Allbaugh leads PV to MAC track crown
CLINTON, Iowa — It was all about the team as Pleasant Valley won the Mississippi Athletic Conference boys track championship Friday at Clinton’s Coan Field.
The Spartans won three individual events, but they won four relays and had two top-four placewinners in five individual events to pile up 159 and beat Bettendorf by 40 points.
“We’re really fortunate to have a lot of guys who love track,” coach Erik Belby said. “We’re deep and determined. That’s the key for us.”
One of his stars, Blake Irwin, seconded that opinion.
“It’s not just one person,” said Irwin, who won the 400 meters and also was on three winning relay teams.
Irwin charged from third place to first on the anchor leg to lead the Spartans to a win in the distance medley relay, then he capped the meet by running the anchor leg on the 1,600 relay that set a school record with its 3-minute, 23.33-second winning time.
“Every year we pride ourself in the 4-by-4,” Irwin said. “I wanted to set the record before I was done.”
Teammate Devin Allbaugh did that one better. He broke the conference record in winning the 3,200 meters in 3:28.49 and won the 1,600 in 4:34.29. Allbaugh beat the MAC mark of 9:29.12 set by Clinton’s Jeff Jacobs in 1981.
“Usually I go out hard, but today I thought I’d go an even split,” Allbaugh said. “I just really wanted that record.”
Bettendorf won one event but also used its overall strength to overtake Burlington and edge the Grayhounds by seven points for second place, 119-112.
Burlington won five events, four in which state sprint champion Jarred Herring participated.
“The key in the last five meets has been getting a jump start from the field events,” Bulldogs coach Joe Lopez said. “Those were huge points out there.”
Matt Potter won Bettendorf’s lone title, dethroning Davenport Assumption’s Ethan Tuftee as the shot put champion. Potter threw 52-feet-8, while Tuftee was second (51-9).
Defending champion Mitch Heady of Davenport West repeated as discus champion. He threw 140-6, 4½ feet farther than his season’s best throw.
“I was a little shaky before the finals,” Heady said. “I ironed out what I was doing wrong — I wasn’t getting as far back as I needed and also needed to get my hips into it — and knew if I kept to basics I’d be all right.”
West’s Dom Quinn also erased his previous season-best effort by winning the long jump at 21-1½.
“I kind of am surprised,” he admitted. “There was a pretty good wind that helped a bit.”
West was fifth in the team standings with 58 points. Clinton finished fourth with 104 points, and the River Kings had a double champion in Ethan Holmes in the hurdles and another champion in Scott DeAngelis, who won the 800 in 2:00.40. Holmes, who finished second to Irwin in the 400, won both hurdles events for Clinton. He overtook Pleasant Valley’s Drew Shradel to win the 110 hurdles by .08 in 15.01 seconds.
“I was a little tired going into that one because I had run the open 400,” Holmes said. “But him being ahead of me motivated me. He was ahead the whole race.”
Holmes also beat Shradel in the 400 hurdles, winning in 53.94.
“My time wasn’t really what I was expecting,” Holmes said. “PV was closing a bit, but I knew I had the lead and I knew I had time. It was closer than I expected.”
Taking second didn’t bother Shradel a bit.
“I’m very happy with the hurdles,” said Shradel, who ran a personal-best in the 110s. Shradel also was delighted to anchor a winning effort in the shuttle hurdle relay.
“We’ve been mixing it around to find the fourth spot, and tonight we found it,” he said.
Jon Gremmels can be contacted at (563) 383-2294 or at jgremmels@qctimes.com. Comment on this story at qcvarsity.com.