PELLA

Highland’s track team delivered five relay teams to the state meet last year in Des Moines.

The Huskies rolled to an impressive start to the new season last Thursday in the Pekin Indoor Classic at Central College in Pella.

Even without a full team due to spring break, Highland’s boys squad medaled in six of seven relay races, highlighted by wins in the 4x200 and shuttle relay.

“We had a really good night for the first meet of the year,” Huskies coach Nick Ehret said. “The boys all competed well. We were missing a few guys on a trip, but overall very happy with our performance.”

Brenton Bonebrake won the long jump with a leap of 19 feet, 5 inches and tied for fourth place in the high jump with his brother, Logan, both hitting 5-10.

Devin Lovetinsky won the shot put with a throw of 42-3.

Overall, the Huskies placed in 10 of 11 events.

“This year we have more guys out, which will help a ton being able to compete in every event,” Ehret said. “We are looking to build on the success of our sprinters last year and should be strong in that area again.”

Highland won the 4x200 with a time of 1:44.37, beating runner-up WACO by nearly 3 seconds. The Huskies won the shuttle relay with a time of 30.22 seconds.

The Huskies also placed fourth in the 4x400 and 55 shuttle hurdle, fifth in the California Mile 8x200, and sixth in the 4x800.

Nic Oriano placed fourth in the 55 high hurdles with a time of 10.71 seconds.

Highland’s girls, who advanced three relay teams to the state championships in 2021, placed three relay events in Pella. The Huskies placed fourth in the shuttle relay and California Mile, and fifth in the 4x800.

The Huskies missed the top spot by less than a second in the shuttle relay, finishing with a time of 36.06 seconds. Highland was in a close race in the California Mile, which featured eight girls running 200 meters each. The Huskies placed fourth with a time of 4:26.53, finishing 3 seconds behind Twin Cedars and four-tenths of a second ahead of Lone Tree.