The Union Knights got their boys track and field season underway at the Vinton-Shellsburg Early Bird Meet on Friday, April 1.

Union finished in sixth place out of 14 teams with 52.5 points.

The Knights recorded several top five finishes across both field and running events including second place in the 1600-meter distance medley with a time of 3:57.50 from runners Danny Petersen (1), Gibson Purdy (2), Asher Beermann (3), and Joren Fisher (4).

Union also came in second in the shuttle hurdle relay with a time of 1:07.53 from runners Grant Behrens (1), TJ Freeland (2), Nolan Miehe (3), and Logan Rosauer (4).

Joren Fisher finished third in the long jump field event with a jump of 19-feet-3-inches while the quartet of Michael Niebergall (1), TJ Freeland (2), Gibson Purdy (3), and Danny Petersen (4) took fourth place in the 800-meter sprint medley relay with a time of 1:42.12.

Other top five finishes for the Knights included Nolan Miehe who finished fifth in the 400-meter hurdles and senior Grant Brehm – making his varsity track and field debut – who took fifth in the discus field event with a throw of 115-feet-7-inches.

Union also took fifth in the 4X400 meter relay with a time of 3:44.71 – runners included Asher Beermann (1), Joren Fisher (2), Danny Petersen (3) and Logan Rosauer (4).

Knights coach Scott Denner said it was a great first meet for his team which boasts a 44-member roster this season.

“We had a mixture of really good performances by some of our veterans and some really promising events from some of our newcomers,” Denner said. “Both shuttle hurdle relay teams and the distance medley relay really stood out along with Michael Niebergall in the high jump. Mason Mullen ran a couple of really solid 800s on the night, and Nolan Miehe looked great on his 400 [meter] hurdles.”

Overall Denner said it was a “solid first night” for Union boys track.

Team Standings – 1. Jesup 122, 2. Denver 121, 3. Benton-Community 107.5, 4. Williamsburg 98, 5. Anamosa 62, 6. Union 52.5, 7. Solon 52, 8. Wahlert-Dubuque 29, 9. Grinnell 22, 10. Vinton-Shellsburg 20, 11. HLV-Victor 19, 12. Columbus Catholic 14, 13. North Linn 11, 14. Janesville 10.

The Union girls were set to compete this week Tuesday, April 5, at the Jesup Girls Track Meet while the boys were scheduled to compete at Grundy Center that same day. Later in the week on Thursday, April 7, the boys were scheduled to head to Hudson for the Pirate Relays.

Next week the girls compete on Tuesday, April 12, in the Hudson Relays beginning at 4:30 p.m. while the boys make their way to Jesup for the Jesup Boys Track Meet that same day.

Union Boys’ Top 10 finishes

Vinton-Shellsburg Early Bird Meet

110-Meter Hurdles

8th place – Logan Rosauer 16.88

400-Meter Dash

9th place – Nolan Miehe 56.08

400-Meter Hurdles

5th place – Nolan Miehe 1:01.72

800-Meter

6th place – Mason Mullen 2:15.18

1600-Meter

10th place – Kengo Uchiyama-Hansen 5:22.42

3200-Meter

9th place – Kengo Uchiyama-Hansen 12:04.10

Discus Throw

5th place – Grant Brehm 115′ 7″

High Jump

7th place – Michael Niebergall 5′ 6″

Long Jump

3rd place – Joren Fisher 19′ 3″

Shot Put

10th place – Tyler Wilson 39′ 6.75″

800-Meter Sprint Medley

4th place – 1:42.12

1600-Meter Distance Medley

2nd place – 3:57.50

4X400 Meter Relay

5th place – 3:44.71

4X800 Meter Relay

8th place – 9:35.41

Shuttle Hurdle Relay

2nd place – 1:07.53

4X200 Meter Relay

6th place – 1:39.26