Prep Track & Field: Bulldogs shine at Benton Spring Fling
Staff Report
BENTON - Ten first-place finishes and 12 personal records highlighted the day for the Harrisburg High School boys' track and field team at Saturday's Benton Spring Fling.
On the track, Dustin Lane grabbed a first place finish in the 100 meter dash, crossing the line in 11.1 seconds. In the 200, Lane took top prize with a time of 22.8.
Corbin Crim had a pair of first place finishes, taking first in the 400 meters with a time of 52.8. In the long jump, Crim cleared 20-feet-5.25 inches to take the top spot.
Niko Neal had a first place finish in the 110 high hurdles, coming in at 15.5, which was also a PR for the sophomore and Cody Rightnowar took first place in the 300 intermediate hurdles with a time of 42.3.
The 4x100 relay team of Tylor Marler, Rightnowar, Lane and Crim came in first with a time of 44.3, while the 4x200 relay team of Axavier Doss, Aaron Stephens, Marler and Lane grabbed the top spot with a time of 1:37.
In the field events, Kane Carrigan grabbed two first place finishes in the shot put and discuss with tosses of 53-feet-6 and 164-feet-3, respectively.
"For our first outdoor meet of the season and first true full team meet I am pretty happy with the outcome," Harrisburg head coach Zach Cox said. "Obviously there are always things you are going to pick out that you need to improve on but, it was a solid day for us considering we won 10 out of 18 events with at least 13 teams competing today.
"Kane, Dustin, and Corbin all won two individual events and Cody and Niko picked up one. Our seniors have been the core of the team for the last couple years so it's nice seeing some sophomores begin to come into their own. The performances considering the 30 mph winds are a great starting point for the outdoor season."
Competing along with Harrisburg and the host Rangers were Herrin, Murphysboro, Okawville, Sesser-Valier, Johnston City, Wayne City, Lebanon, Hamilton County, Webber Township, Goreville and Anna-Jonesboro.
Daniel Boone (12.1) and Doss (12.3) both had PR's in the 100 meter dash, while Hunter Smith (2:30), Chris Williams (2:30) and Trey Robinson (2:30) had PR's in the 800 meters.
Trey Robinson (5:48) and Christian Murray (5:59) had PR's in the 1600 meters.
Smith had a PR in the high jump, clearing 5-feet-8, while Kyle Cavender (10-feet-) and Kody Cavender (9-foot-6) both had PR's in the pole vault.
"There are a couple areas we really can improve on and one of those is in that middle distance area," Cox added. "Athletes that can go out and run the 800 even though the 200 and 400 may be their better races are extremely valuable to a team. Some athletes are even more versatile like a Luke Horton from a couple years ago. He is running at SIU now and has a top-10 800M time on the SIU all-time indoor leaderboard. In high school he ran the 4x100, 800, and 4x400 at the state track meet and he also ran a 4:40 mile that year. Those are the guys that bring it all together and I think we have a couple of young guys who could step up and begin to fill that role. Depth is a great thing and it is nice to think about the things we could accomplish this year if everyone buys in."