The annual Warrior Relays hosted by the WACO boys’ track team provided several first place finishes for area athletes. Thirteen track teams traveled to Wayland for the two class meet, seven participating in the Class A division and six in Class B. Athletes from Lone Tree, Sigourney, WACO, and Winfield-Mount Union all competed in the Class B field.

The WACO Warriors had five first place finishes, helping the squad win their home meet with 114 points. Senior sprinter Bryce Achen accounted for four of the five first place finishes. Achen, this week’s Hedge Above Lawncare Athlete of the Week, claimed top honors in the 100 meter dash (10.84 seconds), the 110 meter hurdles (16.02), the 200 meter dash (22.62 seconds), and as a member of the Warriors’ 4×110 meter shuttle hurdle relay team (1:02.38). The other first place finish came from freshman Colton Horak, who topped the 400 meter hurdles with a time of 1:02.88.

The Winfield-Mount Union Wolves claimed second place with 109 points, and had top performances from their distance and field athletes. Senior John Quinn and junior Gavin Bencze were first place finishers in a pair of events. Quinn, who normally runs the 1600 and 3200 meter events for the Wolves, came away with a first place finish in the 400 meter dash with a time of 55.57 seconds. He also competed in the 800 meter run, clocking the fastest time of 2:05.97. Bencze represented W-MU in Tuesday’s distance events. His 1600 meter run of 4:56.84 was nearly three seconds better than the field, and his 3200 time of 10:33.98 was a full half minute better than the competition. The Wolves had the top two finishes in the long jump. Junior Bryce Robinson’s leap of 20’11.5″ was three and one quarter inches farther than senior Zach Davis. The rest of the field failed to reach 20 feet.

The Sigourney Savages finished third in the team competition with 108 points, and shined in the field events. Sophomore Kaleb Reeves had a pair of top two finishes in the shot put and discuss competitions. His shot toss of 39’7.25″ was the best throw by 2.25 inches. Reeves finished second in the discuss competition, sending the disc 106’4″. Sigourney senior Peyton Crawford claimed first place in the discuss, launching it 123’3″.

The Lone Tree Lions recorded the fifth best team score with 71 points, one point shy of tying Cardinal for fourth place. The Lions’ notable finishes came in the relay events. Lone Tree’s 4×100 meter relay team of Drake Hotz, Caleb Christian, Niko Gosnell, and Jovonte Squires claimed first place with a time of 46.69 seconds. The Lions’ 1600 sprint medley crew of Hotz, Gosnell, Brock Smith, and Ross Swinton crossed the finish line in 4:02.08, a full four seconds better than the field.