The Mount Vernon girls’ track team won the first annual Mount Vernon Relays Thursday, March 28, at The Martha Parsons and Family Activities Complex.
The Mustangs topped defending Class 3A champion Solon 176 to 137 team points. Marion was third with 68.
“It’s a night I’ll never forget,” Mount Vernon coach Kory Swart said. “We’re just so thankful for all the workers and volunteers who stepped up to help make it such a special experience for everyone.”
The Mustangs won eight events, including the 4×800, shuttle hurdle and 4×400.
Individually, Libby Dix won the discus, Lucy Wischmeyer the long jump, Cali Whitaker the 100, Elsa Appleton the 100 hurdles and Kiersten Swart the 400 hurdles.
The Mustangs also competed Saturday in the J-Hawk Relays at Kingston Stadium. They placed third behind Solon and Linn-Mar in a Class 5A-heavy event.
“We’ve definitely gained some momentum early in the season, which is exciting,” Swart said.
At Kingston, the Mustangs won two events – Cali Whitaker in the 100 (12.65 seconds) and Libby Dix in the discus (123 feet, 6 inches).
Swart was impressed by Lucy Wischmeyer breaking 16 feet in the long jump. She was runner-up with a leap of 16 feet, 1.25 inches.
Also, the 4×800 relay broke 10 minutes for the first time in 2024. Whisner, Schoff, Moeller and Swart were runner-up in 9:54.82.
“That was a nice accomplishment before we’ve even hit April,” Swart said.
On the boys’ side at the Mount Vernon Relays, Grady Olberding led the way with a sweep of the long-distance races, winning the 1,600 meters in 4:31.14 and the 3,200 meters in 9:39.36. His time in the 3,200 set a new school record.
“Grady had a great night,” Mount Vernon coach Ryan Whitman said.
The Mustangs finished in fifth behind Solon, Lisbon, CCA and CPU.
“It was so fun to watch them grow from one meet to the next,” Whitman said. “The season is a process.”
Among other top performers for the boys, Miles Francois set personal records in the 110 and 400 hurdles, placing fourth and sixth. He also led off the runner-up shuttle hurdle relay.
Another PR came from Cayden Scheil in the 3,200, where he finished sixth.
The 4×800 relay cut 28 seconds off their time from the Wamac Indoor Meet, finishing in 8:42.01.
A few other meets were also cancelled early last week because of the weather. The Mustang girls were scheduled to compete at Benton Community on Monday, March 25, and the boys at the Tipton Invitational on Tuesday, March 26.
Lisbon
The Lion boys’ finished runner-up at the Mount Vernon Relays with 119 team points, 10 points behind Solon.
“I thought we had a really nice meet across the board,” Lisbon coach Lonnie Speidel said. “I was probably most impressed with our field events performances.”
Daylin Schaefer won the long jump with a leap of 22 feet, 2.5 inches. Jonah Reiling was second in the shot put (48-11) and third in the discus (146-11). Mason Lehmer was third in the high jump (6-0).
“Jonah in the discus and Daylin in the long jump both currently lead 1A with their marks,” Speidel said.
The Lions continued to show strength in the events that helped them win the 1A title last spring. Lisbon won the 4×100 and sprint medley relays, and were second in the 4×200.
Baylor Speidel won the 100-meter dash in 11.02 seconds and the 200-meter dash in 22.46 seconds. Michael Gadberry won the 800 in 2:03.08.
The Lisbon girls finished sixth in the team race. The Lions had some last-minute injuries and illness that forced them shuffle their lineup around.
“We are very proud of the girls for coming together and stepping up,” Lisbon coach Brett Epperly said.
Addie Clark was runner-up in the open 400 (1:03.13).
Mount Vernon Relays
Girls team scores – 1. Mount Vernon 176; 2. Solon 137.3; 3. Marion 68; 4. Clear Creek Amana 56.3; 5. Center Point-Urbana 49; 6. Lisbon 36.3; 7. West Branch 36; 8. Benton Community 29.
Winner; Mount Vernon, Lisbon placewinners
High jump – 1. Carlee Webber (Marion) 5-0; 2. Sydney Maue (MV) 4-10; 3. Paige Schurbon (MV) 4-10; 4. Mykala Luzum-Selmon (L) 4-8.
Long jump – 1. Lucy Wischmeyer (MV) 16-2; 3. Brynn Epperly (L) 15-3.5; 4. Elsa Appleton (MV) 15-2.
Shot put – 1. Ana Glawe (BC) 35-10; 4. Libby Dix (MV) 34-8.5;
Discus – 1. Libby Dix (MV) 128-5.
Sprint medley – 1. Solon 1:49.40; 2. Mount Vernon (Wischmeyer, Niehaus, Swantz, Whitaker) 1:54.02; 3. Lisbon (Epperly, Czarnecki, Happel, Clark) 1:55.56.
3,000 – 1. Emma Wilkerson (CPU) 11:49.04; 2. Edith Dawson (MV) 12:03.35; 3. Emrie Johnson (MV) 12:22.60.
4×800 – 1. Mount Vernon (Jensen, Hoffert, Schoff, Moeller) 10:05.78
Shuttle hurdle – 1. Mount Vernon (Haverback, Swart, Whisner, Appleton) 1:10.17; 4. Lisbon (Luzum-Selmon, Kahl, Reiter, Hasselbusch) 1:16.30.
100 – 1. Caliana Whitaker (MV) 12.79.
Distance medley – 1. Solon 4:26.46; 2. Mount Vernon (Wischmeyer, Truitt, Whisner, Swart) 4:27.59; 6. Lisbon (Pumphrey, Luzum-Selmon, Roos, Ahrendsen) 5:06.82.
400 – 1. Grace Estling (CPU) 1:01.41; 2. Addie Clark (L) 1:03.13; 7. Sam Schoff (MV) 1:06.96.
4×200 – 1. Solon 1:48.87; 4. Mount Vernon (Wischmeyer, Maue, Hale, Swantz) 1:54.11.
100 hurdles – 1. Elsa Appleton (MV) 17.30; 2. Olivia Haverback (MV) 17.65; 4. Kaitlynn Hasselbusch (L) 18.06.
800 – 1. Gracie Federspiel (Solon) 2:23.95; 3. Eastin Whisner (MV) 2:32.17; 4. Madison Hoffert (MV) 2:38.33.
200 – 1. Abby Cave (Marion) 25.92; 2. Caliana Whitaker (MV) 26.03; 7. Grace Hale (MV) 28.79.
400 hurdles – 1. Kiersten Swart (MV) 1:11.49; 3. Elsa Appleton (MV) 1:14.91; 5. Kaitlynn Hasselbusch 1:20.74.
1,500 – 1. Grace Hamann (WB) 5:09.03; 4. Evelyn Moeller (MV) 5:13.33; 5. Claire Jensen (MV) 5:16.01.
4×100 – 1. Solon 51.27; 6. Lisbon (Pumphrey, Clark, Epperly, Happel) 54.16.
4×400 – 1. Mount Vernon (Swantz, Schoff, Swart, Whisner) 4:17.50.
Boys team scores – 1. Solon 129; 2. Lisbon 119; 3. (tie) Clear Creek Amana 95 and Center Point-Urbana 95; 5. Mount Vernon 60; 6. Benton Community 53; 7. Marion 24; 8. West Branch 14.
Winner; Mount Vernon Lisbon placewinners
High jump – 1. Kaden Hoeper (Solon) 6-2; 3. Mason Lehmer (L) 6-0.
Long jump – 1. Daylin Schaefer (L) 22-2.5.
Shot put – 1. Brennen Blegen (BC) 50-6; 2. Jonah Reiling (L) 48-11.
Discus – 1. Ben Kampman (Solon) 164-7; 3. Jonah Reiling (L) 146-11; 6. Ian Shady (MV) 134-6.
Sprint medley – 1. Lisbon (Coleman, Clark, Fridley, Gadberry) 1:36.11; 6. Mount Vernon (Fairchild, Hird, Bentley, Pitlik) 1:40.23.
3,200 – 1. Grady Olberding (MV) 9:39.36; 5. Sawyer Feldman (L) 10:46.24; 6. Cayden Scheil (MV) 10:47.60.
4×800 – 1. Solon 8:17.41; 4. Mount Vernon (Scheil, Thurn, Vavricek, O’Connor) 8:42.01; 5. Lisbon (Krob, Speidel, Nunemaker, Armstrong) 9:04.89.
Shuttle hurdle – 1. Solon 1:03.53; 2. Mount Vernon (Francois, Ryan, Hird, Jaspers) 1:06.71; 6. Lisbon (Holub, McFarlane, Fox, Stone) 1:12.47.
100 – 1. Baylor Speidel (L) 11.02; 2. Tiernan Boots (L) 11.23
Distance medley – 1. Solon 3:39.76; 5. Mount Vernon (Plotz, Krob, Jaspers, Caskey) 4:01.32.
400 – 1. Cooper Grimm (CPU) 51.67; 2. Braxton Pitlik (MV) 55.25; 5. Luke Paulus (MV) 57.21.
4×200 – 1. Solon 1:33.15; 2. Lisbon (Coleman, Clark, Fridley, Butteris) 1:34.13.
110 hurdles – 1. Aren Schlemme (CCA) 15.13; 2. Gage Holub (L) 15.33; 4. Miles Francois (MV) 15.78.
800 – 1. Michael Gadberry (L) 2:03.08; 5. Dawson Scheil (MV) 2:08.43.
200 – 1. Baylor Speidel (L) 22.46; 4. Tiernan Boots (L) 23.10.
400 hurdles – 1. Nathan Miller (CPU) 55.98; 3. Gage Holub (L) 59.23; 6. Miles Francois (MV) 1:00.49.
1,600 – 1. Grady Olberding (MV) 4:31.14.
4×100 – 1. Lisbon (Coleman, Clark, Boots, Speidel) 43.66; 4. Mount Vernon (Bentley, Wood, Jaspers, Fairchild) 45.29.
4×400 – 1. Solon 3:26.91; 5. Mount Vernon (Pitlik, O’Connor, Jaspers, Scheil) 3:42.35.
J-Hawk Relays
Team scores – 1. Solon 126; 2. Linn-Mar 120; 3. Mount Vernon 86; 4. Cedar Rapids Kennedy 82; 5. Cedar Falls 78; 6. Iowa City West 63; 7. Decorah 61; 8. Iowa City High 47; 9. Waverly-Shell Rock 42; 10. Cedar Rapids Washington 14; 11. Benton Community 12; 12. Waterloo East 8; 13. Cedar Rapids Jefferson 2.
Winners, Mount Vernon placewinners
Shot put – 1. Katelyn Eggena (WSR) 36-9.5; 8. Libby Dix (MV) 32-3.5.
Discus – 1. Libby Dix (MV) 123-6.
Long jump – 1. Abby Mecklenburg (LM) 17-4.25; 2. Lucy Wischmeyer (MV) 16-1.25.
High jump – 1. Maia Denge-Hagen (LM) 5-2.
Sprint medley – 1. C.R. Kennedy 1:49.50; 3. Mount Vernon (Wischmeyer, Wischmeyer, Swantz, Whitaker) 1:53.52.
3,000 – 1. Alyssa Brandt (CRK) 11:03.57; 4. Claire Jensen (MV) 11:18.52.
4×800 – 1. Solon 9:50.15; 2. Mount Vernon (Whisner, Schoff, Moeller, Swart) 9:54.82.
Shuttle hurdle – 1. Cedar Falls 1:07.13; 5. Mount Vernon (Haverback, Swart, Whisner, Appleton) 1:13.03.
100 – 1. Caliana Whitaker (MV) 12.65.
Distance medley – 1. Solon 4:34.18; 2. Mount Vernon (Wischmeyer, Niehaus, Moss, Hoffert) 4:38.90.
400 – 1. Addison Swartzendruber (CRK) 57.05; 3. Eastin Whisner (MV) 1:01.84.
4×200 – 1. Linn-Mar 1:47.16; 6. Mount Vernon (Swantz, Truitt, Wischmeyer, Hale) 1:53.81.
100 hurdles – 1. Sophia Tognetti (CF) 15.47.
800 – 1. Chloe Egbert (LM) 2:23.74; 3. Evelyn Moeller (MV) 2:30.37; 6. Sam Schoff (MV) 2:32.31.
200 – 1. Addison Swartzendruber (CRK) 26.19.
400 hurdles – 1. Jaylin Herring (ICW) 1:09.24.
1,500 – 1. Josee Simonson (CF) 5:05.90; 8. Edith Dawson (MV) 5:32.28.
4×100 – 1. Decorah 51.42; 8. Mount Vernon (Wischmeyer, Niehaus, Wischmeyer, Hale) 53.82.
4×400 – 1. Solon 4:06.65; 3. Mount Vernon (Swantz, Whisner, Swart, Whitaker) 4:12.11.
MV girls win Mount Vernon Relays
Ryan Suchomel, Sports Reporter
April 4, 2024
About the Contributor
Ryan Suchomel, Sports Reporter
Ryan Suchomel is a sports reporter for the Mount Vernon-Lisbon Sun.