The Bulldogs had their biggest challenge of the year at the Willmar Optimist meet last Thursday. The weather was fairly cold and a bit rainy from time to time, but overall it was a great day for a track meet. Paynesville took second in the meet to ACGC, their long-time rival. ACGC has beaten the Bulldogs twice so far this year, but hopefully by the end of the year the Bulldogs will be able to catch up with the Falcons in the point column.
Junior Steve Mages placed in both hurdle races at Willmar and won both races at a dual meet in Glenco-Silver Lake last week.
Top performers for Paynesville included Clayton Lang, who won both the 1600- and the 3200-meter races with ease. Right behind him in both races was Dan Pearson, who scored two silver medals.
Josh Trees had an outstanding night. He took first in the triple jump, second in the high jump, and was part of the 400-meter relay team that also took second. Other members of that relay included Adam Schaefer, Ryan Whitcomb, and Nic Glenz.
Glenz also did well in the pole vault competition with a personal best vault of 12', good for second place.
The Bulldogs' next track meet is on Thursday, April 26, at home. This meet starts at 4:30 p.m.
Team scores
1. ACGC -139
2. Paynesville -119
3. Willmar -113
4. Marshall -104
5. Montevideo -90
6. New London-Spicer -56
7. RCW -55
8. MACCRAY -14
9. BBE -12
Individual Results
110-meter hurdles: Steve Mages, fourth;
300-meter hurdles: Mages, fifth;
100-meter dash: Josh Trees, fourth;
800-meter run: Eric Korman, fifth; Ryan Flanders, seventh;
1,600-meter run: Clayton Lang, first; Dan Pearson, second; Jesse Rien, fourth;
3,200-meter run: Clayton Lang, first; Dan Pearson, second;
400-meter relay: Nic Glenz, Adam Schaefer, Ryan Whitcomb, Trees, second;
800-meter relay: Lee Fuchs-Thielen, Troy Fuchs-Thielen, Andrew Jones, Mages, seventh;
1,600-meter relay: Korman, Scott Thompson, Glenz, Riley Flanders, fifth;
3,200-meter relay: Riley Flanders, Korman, Thompson, Tom Flannigan, third;
Triple jump: Trees, first; Jones, fourth; Whitcomb, seventh;
High jump: Trees, second; Mages, sixth;
Pole vault: Glenz, second; T. Fuchs-Thielen, sixth.
Glencoe-Silver Lake
Last Tuesday, April 17, the Bulldogs went to Glencoe for a dual meet against Glencoe-Silver Lake. It was sunny but a bit cool, and all in all a great day for a track meet.
With only one other team, the Bulldogs were able to grab first places in nine events.
Clayton Lang won both the 1,600- and 3,200-meter races, Josh Trees won both the high jump and the triple jump, and Aaron Flint won both the shot put and the discus.
Andrew Jones won the long jump, Troy Fuchs-Thielen won the pole vault, and the 3,200-meter relay team was victorious.
The Bulldogs also had ten runner-up finishes, including by these individuals: Steve Mages (110- and 300-meter hurdles and the high jump), Trees (100-meter dash), Travis Flanders (400-meter dash), Eric Korman (800-meter run), Dan Pearson (3,200-meter run), Adam Schaefer (shot put), Lee Fuchs-Thielen (long jump), and Jones (triple jump).
Team scores
1. Paynesville -101
2. Glencoe-Silver Lake -87
Individual Results
110-meter hurdles: Steve Mages, second, 17.33;
300-meter hurdles: Mages, second, 45.84; Andrew Jones, fourth, 47.81;
100-meter dash: Josh Trees, second, 11.66;
200-meter dash: Lee Fuchs-Thielen, fourth, 25.40;
400-meter dash: Travis Flanders, second, 56.2; Todd Stelling, third, 60.33;
800-meter run: Eric Korman, second, 2:08.5;
1,600-meter run: Clayton Lang, first, 4:37; Dan Pearson, third, 4:46.4; Jesse Rien, fourth, 4:46.8;
3,200-meter run: Lang, first, 10:08; Pearson, second, 10:53; Adam Utsch, third, 11:19;
400-meter relay: L. Fuchs-Thielen, Adam Schaefer, Ryan Whitcomb, Troy Fuchs-Thielen, second, 48.4;
800-meter relay: L. Fuchs-Thielen, T. Fuchs-Thielen, Jones, Chad Wyffles, second; 1:47.1;
1,600-meter relay: Korman, Scott Thompson, T. Flanders, Riley Flanders, second;
3,200-meter relay: Riley Flanders, Korman, Thompson, Ryan Flanders, first, 8:54;
Discus: Aaron Flint, first, 105' 11"; Schaefer, third, 98' 5";
Shot put: Flint, first, 39' 5"; Schaefer, second, 38' 10";
Long jump: Jones, first, 17' 11"; L. Fuchs-Thielen, second, 16' 9"; Whitcomb, third, 16' 7"; Stelling, fourth, 16';
Triple jump: Trees, first, 38' 5"; Jones, second, 37' 6"; Whitcomb, third, 36'5";
High jump: Trees, first, 5' 10"; Mages, second; 5' 6";
Pole vault: T. Fuchs-Thielen, first, 8'.