Bulldogs earn All-State honors at IHSA state meet
By Fred Kroner
Two of Mahomet-Seymour’s entries in the IHSA boys’ track and field state meet, at Charleston, qualified for the finals.
Junior discus-thrower Robert Byron had the fourth-best qualifying mark in his specialty after a toss of 157 feet, 9 inches in the prelims on Friday (May 27). He was 8 feet, 6 inches behind the Class 2A leader.
In the finals at Eastern Illinois University on Saturday (May 28), Byron took fifth place after a mark of 157-10.
Also posting the fourth-best qualifying mark was the 3,200-meter relay foursome of Kyle Nofziger, Blake Dillman, Joseph Scheele and Jonah Singer. Their cumulative time was 8 minutes, 6.19 seconds. They were just 1.12 seconds behind the top qualifier.
The time was the sixth-best in M-S history.
In the Saturday finals, the distance relay secured a sixth-place finish with a time of 8:09.24.
The relay runners consist of three seniors and one freshman (Dillman).
Of the last 11 relays to place at state for the Bulldogs, eight have been in the 3,200-meter event.
The Bulldogs’ other individual state-qualifier was Cole Marshall. He ended 14th in the triple jump with a 40-feet, 3-inch mark.
M-S scored nine points at state and ended in a tie for 33rd place. In all, 68 schools scored points in the Class 2A state meet.
Byron and the members of the 3,200-meter relay earned All-State status for their performances. The state medals were the first in track and field for each of the relay runners as well as for Byron, who provided the school with its 14th state medal in the boys’ discus.
