Contributing writer
Track fans know that the 4x400-meter relay is often a deciding factor in team scores. This race is the last event at a track meet and this scenario played out at the Wheat State League meet Thursday in Goessel.
Wakefield had a commanding lead in team points, with Peabody-Burns one point ahead of Solomon and eight points ahead of Goessel. Solomon did not have an entry in the relay, so Goessel had to score eight points to pass the Gorillas.
Wakefield took the lead early as Miguel Guerrero handed the baton to Josh Schmidt who worked his way into second place. Ben Wiens extended the second-place lead to 20 yards when he handed the baton to Heath Goertzen to finish the race.
Goertzen maintained his lead over Peabody to finish in second with a season best time of 3 minutes, 50.9 seconds. Goessel got the eight points it needed and finished in third place, one point ahead of Solomon and six points behind Peabody-Burns.
For the first time this season, Goessel entered a 4x800-meter relay, which earned a varsity letter for Trevor Beisel, Dane Kruger, Leighton Wagner, and Aaron Woelk, and an important four points for the team.
Goertzen won the triple jump and placed third in the 1,600-meter race. Zach Wiens picked up two second-place medals in the hurdle events. Guerrero earned third place in triple jump and fourth place in long jump.
Brian Hiebert scored points with fourth place in both the shot put and discus. Mark Schmidt ran third in the 200-meter dash and sixth in the 100 meters. Ben Wiens earned points with a fourth place in the 1,600-meter run and sixth place in long jump.
Goessel will now prepare for the regional track meet Friday Burlington, where the top four finishers will qualify for the prestigious state track meet May 30 in Wichita.
Results
Discus: 4. Brian Hiebert, 110-11. Shot put: 4. Hiebert, 39-4¾. Triple jump: 1. Heath Goertzen 39-6; 4. Miguel Guerrero, 38-2. Long jump: 3. Guerrero, 18-9¼; 6. Ben Wiens, 17-7½. 110-meter hurdles: 2. Zach Wiens, 16.80; 300-meter hurdles: 2. Z. Wiens, 46.50. 100-meter dash: 6. Mark Schmidt, 12.10. 200-meter dash: 3. M. Schmidt, 24.70. 400-meter dash: 6. Josh Schmidt, 57.70. 1,600-meter run: 3. Goertzen, 5:07.00; 4. B. Wiens, 5:20.60. 4x100-meter relay: 3. Guererro, J. Schmidt, M. Schmidt, and Chase Flaming, 47.40. 4x400-meter relay 2. Guirerro, J. Schmidt, B. Wiens, and Goertzen, 3:50.90. 4x800-meter relay 4. Trevor Beisel, Dane Kruger, Leighton Wagner, Aaron Woelk, 11:23.10.