Seniors Tommy Tyynismaa and Cade Rosenberger move up past the competition in a loaded 800 field at Norwalk on Monday. NEWS CHRONICLE PHOTO

NORWALK — On Monday, the South Tama boys track and field team boarded the bus for the road trip to Norwalk high school. Every year the Trojans compete in Norwalk it proves to be the toughest competition they face until postseason meets later in May.

The meet doesn’t only bring in 3A teams but also bigger 4A teams that the Trojans usually wouldn’t see at most meets like Norwalk, Dallas Center-Grimes, Winterset, North Polk, Carlisle, Grinnell, and Nevada. So while it serves as the toughest challenge so far into the outdoor season, it is also a great chance for the athletes to do well against some of the best teams in the sport.

In the sprinting events, junior Cody Blocker continued his impressive outdoor campaign with a time of 11.98 in the 100 meter dash, which placed him eighth overall. Junior Tyrus Clegg followed close behind in 11th place with a time of 12.41. In the 200 meter dash, Blocker doubled back to place eighth with a finishing time of 24.11. Senior Chase Gustafson competed in the 400 meter dash where he also placed 8th overall with a time of 54.36.

On the distance side of things, seniors Tommy Tyynismaa and Cade Rosenberger both competed in the 800 meter race. Tyynismaa finished sixth with a time of 2:03.83, while Rosenberger followed close behind for eighth with a time of 2:06.76.

In the 1600 meter run, seniors James Brant and Braxten Rohrs took to the track with a fast time on their minds. Brant finished with a time of 4:31.79, which placed him second overall, while Rohrs placed ninth with a time of 4:43.17. Rohrs previous best time on the season was 4:53, with this race he ran an impressive 10 second personal best to help the Trojans score some needed points. Sophomore Barrett Jesina also scored some team points for South Tama with his seventh place finish in the 3200 running another personal best time of 10:34.27.

Sophomore Barrett Jesina and senior Holden Schirmer take to the track in the 3200 meter race. Both would finish with personal best times in the event. NEWS CHRONICLE PHOTO

As the meet continued, South Tama was able to find good success in their relay teams. In the sprint medley relay, the team of Gustafson, Upah, Etzen, and Cecak placed sixth overall with a combined finishing time of 1:44.76. In the 4×800 meter relay the Trojan distance squad of Rosenberger, Rohrs, Brant, and Tyynismaa cruised to a first place finish with a time of 8:17. This time places South Tama second in Class 3A in the 4×800 as they look to compete in this event at the state meet for the fourth year in a row. To finish the running events, the 4×400 team of Blocker, Cyrell, Rosenberger, and Tyynismaa finished sixth overall with a time of 3:40.30.

In the field events, sophomore Timm Chandonia competed in both the shot put and discus throw. In shot, Chandonia placed 11th with a throw of 39 feet. Later, he was able to follow that performance up with an impressive discus throw of 125.6 feet for fourth place overall. In the long jump, junior Tyrus Clegg placed seventh with a jump of 18.10 feet, while senior Jeramy Dolash placed 11th with a jump of 18.01 feet.

South Tama finished eighth overall in the team score with a total of 44 points. Norwalk was able to defend their home meet as they won in convincing fashion over the field with a final score of 192 points. South Tama track and field was back in action on Thursday in Hudson to continue their impressive season.

Senior Chase Gustafson hands off the baton to sophomore Nick Upah in the sprint medley relay, they would go on to place sixth overall in the race. NEWS CHRONICLE PHOTO

Senior James Brant leads the field of 1600 meter runners in Norwalk. Brant would go on to place second overall. NEWS CHRONICLE PHOTO