Tigers sending 12 events to state


The Red Oak boys qualified for state in seven events and the girls five at the Class 2A State Qualifying Track and Field meet in Clarinda Thursday.
Treynor swept the boys and girls team titles with 131 and 126 points each, respectively.
The Red Oak boys tallied 72 points to finish sixth. The top two finishers and the eight best times in the running events and distances in the field events qualify for this week’s state track meet on the Blue Oval at Drake University in Des Moines. The Class 2A portion of state commences at 9 a.m. Thursday.
“What a night,” said Red Oak boys coach Sueann French of her team’s performance at Clarinda. “The boys ran so well and peaked right at the perfect time. We have multiple events going to state. Coach Bruce and I are super proud!”
The Tigers’ got a top finish from its 4x800-meter relay team of Emmanuel Grass, Hayden Heitbrink, Osiel Pederson and Reese Montgomery. The quartet ran an 8:23 to capture gold and punch their ticket to state.
Cale Hall and Brayden Sifford finished second and fourth, respectively in the 100-meters to notch state bids. The pair doubled on their state bids with Hall finishing second and Sifford fifth in the 200.
The Tigers’ distance medley relay set a new personal record with Hall, Ethan Fouts, Sifford, and Grass running a 3:40 to place third in Clarinda but that time earned them an at-large bid.
Reese Montgomery set a new personal record in the 800-meters to qualify for state while Grass was third in the 1,600-meter but qualified as at-large bid with his time of 4:58.
The 4x100 team of Hall, Sifford, Marcus Torres and Fouts ran fourth in Clarinda with a personal record time of 44.06. The team qualified for state as one of the fastest non-top two finishers at the state qualifiers.
Joceyln O’Neal led Red Oak to a ninth-place finish at the state qualifier. The junior placed second in the 200-meters at Clarinda and qualified in both the long jump and the 400-meters via at-large bids. She also qualified for state, along with Keely Jones, Karly Jenkins and Iris Ogden in the 4x400-meter relay.
“I am extremely happy with how the girls performed and have high hopes for good news tomorrow,” said Red Oak girls coach Abigail Ellsworth. “The entire team had another night filled with personal bests and amazing efforts. I am always so incredibly proud of our girls, and I think we ended our season amazingly.”
The Tigers’ added an at-large bid from its distance medley relay with Ogden, Natalie Johnson, Jones and Jenkins running a 4:25.32 to place fourth.
Red Oak State Qualifiers
Boys
4x800-meter relay: Emmanuel Grass, Hayden Heitbrink, Osiel Pederson and Reese Montgomery. Alternate: Bryce Williams
100-meters: Cale Hall and Brayden Sifford.
200-meters: Hall and Sifford.
800-meters: Reese Montgomery.
1600-meters: Emmanuel Grass.
Distance Medley Relay: Hall, Ethan Fouts, Sifford and Grass. Alternates: Marcus Torres and Montgomery.
4X100-meter relay: Hall, Sifford, Torres and Fouts. Alternate: Sergio Villanueva and Masen Fisher.
Girls
Long Jump: Jocelyn O’Neal.
200-meters: O’Neal
400-meters: O’Neal.
Distance medley relay: Iris Ogden, Natalie Johnson, Keely Jones and Karly Jenkins. Alternate: O’Neal and Gillian Heim
4x400-meter relay: Jones, Jenkins, Ogden and O’Neal. Alternates: Heim and Johnson.