by Gunnar Davis

The PCM Mustangs boys’ track team ran into some windy conditions and tough teams at their 2A State qualifying meet on May 12 at Van Meter. An eighth-place finish out of 13 teams was what almost all of the athletes ended their season on. The Mustangs scored 37 points.
“I think we had a great District meet despite the State qualifiers,” Head Coach Collin Harrison said. “We had almost every event PR at the District meet and were competing for State meet berths consistently throughout the night.”
The highlights of the night included a few third-place finishes. Junior Noah Clark was the only individual top-three finish on the night. He placed third in the discus with a toss of 141 feet, 4 inches.
PCM also had two third-place finishes in the relays. The 4×100 and 4×200 both earned bronze. The 4×100 team, consisting of freshman Preston Van Wyk, sophomore Noah Anderson, junior Luke Greiner and senior Tyler Dredge, ran the race in a time of 45.17 seconds. The 4×200 team, consisting of the same athletes, also ran a 1:35.03.
After waiting for results from across the state the next day, Clark was the only athlete for the boys’ team to qualify for the State meet.
“It’s an honor to be competing with the best guys in the state,” Clark said. “It’s a huge accomplishment and a goal that I achieved.”
Clark’s throw currently has him seeded at 17th place out of the 24 throwers who qualified. But his throw of 141-04 is close to 10 feet behind his personal best.
“My goal is to be mentally prepared and throw my best,” Clark said. “I am aiming to make the finals and hopefully place. It all comes from preparation and support from our community.”
This was the last meet of the year for everyone except Clark. This was also the last time the seniors would step on the track for a High School meet. Harrison was very pleased with his team and proud of his seniors.
“I’m very excited for the future of the track program since we have a ton of underclassmen coming back next year,” Harrison said. “I would like to thank my seniors for this season and how influential they have been in building this program back up over their four years. They will all be missed greatly next year, but they should also feel proud, no matter what, with what they helped accomplish this year and the building blocks they put into place for the future of PCM Track and Field.”
While much of the girls’ team will be competing throughout Thursday and Friday, Clark will be throwing on Friday, May 20, at 11:30 a.m.