South Tama County Senior James Brant takes the baton in the 4x800 meter relay. The Trojans finished with a time of 8:58. NEWS CHRONICLE PHOTO

CEDAR FALLS — South Tama County track and field is officially back and underway as the Trojan athletes took their first of many road trips to the UNI dome for the Dickinson Relays on Monday. The Dickinson Relays is one of the first and biggest indoor track meets of the year, as it has hosted 114 schools from all classes from across the state of Iowa. Needless to say these races will serve as a good way to start off the season and experience for the Trojans.

STC started the meet with the 4×200 meter relay. Running this race for the Trojans were junior Cody Blocker, junior Tyrus Clegg, senior Chase Gustafson, and senior Travis Cecak. Together they finished with a time of 1:40.93 for a respectable 43rd place out of 67 teams. These four runners also ran the 4×400 later in the meet, finishing with a time of 3:53.36 for 33rd place.

Next up was the 4×800 meter relay. Senior Braxten Rohrs led off for the Trojans, followed by senior James Brant, senior Holden Schirmer, and sophomore Barrett Jesina. All four of these runners were a part of the state qualifying cross country team last fall. In the end the Trojans finished with a time of 8:58.78 placing them 24th out of 59 teams.

South Tama also had several successful individual performances from the night. Blocker, Gustafson, and Clegg all participated in the 60 meter dash as Blocker led the way with a time of 7.52 followed by Gustafson with 7.68 and Clegg with 7.83. Cecak ran in the 200 meters shortly after, achieving a time of 25.14. Finally for the shorter distances, Rohrs ran a 58.79 in the 400 meter race.

As the Trojans transitioned to the longer distances, the times and placements only got better. Brant, Schirmer, and Jesina all ran the 800 meter race with Brant placing sixth out of 167 runners with a good opening time of 2:02.76. Schirmer placed 95th with a 2:20.44 with Jesina following closely behind with a 2:20.47 for 96th place. Senior Cade Rosenberger was the only South Tama runner to take on the 1600 meter race in this meet. Rosenberger finished with a new personal best time of 4:56 for 36th place out of 48 runners.

Senior Travis Cecak anchors the 4x400 to a win in their heat and a time of 3:53. NEWS CHRONICLE PHOTO

Sophomore Tim Chandonia was the only Trojan to compete in a field event on the day. Chandonia finished with an impressive 41.75 foot throw in the shot put which placed him 52nd out of 169 athletes.

The Trojans have a lot to be excited about for the upcoming 2024 track and field season, and the performance at the Dickinson Relays is a great start to the long season. South Tama will head up to Iowa State University in Ames on Thursday to compete in the 2024 indoor track and field championships.

Junior Tyrus Clegg hands off the baton to senior Chase Gustafson in the 4x200 meter relay. NEWS CHRONICLE PHOTO