Martensen, Picray, D-med relay head to State

     Monticello had three individual victories – and one outstanding finish – to earn four state meet entries from the Class 2A State Qualifying Meet Friday, May 10 at Dean Nelson Field.

     Avery Martensen won both the 110-meter hurdles and the 400 hurdles, earning a return trip to State in the former and a first time slot in the latter. Wade Picray won the discus event to qualify in that event.

     And the distance medley relay team – thanks largely to a 2 minute, 2 second split by 800 anchor Jasper Nietert – earned second place and a trip to the Blue Oval.

     The qualifiers will head to Des Moines for the state meet, scheduled for Thursday through Saturday, May 16 through 18 at Drake Stadium.

     “The kids ran well and competed well,” Monticello coach Greg Williams said. “I was very proud. We had a lot of personal bests. I think everyone gave their best effort, whether or not they could make it to State.”

     Martensen ran 15.10 seconds to win the 110 hurdles, ranking him first in Class 2A going into the state meet. He also won the 400 hurdles in 56.94.

     “I know he wants to get down there (to State) and compete at a high level,” Williams said. “He has a shot at both, I think.”

     Picray threw a personal best 156-foot-1 to win the discus.

     “If he can throw 156 down there, he’ll bring home a medal,” the coach said.

     The distance medley team of Gavin Cooper, Colin Jordan, Martensen and Nietert had one of the most dramatic finishes, as Nietert beat his previous personal best 800 time by about seven seconds, edging a North Linn anchor to lift the Panthers to second place and a guaranteed spot at State (North Linn qualified as well, by time).

     “A highlight was Jasper’s anchor in the medley to help get it to State,” Williams said. “That was a huge PR effort.”

     The Panthers finished fourth as a team, and while teams always hope for more qualifiers than what they gained, coach Williams said he was proud of the whole team’s efforts this season.

     “We became a much more competitive track team from the start of the season,” Williams said.

State meet times

     The Panther boys who made it to State will all compete on Friday, May 17, at the following times:

     • Martensen, 110 hurdle prelims, 9:40 a.m.

     • Martensen, 400 hurdles, 11:20 a.m.

     • Picray, discus, 11:30 a.m.

     • Distance medley, noon.

     If Martensen advances to the 110 hurdle finals, he will run again Saturday at 1:15 p.m.

May 9

Class 2A State Qualifying

Meet (at Monticello)

TEAM SCORES

     1, Bellevue 136.5; 2, North Fayette Valley 88; 3, Jesup 78; 4, Monticello 71; 5 (tie) Dyersville Beckman 67 and North Linn 67; 7, Waukon 55; 8, Waterloo Columbus 50.5; 9, Sumner-Fredericksburg 47; 10, Oelwein 36; 11, Cascade 23; 12, Union 20.

MONTICELLO RESULTS

(State qualifiers in bold)

     800: 4, Carter Kurt, 2:06.41.

     1,600: 6, Jasper Nietert, 4:54.42.

     110 hurdles: 1, Avery Martensen, 15.10; 6, Caden Ungs, 16.95.

     400 hurdles: 1, Avery Martensen, 56.94; 7, Ty Jesenovec, 1:00.64.

     Distance medley: 2, Monticello (Gavin Cooper, Colin Jordan, Avery Martensen, Jasper Nietert), 3:42.84.

     4x800: 5, Monticello (Owen Ray, Carter Kurt, Zach Chapman, Gavin Baugh), 9:05.64.

     Shuttle hurdle: 5, Monticello (Ty Jesenovec, Grant Hospodarsky, Caden Ungs, Eian Weber), 1:09.59.

     High jump: 5, Caden Ungs, 5-10.

     Discus: 1, Wade Picray, 156-1; 8, Luke Weber, 121-9.

     Shot put: 4, Wade Picray, 44-6.5.