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HARTINGTON — Hartington-Newcastle turned in a strong showing on Cedar Catholic’s home track, finishing second in the boys standings at the Trojan Invitational on April 14 behind a day highlighted by five first-place finishes.
The Wildcats piled up 104 points, trailing only host Cedar Catholic, which won the team title with 155. On the girls side, the Lady Wildcats finished seventh with 34 points, while Cedar Catholic claimed the championship with 110, followed by Wausa.
Leading the way for the Wildcats was sprinter Will Feilmeier, who put together one of the top individual performances of the meet. Feilmeier swept the sprints, winning the 100-meter dash in a personal-record time of 11.09 and taking the 200 in 23.23. He also anchored the gold-medal 400-meter relay team.
“I really felt good here today,” Feilmeier said. “I P.R.’ed in the 100 and won the 200 and we got it done in the relay, so I’m pretty happy. It felt good.”
Feilmeier teamed with Colter Feilmeier, Mason Krause and Aiden Walter to win the 400 relay in 45.30 giving the Wildcats another key boost in the team race.
Krause added to the Wildcats’ gold-medal haul in the field events, winning the long jump with a leap of 21-1.5. He also placed third in the triple jump, finishing just behind teammate Maximus McCray, who took second with a jump of 44-7.5. Krause recorded a best of 42-4, while McCray also contributed with a sixth-place finish in the 400 (58.59).
Walter added a fifth-place finish in the 200, while the Wildcats picked up valuable points across multiple events. Ty Opfer and Jason Heimes placed second and fifth in the pole vault, and Cameron Carl was fourth in the 110-meter hurdles while also taking sixth in the high jump. Brayden Lammers finished just ahead of Carl in the high jump standings, and Aidan Anderson added a sixthplace effort in the 3,200.
Distance runner Isaac Santiago delivered a strong double, placing second in the 1,600 in 5:03.86 and third in the 800 in 2:15.70.
The Wildcats also scored well in the relays. The 1,600-meter relay team of Walter, Trevon Hopping, Nathan Heimes and Opfer placed third in 3:55.49, while the 3,200 relay team of Lammers, Dylan Heikes, Gabriel Reyes and Christopher Kneifl finished fourth in 10:26.86.
On the girls side, Vayda Lippert paced the Lady Wildcats with a victory in the 3,200, crossing the line in 13:38.39. She also placed third in the 400 (1:02.57) and sixth in the 100 (13.44), accounting for a large share of the team’s points.
Ella Eickhoff added a strong all-around performance, placing third in the pole vault, fourth in the 300 hurdles and fifth in the 100 hurdles. Jade Ford placed fifth in the triple jump, and Karissa Bruning was sixth in the shot put.
Hartington-Newcastle returned to action Monday, hosting its own invitational. The Wildcats are scheduled to compete at the Summerland Invitational on April 28, followed by the Norfolk Classic on April 30.
