O'Neill High School boys earn 3rd Place at O'Neill Invitational

Kedron Koehler runs the 300 IH. Photo Credit Mike Peterson.

The O'Neill Eagles boys track athletes competed well at home at the O'Neill Invitational track meet on Thursday the 16th. Of the twenty-three teams that took part in the meet. the Eagles managed to earn third place in Division I.

Two Eagle tracksters earned 1st place finishes in the field events, including an exciting performance by senior Jon Marvin in the pole vault, clearing fourteen feet. Marvin succeeded not only in winning the event, but in tying the meet record held my his father, Mike Marvin, which he set in 1982 for the Bloomfield Bees. Another first place went to junior Walker Liewer, who won the discus with a throw of 129-1, despite less-than-ideal throwing conditions due to the rain.

In the hurdles Kedron Koehler won the three hundred intermediate hurdles with a time of 42.75 while freshman Alex Thramer placing 6th with a time of 45.35. 

The distance runners came to compete as well. Grant Johnston won the thirty-two hundred meters with a time of 10:17.11, and fellow teammate Blake Johnston placed 2nd with a time of 10:19.60, a career best. Grant also placed 2nd and Blake 4th in the mile. Both ran their personal best of 4:47.92 and 4:54.38 respectively. Tyson Hostert competed well in the eight hundred meter run earning 3rd place with a time of 2:08.30.

The relay teams also performed admirably, and were able to run their season bests. The 4 x 800 meter relay placed 2nd in a hard-fought battle with Ainsworth and ran 8:30.15. Running the two-mile relay was Nathaniel Jennings, Blake Johnston, Tyson Hostert, and Grant Johnston.  The 4 x 400 team, composed of Jon Gettert, Tyson Hostert, Alex Thramer, and Kedron Koehler, took 4th place with a time of 3:42.17. The 4 x 100 relay team, consisting of Chance Sholes, Jack Gutshall, Dylan Belik, and Kedron Koehler, placed 5th with a time of 47:70.

Eagles head track coach Cole Hilker noted, 

“Ninety points as a team is good, but I know that we are far better than that. This is the part of the season hard workouts can make a big impact. These next two weeks will be great for conditioning to get ready for the end of the season."

The Eagles will be able to perform once again this week at the West Holt Invitational. Field events will start at 2:00 pm, and running events at 4:00 pm.

Best of luck to all the area competitors!

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Blake Johnston running a leg of the 4 x 800. Photo Credit Mike Peterson.