Area preps: Fairfield boys claim Trojan Relays

Apr. 9—FAIRFIELD — The ongoing battle to be Fairfield's top high jumper continued between Ryan Giberson and Eli Zillman on Tuesday.

Giberson broke out at home, claiming the title at the Fairfield Trojan Relays reaching 6-6 for the first time in the outdoor season. Zillman finished second for Fairfield, crossing the bar at 6-2 to help Fairfield edge Fort Madison for the team title in their home meet.

Fairfield finished with 129 total points, beating the Bloodhounds by 7.5 clinching the team title with a third-place finish in the 4x400 relay. Gabe Tejada helped keep the Trojans in front heading into the stretch run of the meet, winning the 800-meter run in 2:01.04.

The Trojans also scored 42 points in the four field events. Caden Allison picked up a win for Fairfield in the discus throw, reaching 138 feet and seven inches.

Pekin finished fourth in the Trojan Relays with 85 points, winning four events during the meet. JaeDon Wolver finished first for the Panthers in the 400-meter hurdles in 57.66 seconds while Brady McWhirter took the 1,600-meter run in 4:41.06.

Riley Smith, Cole Millikin, Lane Fariss and Mason Dahlstrom led Pekin to the win in the 4x800 relay, producing a time of 9:12.75. Kacey Davis, Robert Brown, Will Adam and Wolver also earned a win for the Panthers in the shuttle hurdle relay finishing the race in 1:04.26.

The Van Buren County boys were right back on the track on Tuesday after joining the Warrior girls in dominating the WACO Relays, finishing third at the Fairfield Trojan Relays with 101.5 points one night later. Lincoln Bainbridge, one night after winning the 1,600 at WACO, took the 3,200-meter run at Fairfield crossing the finish line in 10:35.7.

The Van Buren County girls dominated the meet at WACO on Monday, scoring 145 points. The Warrior boys, meanwhile, secured wins in eight different events including the top three finishes in the 3,200-meter run on the way to scoring 97 points, edging WACO by 17.

Landry Loeffler led the parade of Van Buren runners across the finish line in the two-mile boys individual race, winning the 3,200 title in 11:24.33. Elijah Westercamp came in second for the Warriors in 12:46.85 while Kayden Farris placed third in 12:56.55.

Bainbridge brought home the win for the VBC boys in the 1,600-meter run, finishing the race in 4:52.21, before anchoring the Warriors in a winning run of 9:02.76 in the 4x800 relay. Bryce Moquin finished first for Van Buren County in the 100-meter dash in 11.99 seconds, Tyler Stoltz won the boys high jump reaching 6-2 and Cameron Stoltz took the shot put for the Warriors with a throw of 36-10.5.

Caylin Schmitt edged Warrior teammate Emma Coffin to claim the title for VBC in the girls 100-meter dash in 14.16 seconds. Ava Loeffler won the girls 200-meter dash for the Warriors in 30.11 seconds, 1.56 ahead of teammate Payton Wiley, while Libby Bainbridge claimed the 400-meter hurdles in 1:21.18 ahead of VBC teammate Daphny Wells who finished second in the race in 1:25.65.

Other winners on the track for the Van Buren County girls included Rylee Caviness in the 400-meter dash in 1:12.81, Rylee Philips in the 1,500-meter run in 5:48.4 and Ashley Fennel in the 3,000 meters in 13:59.85. Schmitt added a win in the shot put for the Warrior girls, reaching 30 feet and one inch, while Lexie Wiley topped VBC teammate Elli Daugherty for the girls discus title reaching 85 feet and two inches before finishing second to Warrior teammate Marlee Mertens in the girls high jump clearing 4-6 while Mertens cleared 4-10.

The Van Buren County girls also picked up relay wins in the 4x100 (55.7), 4x200 (1:58.75), 4x800 (11:54.49), distance medley (4:49.07) and the shuttle hurdle relay (1:18.38). The Warrior boys won relays in the 4x100 (45.87), 4x200 (1:35.6) and the 4x800 (9:02.76).