Track and Field Teams Capture Best Finishes at IIAC Championships since 2007

The Buena Vista track and field teams wrapped up the 2012 Iowa Conference Outdoor Track and Field Championships on Saturday afternoon with a combined total of nine all-conference performances, including an individual championship from freshman Seth Woodson (Dysart, Iowa/Union) in the men’s 800 meter run.

Woodson captured the fastest qualifying time during Friday’s prelims and wound up winning Saturday’s finals in convincing fashion with a time of 1:53.62 – winning the race by nearly two full seconds.  That time is nearly a second away from the school record set by the program’s current head coach Jeff Brennan back in 2001.  It was also a second away from the conference meet record of 1:52.54 set back in 1985.

Also on the men’s side, senior Tyler Case (Tucson, Ariz./Santa Rita) earned all-conference accolades with a third-place finish in the 100 meter dash with a season-best clocking of 10.91 seconds.  That time is exactly .40 seconds from Eric Bertelsen’s school record of 10.51 seconds set back in 2009.  In the 400 meter hurdles, junior Andrew Smith (Bagley, Iowa/Exira) also earned all-conference honors as he finished third in a time of 55.41 seconds – just 0.06 seconds out of second.

The 4x400 meter relay team of Woodson, Peter Winterton (Storm Lake, Iowa/Storm Lake), Ryan Eberly (Manning, Iowa/IKM-Manning) and Brian Christiansen (St. James, Minn./St. James) turned in a third-place finish with a time of 3:20.62, while shaving more than a second off of its previous best clocking this season.

Eberly placed fourth in the 400 meter dash (49.36 seconds) with Winterton taking eighth in 51.06 seconds.  Freshman Reid Zimmerman (Kimballton, Iowa/Elk-Horn) took seventh in the 110 meter hurdles in a time 15.43 seconds.  The 4x100 meter relay team just missed out on all-conference honors by .60 seconds after taking fourth in a time of 42.99, while the 4x800 meter relay team also narrowly missed out on a top-three finish by two seconds.

Case also earned all-conference honors in the javelin throw, as he placed third with a toss of 52.64 meters.  Collin Mann finished just ahead of Case with a toss of 53.64 meters.

Over on the women’s side, sophomore Amber Riedy (Grand Island, Neb./Grand Island Northwest) tied for second in the pole vault with a mark of 3.25 meters.  The 4x100 meter relay team of freshman Casey James (Lenox, Iowa/Orient-Macksburg), freshman Maggie Marker (Clarion, Iowa/Clarion-Goldfield), senior Amber Woodford (Storm Lake, Iowa/Storm Lake), and freshman Laura Eberly (Manning, Iowa/IKM-Manning) also took second in a school-record time of 48.14 seconds.  That time broke the previous school record of 48.38 which was set back in 1990.  It’s also the first time since 2007, that the Beavers have earned all-conference honors in the event.

The 4x400 meter relay team of Marker, Woodford, freshman Abby Hesnard (Sac City, Iowa/East Sac County) and junior Rachel Burnette (Irwin, Iowa/IKM-Manning) took third in a time of 3:58.33.  That time was two seconds faster than its previous best this season.

Burnette also took fifth in both the 100 meter and 400 meter hurdles, respectively.  Woodford nearly took all-conference honors in the 400 meter dash, placing fourth in a time of 59.17 – just two seconds back of third.  Marker placed fifth in the 100 meter dash (12.38) and missed out on all-conference positioning by only .03 seconds.

In just his second season, Brennan saw his teams double their overall team point totals from a year ago.  As a team, the men placed fifth overall this season with 62 points, while the women were sixth with 38.  Just last season, the men were eighth with 31 points and the women eighth with 19.  It marks the first time since 2007 in which both teams placed in the top-six in the team standings in the same season.

The three all-conference finishes on the women’s side marks the first time since 2007 in which the team had multiple all-conference accolades (5), while the five all-conference events on the men’s side are the most since 2009 (6).

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