The Lisbon varsity boys’ and girls’ track and field teams made their presence felt at the 2021 Iowa High School State Co-Ed Track & Field Championships at Drake University in Des Moines.
The annual event was held May 20-22.
In boys’ 1A action, Madrid took first place with 65.5 points, while Lisbon was second at 57 points. Earlham came in third with 52.
“It was a great weekend,” said Lisbon head coach Casey Baxa.
The Lions were Class 1A champions in five different events, with junior Kole Becker participating in four of them.
Becker was the champ in the 110 meter hurdles with a time of 15.06, as well as the long jump, where he was airborne for 22 feet- 4 inches.
Becker was at it again in the 400 meter hurdles, though his first place finish did not look likely early on. Becker made up ground down the stretch, picking up speed when facing a head wind. Not only did his time of 54.90 put him in first place, it was also the fastest time recorded in 1A action this year.
Becker also anchored the team’s first place shuttle hurdle relay team with Cohen Kamaus, Luke Czarnecki, and Bryce Clausen. The quartet finished in a time of 1:00.20.
To hear Becker tell it, the highlight of the three-day event was likely his team’s shuttle victory, “because we all wanted to win it, and when I could finish it off for them, it was really special.”
He said Coach Baxa was enthusiastic about his performance.
“When I first talked to him right after the 110’s he just said, ‘Way to go, stud! That’s how it’s done,’” said Becker.
The boys’ also collected a first place finish in the 4×100 meter relay as Will Bennett, Baylor Speidel, Kaden Caspers, and Devyn Decious joining forces to record a time of 44.60.
The Lions were fourth in the 1600 medley relay, with a time of 3:42.33. Caspers, Jamien Moore, Carter Hall, and Cade Siebrecht comprised this team.
Decious placed seventh in the 100 meter dash with a time of 11.52.
Lisbon turned in a ninth place finish in the 4×200, finishing at 1:33.00 with Bennett, Speidel, Kaeden Harrer and Decious making up that squad.
Another ninth place finish for the Lions was the 4×800 meter relay team with Hall, Junior Krob, Quincy Happel, and Siebrecht finishing in 8:34.64.
The 800 meter sprint medley quartet of Bennett, Speidel, Decious and Hall placed 13th with a time of 1:37.96.
Truman Krob came in 19th in the 3200 with a time of 10:37.29.
In girls’ competition, the Lions placed 10th overall, with Madrid taking the top spot there, as well.
Lourdes Mason, a sophomore, placed fourth in the 1500 meter run with a time of 5:02.34.
Mason also collected a fourth place finish in the 3000 meter run, clocking in at 10:41.47.
The 4×100 team of Addy Happel, Ava Czarnecki, Madi Schnipkoweit, and Peyton Robinson came in fourth place at 52.77.
The 4×200 team, composed of the same four girls, also placed fourth with a time of 1:48.11.
The Lions were 13th in the 800 sprint medley relay, finishing at 1:56.14. Schnipkoweit, Czarnecki, Happel and Robinson made up this team.
A 14th place finish was awarded to Lisbon’s 1600 distance medley team of Brynnley Baxa, Mia Petersen, Kiah Kilburg, and Mason, with a time of 4:27.17.
Finally, the girls placed 19th in the 4×800 relay at 10:48.32, with Kilburg, Blair Baltes, Maeve Krogmann, and Gabi Moehlman.

Gallery • 3 Photos

Mike Cranston | Staff photo

Lisbon’s Kole Becker takes a leap in the long jump with his first place finish of 22 feet, four inches.