The O’Neill Eagles boys track and field team turned in a strong early-season performance, collecting several medals across running and field events at their recent indoor meet.
Sophomore Ryker Sudbeck had an outstanding day for the Eagles. Sudbeck sprinted to a 5th-place finish in the 60-meter dash and later captured the long jump title with a winning leap of 21 feet, 3.25 inches.
Senior Porter Mathews also delivered a strong performance in the sprints and jumps. Mathews finished 5th in the 200-meter dash with a time of 24.26 seconds and added a 3rd-place medal in the long jump with a mark of 20 feet, 6.25 inches.
In the quarter-mile, Colten Shoemaker led the way for O’Neill, winning the 400-meter dash with an impressive time of 52.27 seconds.
The Eagles distance crew also contributed several medals. Junior Paul Fonseca placed 5th in the 800-meter run with a time of 2:15, while freshman Alonso Hernandez finished 4th in the 1600-meter run in 5:02.5. Senior Tomas Arciniega added another medal in the longer distance, placing 4th in the 3200-meter run with a time of 11:31.1.
Senior Ian Yates represented O’Neill in the hurdles, finishing 6th in the 60-meter intermediate hurdles.
O’Neill also found success in the relay events. The 4x800-meter relay team of Brock Latzel, Tomas Arciniega, Nate Brown, and Paul Fonseca placed 3rd with a time of 9:20.9. In the 4x400-meter relay, the team of Colten Shoemaker, Brock Latzel, Nate Brown, and Paul Fonseca finished 6th in 3:43.8.
In the field events, senior Grady Welke claimed the pole vault championship, clearing 11 feet, 6 inches to take first place. Sophomore Maguire Heiss added another medal in the jumping events, finishing 5th in the triple jump with a mark of 38 feet, 11 inches.
With multiple individual champions and strong relay performances, the Eagles demonstrated depth across sprinting, distance, and field events as they continue their early-season competition. The Eagles will travel this Friday, March 27th, to compete in the Ainsworth Invitational. Field events start at 12:00 pm, the 4 x 800 at 1:00 pm, and the rest of the running events at 3:00 pm.