Byron, Marshall and 3,200 relay team qualify for state
By Fred Kroner
Mahomet-Seymour secured Class 2A state-meet berths in three events during action on Thursday (May 19) at the Tolono Unity Boys’ Track and Field Sectional.
Robert Byron was the sectional champion in the discus with a personal-best toss of 166 feet, 5 inches. His effort ranks seventh on the all-time M-S leaders’ list
Also qualifying for state were Cole Marshall, the runner-up in triple jump (41 feet, 3 inches), along with the 3,200-meter relay foursome of Kyle Nofziger, Joseph Scheele, Blake Dillman and Jonah Singer.
Marshall’s triple jump mark ranks in a tie for ninth on the all-time M-S leaders’ list.
The relay was timed in 8 minutes,13.35 seconds. The relay features three seniors and Dillman, a freshman. The relay time is the 11th-fastest in school history.
In the team standings, M-S ended in fourth place with 44 points. The meet champion in the 16-school meet was Mount Zion with 122 points.
The Bulldogs wound up with two top-10 placers in seven events.
In the 400 meters, Deangelo Hughey was seventh (personal-best 52.41 seconds) and Kaden Jackson was 10th (54.77 seconds).
In the 3,200 meters, Benjamin Wallace was seventh (10:40.91) and Karsten Waisath was 10th (11:00.75).
In the 110-meter high hurdles, Dayten Eisenmann was ninth (17.73 seconds) and teammate Ian Dobrucki was 10th (17.75 seconds), both in personal-best times.
In the pole vault, Ty Clark was a near-miss for a state berth. He cleared 12 feet –the same height as the runner-up – but was placed fourth, based on misses.
Only the top two placers are automatic state-qualifiers.
The other M-S leader in the pole vault was Thomas Carpenter (eighth at 10 feet).
In the long jump, Marshall was ninth (18 feet, 9 inches) and Gabe Labbe was 10th (also 18 feet, 9 inches).
Joining Marshall as a placer in the triple jump was Labbe (seventh at 39 feet, 8 inches).
In the high jump, Bryton Perkins was ninth (5 feet, 5 inches) and Eisenmann was 10th (5 feet, 3 inches).
Other individual sectional placers for M-S were: Nofziger (third in the 1,600 meters in 4:47.09), Sam Garber (fifth in the shot put at a personal best 44 feet, 2 inches) and Dobrucki (eighth in the 300-meter hurdles in a personal-best 45.12 seconds).
Two other Bulldog relays finished among the top-10.
The 400-meter foursome of Jayvon Irwin, Hughey, Nick Golden and Quenton Rogers crossed in fourth place (44.04 seconds). That’s the 10th-best time in school history.
The 1,600-meter grouping of Hughey, Singer, Josh Franklin and Tyler Lewis ended ninth in 3:43.53.
The three M-S state-qualifying entries will compete in the preliminary round on Friday (May 27) at Eastern Illinois University, in Charleston.
