Sawyer Spence, second from left, takes the baton for the opening leg of the 4x800-meter relay during the Hudson Relays on Thursday, April 16. The team of Spence, Jackson Youngblut, Cameron Mullen and Cooper Spore ran a season-best time of 8 minutes, 33.73 seconds, to win the event. PHOTOS BY STEVE BRANT

HUDSON — The Union boys’ track and field team took seventh at the Hudson Relays Thursday, April 16, which took place two days after the girls’ meet was canceled due to weather.

Union scored 47 points total to finish near the top of the pack. Denver won the 17-team meet with 125.5 points, followed by Grundy Center (96) and Aplington-Parkersburg (92).

North Tama also competed in the meet but did not field enough athletes for a team score.

The Knights were led by two first-place finishes, including senior Ethan Winnike who tied for gold in the high jump with a leap of 5 feet, 10 inches. The Knights also secured a gold-medal finish in the 4×800 relay with a time of 8 minutes, 33.73 seconds – beating out Denver’s 8:40.98.

Union’s shuttle hurdle relay team placed second with 1:05.11 – just behind Grundy Center with 1:03.30. Jace Sorensen tied for fourth in the high jump, while Weston Clark was sixth in shot put. Sawyer Spence ran his way to seventh in the open-8 with a finish of 2 minutes, 12.26 seconds.

Additional Union relay teams finishing in the top-8 include the 4×100 in fifth; 4×400 and 800 medley, both in sixth; and the 4×200 in seventh.

Union has been without its top senior sprinter Levi Hadachek for much of the outdoor season thus far following a hamstring injury he suffered April 9 during the Hudson Boys Track Meet. Hadachek is a 2025 state track medalist, finishing seventh in the 100-meter dash with a time of 11.10 seconds after being seeded 18th.

Also at Hudson April 16, North Tama’s distance medley finished 10th; Brayton Cibula 13th in high jump; Ty Guthrie 15th in discus; sprint medley 16th; 4×200 17th; and Kane Kucera 17th in the 100-meter dash.