Le Mars track hosted their annual Don Shilling Invite on a beautiful Monday night.
Both the girls and boys teams had great meets with the boys winning the meet at 133 points. The Bulldog girls finished second with 108 points. Bulldog girls head coach Tamara Dunn says that her team’s score shows the work they have put in as a team at the beginning of the season.
Bulldog boys head coach Caleb Van Otterloo says his team puts in a ton of work in practice, and it showed in their home meet.
Some highlights of the event included the field events for the Bulldog girls. Senior thrower Hailey Mulder secured the win in the discus with a throw of 102’9”. Coach Dunn says Mulder has put in the work, and it is great to see her rewarded.
Brandon Vander Sluis uncorks a 170’3” throw in the discus to take the title at the Schilling Invite. @LeMarsCommTrack pic.twitter.com/yB17Z45Seq
— KLEM Sports (@KLEMSports) April 11, 2022
The field events were just as good for the Bulldog boys as Brandon Vander Sluis took home the title in the discus with a throw of 170’3” and the title in the shot put at 56’5”. Vander Sluis is the defending 3A champion in the discus and his throw at the Schilling invite ranks 4th in the state of Iowa this season. Vander Sluis says he put in some work during the offseason get stronger and improve his footwork when throwing.
Vander Sluis has rewritten the record book at Le Mars on a handful of occasions this season alone. Coach Van Otterloo says that it’s fun to coach Vander Sluis as a thrower, but it’s even better to see his leadership on display.
Lilly McNaughton finishes third for @lchstrackfield in the long jump with a jump of 16’5.5”. pic.twitter.com/iksyIf9y3l
— KLEM Sports (@KLEMSports) April 11, 2022
Another one of the many great performances on the day came from Lilly McNaughton. The future South Dakota Coyote put up her best showing on the day in the long jump putting up a mark of 16’5.5”. McNaughton proves a valuable asset as both a jumper and a hurdler. Coach Dunn hopes that she continues to set high goals and achieves them before the end of the season.
The next events on the track schedule won’t be for another week for the Bulldog track teams. For Brandon Vander Sluis, his goals now turn to competing at the highest levels. He has met the standards to qualify for the Drake Relays in both the shot put and the discus. His goal now is to prove that he belongs.
As for the Bulldog teams, there is still a month to go before they host a state qualifying meet on their home track. Coach Van Otterloo knows his team will have to remain focused along the way to succeed later on in the season.
Coach Dunn wants to see her team get more and more comfortable with the competition as the season goes on.
Next up on the schedule, the Bulldog girls will go to Sheldon next Monday and the boys will go to Orange City.
To see full results from Monday’s Don Shilling Invite, click here.
