The Gehlen Catholic boys track and field team qualified nine events to state and finished third as a team as part of their performance at Thursday’s State Qualifying Meet in Lawton.
The Jays were going up against some strong competition at the meet with teams like Lawton-Bronson and Sibley-Ocheyedan all contending for some spots at state. Head Coach Jeremy Schindler says he was pleasantly surprised to see the team standings be as close as they were.
One runner that had a great night individually was Carson Schaecher who had a hand in qualifying three events including his individual event of the 1600m Run. Coach Schindler says Schaecher has been a reliable runner all season.
One underclassman that qualified for state was Blake Scheitler who won the high jump reaching 6’3”. Scheitler says he has spent time dreaming of this opportunity and will look to make the most of it.
After jumping 5’11 in his first meet this year, Scheitler has been constantly improving to get to this point. He credits his jumps coach Ethan Peters for preparing him to be a great high jumper.
Another field event advancing is in the shot put where Mason Small did enough to get in. Coach Schindler says he was proud of Small who struggled in the discus but put that away to get to state in the shot put.
Gehlen Catholic is hoping to make some noise once they get down to Des Moines. Coach Schindler says he has high hopes that a number of events could bring back some placement medals.
The State Track Meet runs May 21-23 at Drake Stadium in Des Moines.
