Oskaloosa boys track closes season at district meet in Pella

PELLA — The Oskaloosa boys track and field team wrapped up its season Thursday night at the Class 3A District 8 state qualifying meet in Pella.

The Indians competed hard against a strong field and finished the season with several solid performances along with continued improvement across the lineup.

Oskaloosa’s top finishes came from athletes placing sixth in four events. Lane Smith earned sixth in the 3200-meter run with a time of 10:31.52, while Oscar Chambers finished sixth in the 100-meter dash in 11.93 seconds.

The distance medley relay team of Barrett Rinehart-Lynch, Jamison Ruby, Sam Nelson, and Micah Van Ee also placed sixth with a season-best time of 4:03.51.

The 4×400 relay team of Iwy Buchanan, Micah Van Ee, Blake Herny, and Sam Nelson added another sixth-place finish in 3:46.99.

Blake Herny also placed seventh in the 400-meter dash, and the sprint medley relay team finished seventh. Oskaloosa added eighth-place finishes in both the 4×200 and 4×100 relays.

The Indians continued showing growth late in the season, recording 16 new personal records during the district meet. Several athletes also helped post three season-best marks.

Coaches said they were proud of how focused the team stayed throughout the season and how much progress many athletes made from the beginning of the year to the end.

Thursday’s meet also marked the final high school meet for seniors Blake Herny, Trevin Griffin, and Sam Nelson. Coaches said the senior group helped lead the team this season while also helping the younger athletes continue to improve.