Red Oak track opens season indoors at Iowa State

The Red Oak boys track team took nine athletes to the Iowa Track Coaches Association indoor meet Friday on the campus of Iowa State University.
The Tigers placed eighth among 30 teams competing in Ames.
“What a great start to this season we had this evening,” said Red Oak coach Sueann French. “Coach [Carter] Bruce and I are super proud of the boys and their effort this evening. We give them a few more weeks of practice and we will be ready for the outdoor season.”
Cale Hall had a strong day in the sprints for the Tigers. The senior was fourth in the 200-meters with a time of 22.70 and a top eight finisher in the 60-meters with a time of 7.18.
The Tigers’ 4x800-meter relay team of Emmanuel Grass, Osiel Pedersen, Hayden Hietbrink and Reese Montgomery placed fourth with a time of 8:32.03.
Grass added a fifth-place medal in the 1,600-meters and Montgomery was eighth in the 800.
Southwest Valley, with four entries, competed in six events in Ames.
Leading the way for the Timberwolves was senior Gavin Wetzel, a two-time state qualifier in the high jump.  Wetzel brought home a fourth-place medal with a tie at five feet, nine inches.
The real work of the day came from junior Brody Crozier, competing in three events. Crozier was a state qualifier in 2025 in the 100-meter and the long jump, and qualified to compete in the long jump, 60-meter dash and the 200-meters.  Crozier brought home a fifth-place medal in the long jump with his best jump of 20 feet, .75 inches. He also placed 12th in the 200 with a time of 23.81 and 13th in the 60-meter dash with a time of 7.3.
Senior Alyssa Pearson competed in the 60-meter hurdles.  She was 38th with a time of 12.03, but an improvement over her efforts at a preseason meet in Omaha at the end of January.
Freshman Caleb Owen competed in the boys shot put, finishing in 13th place overall with a throw of 42 feet, 6.25 inches.
“Overall, it was a great day and the effort from our Timberwolves was outstanding,” said Southwest Valley coach Jason Hults.