Mustangs claim medals at LC meet

ALTAMONT — Iola High’s Mustangs captured the gold medal in the 4×800-meter relay to open the 2011 track season Friday.
The Mustangs finished ninth in a 10-team Labette County High Invitational track meet. They scored 30 points in the varsity division which was won by Fort Scott with 84 points. Chanute edged Parsons for second, 73 to 72 points.
But in the junior varsity division of the LCHS Invitational, the Mustangs scored 115 points and placed third as a team. Labette County won with 139 points and Girard had 117 points.
Christian Kauth, who is the only member of the Southeast Kansas League champion relay team back this year, led off the 4×800-meter relay for the Mustangs. He handed the baton off to Mikal Bossell then it went to Roman Yocham. Each runner pushed Iola out to a lead and when Charles Apt took the baton for the anchor leg, he was able to stay the course as Iola won in 9 minutes, 7 seconds.
Kyle Heffern earned the bronze medal in the discus with a throw of 116 feet, 3 inches. Apt took fourth in the javelin with a throw of 148 feet and Kauth was sixth in the triple jump with a leap of 37’3”.
In the pole vault, Drew Shepherd cleared 11 feet to place third and Dylan Lower was sixth, going over 9’6”. The 4×400-meter relay team of Bossell, Apt, Kauth and Yocham was fifth in 3:46.3.
The Mustang junior varsity took only one gold medal but captured silver medals in nine of 18 events.
Michael Wilson led a 1-2-3 finish in the pole vault as he cleared 10 feet. Jacob Rhoads was second going up to nine feet and Justin Baker finished third at 8’6”. Rhoads also took a silver medal in the javelin with a distance of 109’1”.
Adam Kauth took the silver medal in the high jump, clearing the bar at 5’6”. Tyler McIntosh placed second in the triple jump with a leap of 34 feet and was fourth in the long jump at 17’11”.
Stephen McDonald earned the silver medal in the discus with a throw of 96’4” and Eli Grover took the bronze medal at 96’3”. Throwing out of a ring flooded with rain water, McDonald placed sixth in the shot put with a toss of 31’8”.
On the track, the Mustangs had Jacob Harrison placing second in the 200-meter dash in 25.2 seconds and Kauth was second in the 300-meter intermediate hurdles in 48.2 seconds. Kauth combined with McIntosh, Rhoads and Tyler Powelson for second in the 4×400-meter relay race in 4:07.1.
The 4×800-meter relay team of Jacob Cooper, Powelson, Jeremy Spears and Arion Kunkler placed second in 10:17. Wilson, Fryendz Wallace, Gerardo Rojas and Baker combined to place fourth in the 4×100-meter relay race in 53.8 seconds.
Bryan Miller earned the bronze medal in the 3200-meter run in 12:32 and Bryan Mueller was sixth in 13:00. Spears took sixth in the 1600-meter run in 5:37.1. Jason Tidd placed third in the 800-meter run in 2:30.9.
Iola’s varsity goes to Paola this Friday with events starting at 4 p.m. The junior varsity’s next meet is April 11 at Chanute.