Cyclone boys run well in Carroll Early Bird, highlighted by 4x200 relay win

CARROLL — The Harlan Community boys track and field team opened its outdoor season at the Carroll Co-ed Early Bird meet, battling cold temperatures and strong winds on the way to a fourth-place team finish.
Despite the tough conditions, head coach Sam Brummer was pleased with how his team handled the elements in their first meet of the season.“I think it was a good starting spot for us,” Brummer said. 
“When you get that first meet out, that’s really what you’re looking for, just seeing relays and events in action. Mother Nature always factors in, and I thought our kids did a really good job handling everything.”
The Cyclones were highlighted by a gold medal performance in the 4x200 relay, where the team of Sam Shields, Landon Nihsen, Foxx Argotsinger, and Hagen Sorensen crossed the line in 1:34.33.
“That was one of our bigger highlights of the night,” Brummer said. 
“For a first time out, it wasn’t perfect, but for the most part they ran a pretty clean race. That group has a chance to be really good.”
HCHS also delivered several runner-up and third-place finishes throughout the meet. 
The Cyclones started strong on the track in the 800-meter sprint medley, where Shields, Argotsinger, Jackson Ahrenholtz, and Cade Nelson placed second in 1:41.04, finishing just behind Glenwood (1:39.49).
In the 3200-meter run, Jeffrey Gross earned a second-place finish with a time of 10:23.59, narrowly be-hind Carroll’s Dayton Wiederien.
“Those are guys we’re really going to count on to bring home points,” Brummer said of his distance runners. “The conditions weren’t ideal, so you’re probably not going to see the best times, but they went out and competed.”
Sorensen led the way in the 100-meter dash with a third-place finish in 11.36 seconds, while Joshua Erlemeier placed 10th (11.92). 
Additional Cyclone finishers included Levi Shields (21st, 12.57), Avery Kimmen (23rd, 12.69), and William Adem (26th, 12.79).
Along with their winning 4x200 relay, the Cyclones also placed seventh in the event with a second team of Levi Shields, Kreed Boggess, Luke Ineson, and Michael Wohlhutter.
The distance medley relay team of Nelson, Ineson, Ahrenholtz, and Carson Baughman placed third in 4:03.73.
In the 400-meter dash, Erlemeier placed fourth (57.10), while Kimmen finished 11th (1:03.50).
Erik Heslink added another second-place finish in the 800 meters, running 2:14.30, while Brogan Schech-inger placed 11th (2:27.89).
Nelson and Erlemeier both had strong performances in the 200-meter dash, finishing fourth (23.88) and sixth (24.60), respectively.
In the 400-meter hurdles, Alex McCulley placed fifth (1:04.23) and Baughman followed in sixth (1:05.37).
The Cyclones continued to score points in the 1600-meter run, where Gross secured his second runner-up finish of the night (4:54.86). 
Heslink placed fourth (5:02.61), and Schechinger finished ninth (5:24.63).
HCHS closed out the meet with a third-place finish in the 4x100 relay, as Shields, Nihsen, Argotsinger, and Sorensen combined for a time of 46.12.
In the field events, the Cyclones saw solid efforts in both discus and shot put. 
Edgardo Quintanilla led the way in discus with an 11th-place throw of 107-04, followed by Jaspyr Nielsen (13th, 105-08) and Conner Bruck (20th, 87-08).
In shot put, Quintanilla again led Harlan with a 16th-place finish (38-04), while Nielsen placed 19th (36-06.50). Kobe Stahl (28th, 29-00.75) and Bruck (29th, 28-07.75) also competed.
Kreed Boggess represented the Cyclones in the long jump, placing 16th with a leap of 16-05.00.
Due to the weather conditions, the Cyclones were unable to finish every event as planned, leaving some potential team points on the table.“We left some points out there, but we knew that,” Brummer said. 
“Playing the long game and making sure we keep guys healthy is going to help us in the long run.”
With the early meet serving as a baseline, Brummer emphasized the team’s focus moving forward.“Our big meets are in May,” he said. 
“Everything up until then is about fine-tuning and getting better each time out.”
Harlan will return to action Tuesday, March 31, at the Monarch Relays in Denison-Schleswig. 
Field events begin at 3:30 p.m., followed by running events at 4:00.