NEWS CHRONICLE PHOTOS BY STEVE BRANT – STC senior Autumn Elsbury throws the shot put at the WaMaC conference meet. Elsbury finished 5th in both the shot and discus.

VAN HORNE — It was a record-breaking night for the STC track and field program, as both boys and girls teams traveled to Benton on Thursday, May 7, for the annual WaMaC conference meet.

For the only championship title among both teams, Trojan senior Cadel Conner (9:34.46) won the 3200 by beating out Clear Creek-Amana sophomore Carson Meskimen by a little over two seconds (9:36.06). Conner’s time secured him a new school-record at STC. The previous record of 9:52.36 was set by his teammate, senior Barrett Jesina, a mere two weeks earlier. Jesina finished 4th in the race at Benton, with a time of 10:03.13.

In other action from the boys team, senior Timmothy Chandonia finished in the top-ten for both the Discus and Shot Put. Chandonia threw season-bests in both, finishing 4th in the Shot (49-2.50) and 7th in the Discus (143-05). Sophomore Josiah Houghton ran a 58.93 in the 400 hurdles to finish in 7th place. And senior Carver Cecak finished 9th in the 800 with a time of 2:07.01. The remaining top-ten individual performances came from Conner and Jesina, who finished 4th and 5th in the 1600. Conner ran a time of 4:33.54, while Jesina set a new personal-best time of 4:38.01.

The boys’ highest placing relay team was the 4×800 squad of sophomore Brady Jesina, sophomore Henri Martinez-Alvarado, Cecak, and Houghton. They finished in 6th place with a time of 8:35.55. The Distance Medley team of sophomore Ryan Brant, senior Nick Upah, Houghton, and Conner, finished in 7th place with a time of 3:47.03.

The STC boys finished in 9th place in the WaMaC meet with 38 team points. They finished ahead of West Delaware (36), Marion (34) and Independence (10). Clear Creek-Amana won the meet with 129 points.

STC seniors Cadel Conner (4) and Barrett Jesina (3) run together during the 3200 at the WaMaC conference meet.

On the girls side, the Trojans were led by sophomore Scout Ridout, who captured two top-five individual finishes. Ridout was runner-up in the 100 hurdles, with a personal-best time of 15.02. She also finished 5th in the 200 with a time of 26.83 (another personal-best). In field events, STC senior Autumn Elsbury had a stellar night, finishing in 5th place in both the Discus (113-04) and Shot Put (34-0.75). Both distances represented personal-bests for Elsbury. The remaining top-ten individual performance for the Trojans came from sophomore Maylee Rucker, who finished 8th in the 100 (13:13,a personal-best). The top-performing girls relay team was the 4×100 group of sophomores Brylee Nelson, Ridout, Sydney Arp, and Rucker. The foursome crossed the line in 7th place with a time of 51.32.

The STC girls finished in 9th place as a team with 23 points. They finished ahead of Center Point-Urbana (20), Independence (19), and Vinton-Shellsburg (10). Mount Vernon won the meet with 153 points.

Both boys and girls teams competed in the State-Qualifying meet on Thursday, May 14, at Mount Vernon high school. The meet came after press-time and determined which athletes qualified for the State Meet on May 21-23 in Des Moines.

STC senior Cadel Conner (left), head coach Edgar Tapia (center), and assistant coach Myles Eick (right) note Conner's school record-setting time after he completed the 3200.

STC sophomore Ethan Page leans to the finish line in the 100 during the WaMaC conference meet.

STC junior Livia Smith (left) runs the anchor leg of the Distance Medley relay at the WaMaC conference meet.

STC sophomore Scout Ridout clears the final hurdle on her way to a 2nd place finish in the 100 hurdles at the WaMaC conference meet.

STC sophomore Alfredo Villa (2) runs in the 100 at the WaMaC conference meet.

STC senior Naomi Peshel runs the second leg of the Distance Medley relay during the WaMaC conference meet.

STC senior Nick Upah takes the baton for the second leg of the Distance Medley relay during the WaMaC conference meet.