The Clarion-Goldfield-Dows, Hampton-Dumont-CAL and Iowa Falls-Alden boys track and field teams are scheduled to be in a title chase at the North Central Conference meet in Clarion on Thursday.
IFA’s Jaden Damiano has the top times in the 110m hurdles and 400m hurdles, and is 2nd in the 100m and 400m in the NCC. Ray Morgan Jr. is 2nd in the 110m hurdles and Carter DeBates is ranked 3rd in the discus. The Cadets also have the fastest shuttle hurdle relay in the conference at 1:00.25. IFA Coach David Harms says the Cadets are high intensity and bring effort to every event.
“We concentrate on effort and then whatever we get from that is icing on the cake,” says Harms. “If you don’t have the effort, then you’re deciding, I’m going to run hard in this one or I’m going to run hard in that one, that’s not how it works. We’re going for team points, and if you do that, you’re not worried about things that you don’t have any control over anyway. We’re doing everything we can to get healed up and to be primed for these high intensity meets. Our guys are high intensity all the time, so there’s not a lot we change when we go in.”
For HD-CAL Gavin Meader is 1st in the 100m and 2nd in the 200m, Gage Plagge is 1st in the long jump and Scott Harr is ranked 2nd in the shot put in NCC. The Bulldogs also have the fastest 4x200m relay in the conference at 1:29.94. HD-CAL Coach Dan Aalbers says the conference meet is filled with good athletes that help prepare the Bulldogs up for districts.
“The North Central Conference Meet is similar to the wrestling, when you say you’ve done something at the NCC meet and track, you’re running against some very good teams and we’re excited,” says Aalbers. “We’re going to go there and see good athlete after good athlete to great athlete. So it’s fun to compete at the NCC and it really sets us up for districts which are the following week very nicely.”
CGD’s Mason Allen holds the top throw in the NCC in the discus.
The meet begins at 5:00 p.m. There will also be bottom of the hour reports on the latest results from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. on 104.9 KLMJ.
