Reynolds wrecks Raider Relays records

MOUNT AYR — Talent was on display Tuesday night in Mount Ayr as two Drake Relays qualifiers competed at the Raider Relays.

Mount Ayr junior Ryce Reynolds, reigning state champion in the 400 meter dash and the 400 meter hurdles, put on a show for the home crowd just a few days before he heads to the Drake Relays in Des Moines.

“It feels great being at home and doing what I love,” Reynolds said. “I’m glad that I could run the races I’m taking to Drake tonight just to clean up some stuff before I go and knock off any of the rust.”

Though he hasn’t ran the 400 meter dash since he won the Kansas Relays nearly two weeks ago, he didn’t appear to have much rust to knock off. Reynolds obliterated the field with a :49.42, six seconds ahead of the next fastest runner. The time was enough to break his own meet record.

In the 400 meter low hurdles, Reynolds faced off against sophomore Gabe Funk of Lenox. Funk’s season-best time of :55.24 is enough to place him 15th in the state and qualifies him for a spot at the Drake Relays.

Coming into the race, Reynolds’ season-best time of :53.80 landed him third on the list. Though Funk’s :55.80 was an definitive second place, Reynolds ran away with the victory and another meet record. His time of :53.18 surpasses the second-best state runner’s :53.36 to put Reynolds number two in the state.

“It’s great just to get a feel for what it will be like at Drake,” Funk said. “(Reynolds) is going to win it maybe, so it’s good practice. I still think my times can get better. It will be fun to compete with the best.”

Funk’s performance in the sprint medley relay set the tone for Lenox as he led a come-from-behind victory on the anchor leg.

The Tigers took a commanding 207-point victory in Class B with East Union taking second with a score of 94. Murray finished seventh with 26 points and Orient-Macksburg had 22 points for eighth.

In Class A, I-35 took the win over Mount Ayr with 165 points. The Raiders earned silver with 127.5 points.

East Union freshman Morgan Cooley dominated the throwing events, finishing first in both shot put and discus with throws of 43-01 and 133-08, respectively.

Lenox took home 11 first-place finishes in Class B including six relay wins. The only loss came at the hands of East Union in the 4x400 meter relay. The upperclassmen team of Jacob Driskell, DJ Islas, Emmet Long and Austin Lack took the win for the Eagles in a time of 3:52.72.

In addition to their relay victories, senior Samson Adams won the high jump with his jump of 6 feet, Dylan Stein won the 3200 meter run in 12:06.64, Funk won both the 110 and 400 meter hurdles and Jordan Martin-England won the 400 meter dash in :56.65.

The Eagles’ Driskell won the 1600 meter run in 5:08.54.

Tyson Ross of Orient-Macksburg had a strong showing for the Bulldogs with his second-place finishes in both high jump and the 100 meter dash. In the 200 meter dash, he took third.

Mount Ayr had seven Class A victories. In addition to Reynolds’ wins, the team took first in the 4x400 meter relay, the shuttle hurdle relay and the 4x100 meter relay. Drew Ehlen’s time of 2:08.07 won him the 800 meter dash and Braydon Pierson’s mark of 20-01.75 won him the long jump.

Funk will compete in the 110 meter hurdles at 8:44 a.m., Friday at the Drake Relays. Reynolds’ open 400 will be at 5:20 p.m. Friday. The two will compete in the 400 meter hurdles Saturday at 1 p.m.

“The week of, the biggest thing I try to focus on is mental state and staying calm throughout the week,” Reynolds said. “Nerves and all that stuff can kind of creep up on you just because It’s a big meet against really good competition. I just have to keep reminding myself that good competition equals good results. I’m excited, and I think I’m mentally prepared to go up there and have some fun.”