Rounding Back Into Form

The Harrisburg High School boys' track and field team placed third out of 11 teams at last weeks Marion Relays.
The Bulldogs came away with 70 points, while Mascoutah won the event with 153 points and the host Wildcats were second with 118 points.
In a relay meet, all events are relays with the exception of the 100 meter dash. In the 300 meter hurdles and all field events, the top three performances from each team are added up to give a team total.
Harrisburg had two first place finishes with Niko Neal, Bentley Linch and JT Stone teaming up in the 300 intermediate hurdles. Neal was the top individual finisher with a time of 40.43.
The team of Dallas Schmidt, Noah Thaxton, Jesse Lawler and Linch won the Freshmen/Sophomore 4x400 with a time of 3:343.49.
That same team took second in the F/S 4x200 with a time of 1:39.24.
Kody Cavender, Linch, Stone and Neal were second i the 4x110 High Hurdles with a time of 1:11.28.
"Kody ran these for the first time in his carer and did a great job," Harrisburg head coach Zach Cox said. "I can't say enough about how our guys competed. Depth is not our strength and a relay meet is not suited for us. It helps to have several athletes that can run well in each event. We have six sprinters, sophomores through senior and that makes it tough. These freshmen have really stepped up and everyone did their part today and that is why were were able to come out in third."
Neal finished third in the 100 meter dash with a time of 11:52, while the 4x400 team of Darnell Boone, Seth Thai, Neal and Case were third with a time of 3:39.95. Boone ran a great split of 53.6, which was over three seconds faster than his previous best.
Jordan Bartok, Dawson Beers, Will Gribble and Hunter Jackson took third in the shot put. Bartok was third overall as an individual with a toss of 138-feet-8.
Zach Gibbs, Gribble, Jackson and Bartok also took third in the Shot Put.
Kody Cavender and Bradyn Whiting teamed up to take fifth in the pole vault. Cavender's jump of 12-feet-6 was tops for the day.
Thaxton, Stone and Boone took sixth in the long jump, while Nick Walker, Christian Oliver, Caleb Lindsey and Justin Womack were seventh in the 4x1600. In the 4x400, Thai, Lindsey, Oliver and Womack took eighth.
"The freshman group came out with a lot of hardware today," Cox said. "They are only six or seven seconds off our fresh/soph school record in the 4x400 and ran great in the 4x200 as well.  The hurdlers scored big points for us today.  Niko was the overall top finisher in the 300 intermediate race and picked up third in the open 100 meters.  He would have won but got confused near the finish and eased up too early. The throwers took care of business and picked up 12 points with Bartok finishing third individually in the discus and Kody Cavender was the overall top finisher in the pole vault and seems to be getting back in form. 
"The biggest surprise of the day was Darnell Boone's three second PR split in the 4x400.  That is huge and was exciting seeing him getting out there and competing his hardest for the team, which was exactly what we needed."