HIGHLAND – The start of the boys large school Madison County track and field meet at Highland’s was delayed by rain after a series of thunderstorms passed through the area. Once the meet started, the Tigers showed their depth and talent in going away to the boys victory.
Edwardsville scored 169 points to win, with Triad second with 100 points, third place went to Alton, who scored 96 points, Collinsville came in fourth with 67 points, the host Bulldogs took fifth place with a showing of 56 points, and Granite City came in sixth with 53 points
There were some good performances through the course of the day, despite less-than-idea conditions throughout the day.
In the 100 meters, Edwardsville’s Adam Boykin at 11.50 seconds edging out teammate Kaylon Bursey, who had a time of 11.52 seconds, and Alton’s Cincere Ruffin was third at 11.59 seconds. In the 200 meters, Bursey and Boykin traded spots, as Bursey won at 23.03 seconds, with Boykin econ at 23.09 seconds, and Ruffin was third at 23.12 seconds. The Redbirds got their first win of the meet in the 400 meters, with Alex Macias having a time of 52.03 seconds. while Donnie Miller of Highland came in second at 52.89 seconds, and Janacek Nelson of Collinsville was third at 53.40 seconds.
Landon Harris of Granite City won the 800 meters with a time of 1:59.18, with Drew Twyman of Triad was second at 2:00.21, and Colin Thomas of Edwardsville was third at 2:02.26. The 1,600 meters was taken by the Tigers’ Gavin Rodgers at 4:29.17, while Highland’s Dallas Mancinas was second at 4:30.73, and Ben Perrufi of the Tigers was third at 4:33.70. Mancinas took home the 3,200 meters, with a time of 9:41.43, with Hugh Davis of Edwardsville second at 9:50.44, and Andrew Pace of Triad third at 9:58.40.
In the hurdles races, Louis Yohannes of the Knights won the 110 meters at 15.16 seconds, with Brandon Houston of the Tigers placing second at 16.95 seconds, and teammate Chris Malone was third at 17.60 seconds. In the 300-meter low hurdles, Charlie McAfoos of the Redbirds won with a time of 42.55, with Edwardsville’s Kaden Wilson was second at 42.80 seconds, and Malone was third at 44.18 seconds.
In the relay races, Alton won the 4×100 meters at 44.87 seconds, with Triad coming in second at 45.43 seconds, and Collinsville was third at 45.57 seconds. The 4×200 meters was won by the Redbirds with a time of 1:33.53, with the Knights second at 1:35.16, and the Bulldogs third at 1:35.17. In the 4×400 meters, Alton won with a time of 3:32.62, while Granite City was second at 3:33.63, and third place went to Edwardsville at 3:35.28. In the 4×800 meters, the Tigers were the winners at 8:42,34, with the Knights coming in second at 8;54.50, and the Redbirds were third at 8:58.11.
In the field events, Collinsville’s Devin Habermehl won the shot put with a throw of 16.21 meters, with Zach Van Tieghem of Triad was second at 14.90 meters, and Edwardsville’s Iose Epenesa was third at 14.89 meters. In the discus throw, Habermehl won with a distance of 51.76 meters, with Epenesa second at 51.68 meters, and Darian Johnson of Alton was third with a toss of 45.56 meters. Granite went one-two in the high jump, with Isaiah Ford clearing 1.85 meters to win, and teammate Logan Webb, Joshua Anoke of Edwardsville, and Braven Hard of Alton all tied for second, with Webb placing second, Anoke third and Hard fourth on the fewest misses rule.
Parker Friederich of the Knights won the pole vault, going over at 3.85 meters, with teammate Zane Meier second, clearing 3.35 meters. The long jump was won by K.J. Thorps-Watt of the Kahoks, going 6.43 meters, with Jacob Wahl of Edwardsville coming in second at 6.32 meters, and Nelson was third at 5.99 meters. Gino Montgomery of the Tigers won the triple jump, going 13.24 meters while Anoke was second at 12.26 meters, and Dymani Walker of Granite was third at 11.90 meters.
Dan Brannan also contributed to this story.
