The Drake Panthers: Former MHS athletes return to site of their prep triumphs


Michael Melchert (right) starts his leg of the distance medley relay after taking the handoff from Matt Manternach April 28 during the Drake Relays. The former Monticello High School stars are teammates with the Iowa Hawkeyes. (Photos by Pete Temple)

Ben Ahlrichs splashes to a third place finish in the 3,000-meter steeplechase for UNI April 26 at Drake.

Isaac Holtz of UNI winds up to throw the discus during the Drake Relays Saturday.

Noah Steiner clears the bar for the University of Wisconsin-Platteville in high jump competition Friday.
TRACK AND FIELD
By: 
Pete Temple
Express Sports Editor

     Maybe we can call them the Drake Panthers.

     Five former Monticello High School track and field athletes got the opportunity to return to the site of their high school triumphs, competing for their various universities and colleges during last week’s Drake Relays in Des Moines.

     Michael Melchert and Matt Manternach now run for the University of Iowa. Isaac Holtz competes in throws and Ben Ahlrichs runs for the University of Northern Iowa. And Noah Steiner is a high jumper for the University of Wisconsin-Platteville.

     MHS graduates have competed at the Drake Relays at the college level in the past, but having five of them there the same year might be unprecedented.

     While the athletes had mixed results on the famed Blue Oval last weekend, each of them said they welcomed the opportunity.

     Greg Williams, who along with Donnie Kremer coached each of them when they were MHS Panthers, said he has enjoyed watching them continue their careers.

     “It makes us feel good that we had an opportunity to work with these athletes,” Williams said. “It’s good to see them succeed at the next level. Their continued success is just awesome for our program. Maybe it sets our goals a little higher.”

     All five were interviewed during the Drake Relays. Here’s a capsule look:

 

Michael Melchert,

Matt Manternach

     Few athletes in the storied history of Monticello High School boys track and field earned more awards than current Iowa teammates Michael Melchert and Matt Manternach.

     Melchert won state championships in the 1,600 and 3,200 in 2013, and anchored the champion 1,600 medley relay team. Manternach earned four gold medals at the 2016 state championships, winning the 800 and 1,600, and running on two champion relays.

     Melchert, a senior, has battled injuries at Iowa, but is healthy this season, and the results are pouring in. During the indoor season, he ran times in the 3,000 meters (8:08.30) and the mile (4:04.32) that both rank fourth all-time at Iowa.

     Manternach, a sophomore, was part of a distance medley relay in the 2017 indoor season that is second-best all-time at Iowa.

     At Drake, it was fitting that the two MHS graduates took turns handing off to each other in two relays for the Iowa Hawkeyes at Drake.

     They ran the first two legs for the runner-up 4x800 team April 27 that lost to Iowa State by just .39 of a second. On Saturday, they were the last two runners in the distance medley relay that finished third.

     Despite the narrow loss on Friday night, they didn’t seem disappointed.

     “Iowa State has four guys in the top 15 in the region, so just to compete with them is really good,” Melchert said.

     Manternach agreed: “On paper their times are better than ours, but in each leg, we just stuck right with them the whole way.”

     Both said they are aiming for top-three finishes in the Big Ten Championships, Melchert in the 1,500 and Manternach in the 800.

     “High goals, but we’re going to go for them,” Manternach said.

     Both also said they enjoyed returning to Drake.

     “It’s always fun running here,” Manternach said. “It’s unlike any other.”

    

Isaac Holtz

     UNI junior Isaac Holtz has enjoyed an outstanding collegiate career in the throwing events.

     Holtz is a two-time Missouri Valley Conference champion in the discus, and has earned the MVC Elite 18 award. This year, he earned indoor all-conference honors.

     Sometimes, however, it doesn’t go your way. Holtz’s finishes at Drake – 11th in Friday’s shot put and 12th in the discus Saturday – were not at all indicative of his past success. His PR in the discus, for example, is 190-foot-8; at Drake his best was 159-2.

     “I’m trying to get things put together,” a disappointed Holtz said after his discus event at Drake. “It wasn’t my day, I guess. Maybe I was thinking too far ahead and wasn’t looking at Drake the way I should have. I’ve just got to prepare myself better, I guess.

     “But it’s a good environment to be in.”

     In high school, Holtz was state Class 2A champion in the discus and finished third in the shot put as a senior.

    

Ben Ahlrichs

     The UNI junior had one of the best performances of his career at Drake. In Thursday’s 3,000-meter steeplechase, the unique event in which runners go over barriers and land in a shallow pit of water once per lap, Ahlrichs finished third out of 21 competitors with a time of 9:09.44.

     “I’m in the best fitness I’ve ever been in my life, and I’ve been waiting for this event all year,” Ahlrichs said after the race. “It’s a great field, but I decided, ‘I’m going to go out with them, not look at the time, and see what happens.’ ”

     Ahlrichs suffered stress reactions in his lower back that caused him to miss his sophomore season. When he returned, he decided he wanted to try the steeplechase.

     “It went all right, so we kept going from there,” he said. “I love it. It feels like a perfect, sweet distance for me. I have no fear of the barriers. It reminds me of jumping fences back at home.”

     Ahlrichs said his goals are “to try to place top three in the conference, and maybe hit a regional mark in the steeple. I might run the 1,500 at conference (too).”

     A two-time all-state runner in high school, Ahlrichs’ best performance prior to Drake was a second place in the 1000-meter run at the Panther Indoor Open in January.

 

Noah Steiner

     The University of Wisconsin-Platteville sophomore has shown steady improvement since achieving a personal best 6-foot-5 in the high jump in high school.

     Steiner, this year, has jumped 6-10.25, which ranks him second in the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC).

     “This year, since the beginning, stuff’s been starting to click, everything’s going how it should, and it’s just feeling right,” Steiner said.

     He also said he enjoyed being back in Drake Stadium.

     “I know what’s going on, and I’m comfortable,” Steiner said. “It’s just fun to be back.”

     Steiner, who finished fifth in the WIAC a year ago, said he’d like to hit 6-10.75.

     “Eventually,” he said. “Seven-foot would be great.”

     At Drake, he jumped 6-8 to finish in 10th place. He missed his first two jumps at 6-4, but cleared the third one.

     “On the third one I made sure to give it all I had, because I didn’t want to go home empty-handed,” he said.

     

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