Kade Benjamin jumps into history, helps New London to top of Class 1A boys state track race
DES MOINES — Kade Benjamin was on top of the world Friday morning at Drake Stadium.
And by the time the day was over, the New London High School boys track and field team was on top of the Class 1A team race.
Benjamin rose to the occasion in the Class 1A boys high jump, clearing 6 feet, 7 inches to edge Lisbon's Luke Czarnecki by one inch to not only win the competition, but add 10 crucial points to the Tigers' total.
New London leads Lisbon, 47 points to 43, heading into Saturday's final day.
New London is in perfect position to bring home a trophy from the state track meet for just the second time in school history.
“Right now, this state championship is going to help our team score. We’re right there with Lisbon,. This is right where we want to be right now," Benjamin said.
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Senior Carter Allen added a second-place finish in the discus to the Tigers' total. His throw of 155-6 in the preliminaries carried over to give New London eight more team points.
“I’m really happy that I came out with 14 team points. We’re hoping to take home that team title, so we’ll see how it works out," Allen said. “It feels great to even medal up here with all the great throwers. They’re all great guys. Unfortunately I didn’t get first, but those things happen. It’s been a great high school experience so far.”
New London added more team points in the 4x200, finishing sixth overall in a season-best time of 1:32.42 with the team of Boden Pickle, Joel Lacy, Cam Kasel and Jordan Sharp.
“My teammates were talking it through and we knew this was going to be a good race," Sharp said. “We were projected to score a few points, so this will help us a lot.”
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New London came back later to take third in the distance medley relay with the team of Reean Seberg, Sharp, Seth Bailey and Rylan Martin in 3:37.51.
The Tigers missed qualifying for the final in the 4x400, finishing 14th overall in a season-best 3:36.48.
The Tigers' 4x100 relay team of Pickle, Lacy, Seberg and Josh Catala blazed the blue oval in 43.40 and takes the top qualifying time into Saturday's final.
Twice, Benjamin looked to have the high jump won. Twice, Cazarnecki matched him, forcing Benjamin to go even higher.
“It’s an amazing feeling. I thought it was going to end at 6-6, but big shout out to Luke. He pushed me. He’s a junior, too, so I look forward to competing against him next year, too," Benjamin said. “That was so much fun. I came in last year and had a whole bunch of nervous and I was running on a sprained ankle.This year I came in healthy. I was like, ‘I’m going to go out and do my best and see where it goes and it led to a state championship.”
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Allen, too, thrived on the competition all afternoon.
“The competition … there is no other feeling like it. It’s a great time all around. You get to see some big throws and hopefully bring home some hardware, which I did," Allen said. “I’m so emotional because I have put in so much work to get up here and it is finally paying off. Unfortunately I didn’t get the spot I wanted, but it paid off.”
Heading into the final day of competition, the Tigers are sitting on top of the Class 1A track and field world.
"These boys are continuing to work toward their goal of bringing home a trophy," New London head coach Lance Ingwersen said. " I know some of our boys are disappointed with their performances today but they did great. Our coaches have been reminding them to have fun up here and enjoy this meet. They've been working hard so we don't expect PR's across the board.
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Wapello has strong showing
Led by Patricia Hank, who took third in the Class 1A high jump by clearing 5-3, Wapello had a solid day on both the boys and girls sides of the ledger.
The Wapello boys finished ninth in the 4x200 in 1:32.88, while the girls were 10th in 1:50.32
Also for the Arrows, senior Serah Shafer took fifth in the 400 hurdles in a personal-best 1:07.33.
The Wapello girls 4x100 relay team posted the second-best qualifying time of 50.65 with the team of Ada Boysen, Lindsy Massner, Quinn Veach and Shafer.
The Wapello boys posted the fourth-fastest qualifying time in the 4x100 in a season-best 43.83 with the team of Tyler Palmer, Tade Parsons, Maddox Griffin and Jake Gustison.
Bears make some noise
The Danville boys placed eighth in the Class 1A distance medley in 3:42.16 with the team of Ethan Unzicker, Gage Stucker, Cadence Williams and Ty Carr.
Us, too
Not to be overlooked, Columbus junior Triton Miller finished third in the Class 1A boys high jump, clearing 6-4.
Winfield-Mount Union's Gage Hemsworth took 12th in the Class 1A boys 400 hurdles in 56.71.
Matt Levins is a sports reporter for the USA TODAY Network in Burlington, Iowa, who has covered local sports for 31 years. Reach him at mlevins@thehawkeye.com.
This article originally appeared on The Hawk Eye: New London leads Lisbon heading into final Iowa state track day
