The Pleasant Valley Boys Track and Field team competed at the MAC Conference Championship meet on Thursday, May 2. There, they placed second out of the ten teams that participated, with Bettendorf placing first.
Two members of the varsity team brought home two wins apiece: sophomore Kole Sommer winning the 1600 and 3200 meter runs, and senior Cade Collier winning the shot put and discus.
Collier threw a teamwide season best in both events. He threw the seventh farthest distance in school history for the shot put with a throw of 50 feet 10.5 inches and the sixth farthest distance in school history for the discus with a throw of 152 feet one inch.
Collier explained what these achievements meant to him. “Being apart of the top ten isn’t something I thought I could have ever done but doing that pushes me to work harder every day to become a better athlete,” he said.
“Up until the MAC meet I felt like I wasn’t getting the outcome I wanted, so once I got personal bests in both shot put and discus and placed first in both it felt like I had accomplished something I hadn’t done all year,” Collier continued.
Along with these wins, the team also had season best performances in the 800 meter sprint medley and the 4×200 meter relay. Junior Sam Sturtzer ran the fastest 110 meter high hurdles of the year for PV in a time of 15.14 seconds and moved up to the number four spot for the fastest time in school history.
Strutzer had a short response when asked about this accomplishment. “It doesn’t matter unless it’s number one.” This motto has pushed him to improve throughout the season and he hopes to move up in the rankings as he continues his high school career.
PV brought home the freshman/sophomore title, edging past Bettendorf by two points. They won the 800 meter sprint medley, the 4×800 meter relay, and had two individuals win their event. Freshman Brandt Williams won the discus with a throw of 127 feet 4 inches and freshman Tarun Vedula won the 3200 meter run with a time of 10 minutes 21.03 seconds.
Both the boys’ and girls’ teams are now preparing for their District Meet on May 10. The meet will be hosted by North Scott High School and is the only chance for the teams to qualify for the State Championship Meet.
