By SCOTT VICKER
OST sports editor • svicker@osceolaiowa.com
DES MOINES — A pair of area boys earned medals here at last weekend’s Co-ed State Track Meet.
Clarke senior Gordon Witt medaled in the Class 2A high jump, while Murray sophomore Jack Jones medaled in the Class 1A long jump.
It was the first trip to the state meet for either athlete.
Witt competed in both the high jump and the 110 meter high hurdle prelims Friday morning.
The Clarke senior easily cleared on his first two jumps of the day at opening height of 5-11 and again at 6-1, before going to run his hurdles race.
Witt returned from his hurdles preliminary and cleared 6-3 on his second attempt. He missed on all three attempts at 6-5, finishing in a five-way tie for eighth place to earn a medal.
“It’s really nice to come to state your senior year and get a medal,” Witt said. “All of them felt good until I got to that 6-5. My first two felt really good, just little things went wrong with it. That third one, I just got really nervous. It was my last jump, so I was worried.”
Witt nearly cleared on both of his first two attempts at 6-5, but knocked the bar off on his way down both times.
“I needed to hold my hips up longer,” he said. “That’s what my coach always says, hold my hips up and jump high.”
In addition to his eighth-place finish in the high jump, Witt also ran a new PR time in the 110 high hurdles prelims.
Witt finished 16th with his time of 15.58, besting his previous PR time of 15.90.
“I actually set a PR today with a 15.58,” Witt said. “I was pretty excited about that. I didn’t get last in my heat, that’s nice.”
Witt, who will be joining the Air Force, said his first state meet experience was a good one.
“Extremely exciting,” he said. “Nerve-wracking, definitely. There’s no words that can describe it. It’s your last year and you do good at something. It’s really nice.”
Clarke junior Kooper Brimm finished 12th in the 2A shot put with his best throw of 50-0.
Also in Class 2A, Central Decatur junior Peyton Pedersen finished 10th in the long jump, just missing finals with his jump of 20-2.25. It took a jump of 20-4 to reach finals.
Central Decatur senior Mathew Cooper finished off his career by finishing 24th in the 100 meter dash prelims, running 11.91.
Jones record
Jones, meanwhile, vaulted himself into finals of the long jump competition on his final attempt during prelims Thursday afternoon.
The Murray sophomore, who was in the first flight, made an adjustment to his approach prior to his final prelim jump, and it paid off with a PR and school record jump of 20-6.50.
That was good enough to win the first flight and qualify him in sixth place to finals.
“I was kind of frustrated on the first two jumps,” Jones said. “The first one wasn’t as far as I’d liked and I scratched on the second one. I noticed I had kind of been lunging out a little bit to get to the line, so I scooted up probably 6 inches and got right where I wanted to be on the board.”
Jones ended up finishing seventh with his mark of 20-6.50, earning a medal in his first career trip to the state meet.
“Just to be competitive, be somewhere at least top 15 or so,” Jones said about his goals. “Just mainly get a good jump out there.”
His jump broke the Murray school record of 20-3.50 set in 1990 by Mike Carper.
“We were happy that he just went past his best,” Murray head coach Keith Shields said. “He set a PR up here today. Making finals and finishing seventh place, just an awesome job. He was pretty consistent in the high 19s most of the year, but the last couple of weeks has went up over 20 feet two or three times. We’re real excited for how he finished up here today.”
2015 Co-ed State Track Meet
CLASS 1A BOYS
Team standings — 1. Lisbon 42, 2. Alta/Aurelia 36, 3. (tie) Mount Ayr and Lawton-Bronson 35, 55. Murray 2.
Thursday
Long jump — 1. Bryce Newcomb, GMG, 21-9.25; 7. Jack Jones, Murray, 20-6.50.
CLASS 2A BOYS
Team standings — 1. West Burlington Notre Dame 107, 2. KP-WC 58, 3. Albia 43, 53. Clarke 0.20.
Thursday
Shot put — 1. Ryan Moser, Clayton Ridge, 56-3.50; 12. Kooper Brimm, Clarke, 50-0.
Long jump — 1. Chandler Diercks, Clear Lake, 23-3.25; 10. Peyton Pedersen, Central Decatur, 20-2.25.
100 meter dash prelims — 1. Isaiah Trousil, West Burlington Notre Dame, 10.91; 24. Mathew Cooper, Central Decatur, 11.91.
Friday
High jump — 1. Jeff Giannettino, West Burlington Notre Dame, 6-11; 8. (tie) Gordon Witt, Clarke, 6-3.
110 meter high hurdles prelims — 1. Thomas Brantley, Camanche, 14.49; 16. Gordon Witt, Clarke, 15.58.