Lake LeBahn. Photo submitted.

The Union boys track team took on the State Qualifying Meet at Monticello on Friday, May 10, where junior Lake LeBahn qualified to return to the State Co-ed Track and Field Meet at Drake this weekend in two distance events and represent the Knights on the Blue Oval.

Despite a quad issue going into the meet, LeBahn second place in the 1600m run with a time of 4:35, earlier winning the 3200m run with a time of 10:07. The junior leader did not run the 800m run due to his quad, but coach Ben Bean is confident the returning qualifier will be ready for his second State meet.

“Lake needs to go out and run his race this week,” Bean said. “He’s starting to hit his stride this year. He ran his season best in the mile at Monticello. I’m expecting him to pop off a great time at State because of all the great competition. He’s so competitive and got that mentality to chase down anyone in front of him.”

LeBahn placed sixth in last year’s 1600m run for Union’s highest placing on the Blue Oval in 2018, also adding seventh overall in the 3200m run and 13th overall in the 800. With this experience in his pocket from his past two years at State, Bean hopes LeBahn will be prepared this postseason.

“You really don’t know what to expect at State when you first go, but now that he’s been there he knows how to handle himself going into his two races,” Bean said.

At the State Qualifying meet, the 100m dash saw Cole Bellinger finish in 12th place with a time of 12.50, followed by Ryan Bowers in 18th place with a time of 12.86. Bellinger would next place 11th in the 200m dash with a time of 25.31, followed by Bowers in 17th place with a time of 26.12. Devin Dugan wrapped up sprint events placing 17th in the 400m run with a time of 1:04. Dugan also placed 19th in the 1600m run in his final meet as a senior.

“His name didn’t show up much this year, but I’m proud of how Devin ran,” Bean said. “This was only his second year of track, but he busted his butt everyday working hard. He shaved about a minute and half off his mile time over the season.”

Kendall Putz finished seventh in the 110m hurdles with a time of 17.09 as well as 12th in the 400m hurdles with a time of 1:03. In field events, Nick North finished in 18th place in shot put with a throw of 29′-5″. Brandon Neipert finished 19th in discus with a throw of 79′-9 and Conner Wyant finished 20th with a throw of 45′-5″. As a team, the Knights finished 12th overall with 20 points on a roster than sought to improve rather than put up big points.

“Overall, I really feel we started a building block for next year; improving for next year to give guys something to work on for next year,” Bean said. “I’m confident some of these guys will go into next season wanting to go to State. This team made my first year at Union a great one. They showed up to practice and made it a pleasure to work with. Hopefully we can get some freshman next year or returning athletes out next year to help us.”

The Dysart Reporter will have coverage of the two boys events at the Co-ed State Track and Field Meet beginning on Thursday and then on Saturday. First for LeBahn will be the 3200m run on Thursday at 10:10 a.m. The 1600m run will be on Saturday at 2:23 p.m. Follow Editor CJ Eilers on Twitter (@cjeilers) for updates during the meet. Results will be posted on the Facebook page at the end of each day from May 16-18.