From Brant to Rohrs, the baton works its way through the 4x800 meter relay. PHOTO BY JONATHAN MEYER

On Thursday, May 4, both the STC Boys and Girls Track and Field teams traveled to Manchester to compete in the WaMac Conference Track and Field Championships. The boys tied for eighth with Benton, while the girls placed eleventh.

The Trojans competed at the State Qualifying Meet, held in Pella on Thursday, May 11, and the full results will be recapped in next week’s News Chronicle. Many athletes took the conference meet as a final run through of sorts for the fast approaching district meet.

Lady Trojan duo shines in field events

The girls night was highlighted by two outstanding seniors, Emma Harwick and Kortney Babinat.

Harwick competed in her signature event, the high jump.

STC Sophomore Alexis Crouch grimaces after completing the 100 hurdles. PHOTO BY JONATHAN MEYER

Harwick has had ups and downs this season, clearing five feet on March 30 at the second outdoor meet, before going on a streak of eight meets without seeing the same height. On Thursday night, Harwick recaptured her momentum and soared over the bar reaching her early season mark once more.

Last year at the WaMac Conference meet, Harwick placed in the top two with a clearance of five feet, while this year the jump only secured the Trojan senior a third place finish.

Babinat made a huge leap forward in her quest to qualify for the state meet once again. With a massive personal record of 39’9“, she shattered her previous PR of 38’8”. The massive heave yielded a second place finish for the Babinat, barely edged out by Taylor Luscomb of Center Point-Urbana, who won with a throw of 40’00.5″

” I’m feeling very confident going to districts with a good mark under my belt. I’m excited to see what I can pull out on Thursday in Pella,” Babinat said.

This senior duo compiled all 15 of the Trojans’ total points in their 11th place finish. Harwick scored six points with her third place jump. Babinat scored eight points in the shot put and scored one point in the discus with an eighth place finish.

STC Girls top Field Athletes pose after their respective podium finishes. PHOTO BY JONATHAN MEYER

Tyynismaa Leads Trojan boys

The Trojan boys team saw an exciting night of personal best marks with tough conference competition.

Opening up the night for the Trojans was Senior Nathaniel “Bubbz” Palmarez, placing 7th in the shot put competition with a multiple foot best of 47.8 feet. In his second event, Palmarez threw the discus 131’10”, earning him a ninth place finish, capping off two top 10 finishes for the Trojans.

South Tama, the defending WaMac Conference 4×800 relay champions, took to the starting line with a goal of defending their title. The returning champions hosted a quartet of Tommy Tyynismaa, James Brant, Braxton Rohrs, and Cade Rosenberger. Both Tyynismaa and Brant return from last year’s state place winning team, while Rohrs and Rosenberger join the team.

The race played out in exciting fashion with Brant leading off for the defending champions, splitting 2:00 on his leg. Both Rohrs and Rosenberger ran personal best splits, managing to get the baton to Tyynismaa in sixth place.

Junior Tommy Tyynismaa crosses the finish line in the 800 meter run winning his fourth career WaMac Championship. PHOTO BY JONATHAN MEYER

With intention in his eyes, the junior phenom Tyynismaa took the baton around the track in 1:55, bringing the Trojans from sixth to second place. In a time of 8:18.9 the Trojan 4×800 set a season’s best time yet fell short to Center Point Urbanas time of 8:14.63.

After the race, the anchor leg runner of Center Point Urbana’s 4×800 lay on the ground in exhaustion.

“Tyynismaa was coming. Man, that was scary,” he exclaimed.

Freshman Tyrus Clegg picked up a single point for the team, placing eighth in the long jump after launching himself 19’2″.

After a short rest, Tyynismaa returned to his marathon of a night, anchoring the Distance Medley to a second place finish behind Mount Vernon.

After another short rest, Tyynismaa took to the track and successfully defended his outdoor conference title over 800 meters, winning in a time of 1:59.46. Tyynismaa has won three 800 meter conference titles including two outdoor and one indoor.

The final scoring event of the night for the Trojans was won by Tyynismaa in the mile. In what looked like a jog compared to his typical 800 pace, the pace was modest the first three laps, with most competitors remaining in the hunt until 600 to go.

After a huge surge was made, Jed Osgood of Marion, alongside Tyynismaa, stormed down the home stretch. The pure distance runner Osgood was no match for Tyynismaa’s superior kick as he won the race in 4:31.31. Brant finished sixth in 4:39.07.

Tyynismaa contributed 20 individual points to the team along with 16 points in relays for a grand total of 36 of a possible 40 points won.

Looking forward to the district meet, many STC athletes look to be in contention to punch their ticket to the State Track and Field Meet. To qualify, athletes need to finish top two in their event at the district meet or be one of the next eight best marks from across the eight districts around the state.

Current seeding at Pella district meet

Tommy Tyynismaa

#2 in the 800 and 1600

James Brant

#5 in the 1600

Nathaniel “Bubbz” Palmarez

#4 in the Shot Put

Kortney Babinat

#3 in the Shot Put

Emma Harwick

Tie #3 in High Jump

STC Boys Relays

#2 in the 4×800

#2 in the Distance Medley Relay