By Fred Kroner
All four St. Joseph-Ogden relays earned state tournament berths on Friday (May 20), helping the Spartans claim the team championship in their own 18-team Class 1A sectional.
SJ-O also had three individuals qualify for state.
The Spartans 1,600- and 3,200-meter relays were victorious at the sectional.
Teaming up for a time of 8 minutes, 53.28 seconds in the 3,200-meter relay were Spencer Wilson, Elijah Mock, Isiah Mock and Charlie Mabry.
Sharing the baton on the winning 1,600-meter relay were Tyler Burch, Aidan McCorkle, Wilson and Jonathan Poulter. Their combined time was 3:34.77.
The school’s other two state-bound relays finished in second place at the sectional.
Burch, McCorkle, Aidan Moberg and Poulter formed the 400-meter relay, which stopped the clock in 43.87 seconds.
The 800-meter relay featured Burch, McCorkle, Poulter and Wilson. Their cumulative time was 1:33.10.
SJ-O’s individual state qualifiers are sectional champion Brock Trimble (who hit a personal-best 165 feet, 2 inches in the discus), Burch (the 100-meter runner-up in 11.35 seconds) and Charlie Schmitz (personal-best 11 feet, 8 inches while placing second in the pole vault).
Burch was a near-miss in his bid to qualify for state in the maximum four events. He took third in the 200 meters (23.16 seconds).
Other Spartans in third place were McCorkle in the 400 meters (52.88 seconds) and Trimble in the shot put (38 feet, 9 inches).
Four SJ-O athletes ended in fourth place: Elijah Mock (800 meters in 2:09.18), Luke Stegall (1,600 meters in 4:42.66), Payton Wendell (3,200 meters in 10:53.54) and Jett Morris (pole vault at 9 feet, 2 inches).
Also placing among the top 10 in field events were: Colin Wayland (sixth in the high jump at 5 feet, 7 inches), Logan Smith (sixth in the long jump at 19 feet, 7 inches), Carson Sarnecki (eighth in the discus at 118 feet, 8 inches) and Moberg (10th in the long jump at 18 feet, 6 inches).
Braden Clampitt was among the SJ-O runners who added top-10 finishes in eight other events. He ran fifth in the 300-meter hurdles (45.82 seconds) and seventh in the 110-meter hurdles (17.95 seconds).
Other teammates who wound up among the top-10 at sectionals were: Mabry (fifth in the 1,600 meters in 4:50.05), Poulter (sixth in the 100 meters in 11.55 seconds), Wayland (seventh in the 200 meters in 23.75 seconds), Jack Fisher (seventh in the 3,200 meters in 11;41.89), Mason Guido (eighth in the 400 meters in 56.61 seconds), Kyler Swanson (eighth in the 300-meter hurdles in 48.33 seconds) and Holden Jones (10th in the 800 meters in 2:18.66).
SJ-O won its second consecutive sectional crown in boys’ track with 103 points. Runner-up Salt Fork had 83 points. Eighteen schools submitted entries.
Overall, SJ-O has 20 sectional team titles in boys’ track and field.
The Class 1A state prelims will take place on Thursday (May 26) at Eastern Illinois University, in Charleston.
