The War Eagle Conference track and field championships are coming to Plymouth County for the 2022 season. The Hinton girls and Gehlen Catholic boys both took the team titles at the War Eagle Conference meet in Hinton on Tuesday night.
The girls side of the meet was very tight at the top with Hinton and perennial power Unity Christian going back and forth for first and second all night. Hinton Head Coach Robin Mohr says this win is extra special getting to win the conference at home and finally get past Unity Christian.
Hinton got out of the gates fast with some big wins in their field events and some good shows in the long-distance runs. The Hinton relay teams also flexed their muscles with wins in the distance medley, the 4×800, and second-place finishes in the shuttle hurdle, 4×200, and the 4×400. Coach Mohr says the key to his team’s success boils down to their drive to keep competing.
.@Hintonhightrack’s Lauren Kounkel takes the lead in the discus with a throw of 129’0”. pic.twitter.com/0gKlkxjG7h
— KLEM Sports (@KLEMSports) May 3, 2022
Lauren Kounkel has been making a lot of headlines for Hinton throughout the year as a thrower. She has already broken the school’s shot put and discus record on numerous occasions throughout the year. She continued her dominance on Tuesday with a 27’8” margin of victory in the discus and a 3’10” margin of victory in the shot put. Coach Mohr says that Kounkel’s hard work and determination has been paying off.
As the Blackhawks look ahead, there are still some tune up meets on their schedule before their state qualifying meet at Ridge View in a week. The Blackhawks have their sights set high for qualifying events to state. Coach Mohr says, for them to meet those goals, they will need to continue to work harder and harder leading up to the state qualifying meet.
Gehlen Catholic finished fifth in the girls standings while Remsen St. Mary’s was sixth, MMCRU was seventh, and Akron-Westfield was ninth.
On the boys side of the meet, the Gehlen Catholic Jays were favorites coming in and proved why with an 18-point win over second-place West Sioux.
Gehlen Catholic sports some stars that can win meets on a regular basis. They also have a lot of key contributors that get solid points finishes without winning their event. Gehlen Catholic Head Coach Jeremy Schindler knows how big those points are to the team’s overall success at any given meet.
That team aspect can get lost in a sport like track where attention is drawn on one or a handful of athletes at a certain time. That aspect is not lost with Coach Schindler’s track team, and he says that’s a really great thing to see.
Gehlen Catholic’s Keaten Bonderson takes the 200m dash with an unofficial time of 21.68. pic.twitter.com/gwqFPhfj0W
— KLEM Sports (@KLEMSports) May 4, 2022
Gehlen Catholic’s only Drake qualifier, Keaten Bonderson, made noise at the War Eagle Conference meet throughout the day. He anchored two first-place relays in the 4×200 and the Sprint Medley, he ran a season-best 11.00 to win the 100m Dash, and he set a War Eagle Conference meet record and school record in the 200m dash with a time of 22.14. Coach Schindler hopes the confidence he sees out of Bonderson now can carry him through to a good showing at the State Qualifying Meet next week.
As for the rest of the Gehlen boys, Coach Schindler was very pleased with the team’s overall performance on Tuesday. He says there is not a lot for him to complain about after their performance.
The Hinton boys placed fourth in the team standings, MMCRU placed fifth, Akron-Westfield placed eighth, and Remsen St. Mary’s finished 11th.
Click here for a full list of individual results.
For more video highlights from the meet, follow @KLEMSports on Twitter.
