68

5. Burlington 49

6. Keokuk 19