A first-place finish overall was what the PCM Mustangs boys’ track team hasn’t had since 2012. The senior boys have never held up a team trophy in their four years. But that all changed at their home meet April 28. The team placed first out of six teams with 151 points.
The win didn’t come without a little craziness, however.
The Mustangs were comfortably ahead throughout the night against the CMB Raiders, until the 4×100. All the team needed was to beat the Raiders in the 4×100 to take first place.
But the Mustangs were disqualified after a failed handoff in the third leg of the 4×100 exchange zone. This forced Head Coach Collin Harrison to switch up his 4×400 team. The team of senior Tyler Dredge, sophomore Noah Henkenius and freshmen Wes Cummings and Preston Van Wyk ended up running for PCM. They ended up running a time of 3 minutes, 42.58 seconds, placing first. Overall, the Mustangs ended up winning by three points over CMB.
“It was a surreal feeling,” Dredge said. “Everyone had to do their part, and it was really a great team win.”
Other highlights of the night include many first-place finishes. Junior Noah Clark finished first in the discus with his toss of 136 feet, 9 inches. Van Wyk also finished first in both the 200-meter and 400-meter dash, with times of 24.73 and 55.5, respectively. Senior Austin Sneller ran a 16.7 in the 110 highs, earning gold. Junior Chris Ellens won the 3200 meter in 10:29.
In the relays, PCM had two more wins. The 4×200 team of senior Davis Herndon, junior Luke Greiner, Dredge and Henkenius ran the race in a time of 1:38.6. The shuttle hurdle relay team of freshmen Cole Dustin, Nick Buswell and Jarron Trausch and Sneller ran a 1:06.7.
As of press time, the boys’ will be back in action tonight, May 5, at Newton. Field events start at 4:30 p.m.