Willey medals in two events at state

Mason Willey came home from Des Moines with two medals from this year’s State Track & Field co-ed meet at Drake Stadium. He started out with a best mark of 20’ 10.75” in the long jump to place sixth overall (2A). He also made the finals on Saturday in the 200, clocking in at 22.46 for seventh. That guaranteed him a medal, and on Saturday he still retained seventh place overall with a 22.88. The 4x100 relay, composed of Sam Urness, Bryce Hamilton, Zach Pogge and Willey, came in 14th in a time of 44.515 (after a tiebreaker).

“None of them need to hang their heads,” said coach Craig Warnke. “Mason was right there in the long jump, and made a really good one in the final round that didn’t count. His start in the 100 wasn’t as quick as usual, and you needed your best ever at state this year in that event. The 200 was also a tough field. He’s done what he’s supposed to do, and had a great year. He attained a lot over his four years here, and now plans to walk on at UNI in track. The 4x100 guys felt okay about what they did. They were close to their best time, and all ran well with decent splits. Aside from Mason, the rest are back and already talking about next year.”