OSAWATOMIE — A schedule change turned into a medal for Iola High’s Della Lohman Thursday.
The Iola High freshman was included in the Fillies’ track team that headed to Osawatomie’s Francis Wendt Invitational because a junior varsity earlier that meet in Fort Scott was postponed due to rainy weather.
Iola will not be able to make it to the rescheduled meet, IHS head coach Marv Smith said, so he brought a few younger athletes to Osawatomie.
Lohman took full advantage of her opening, claiming third in the girls discus, with a throw of 87 feet, 5 inches.
It was among a day of highlights that included gold medals for the Mustangs’ Michael Wilson (pole vault) and the Fillies’ Emery Driskel (300-meter hurdles) and Darci Collins (shot put).
Two other Iola JV performers, Gage Cleaver and Darius Greenawalt, also earned points at the varsity level. Cleaver took fourth in the pole vault, while Greenawalt was sixth in the triple jump.
Tyler Powelson (800 meters) and Adam Kauth (110-meter hurdles) both earned silver medals, as did Driskel in the 100-meter hurdles and Abigail Taylor in the 3200 meters.
Both the Iola boys and girls took home fourth in their respective team scores.
“None of our marks were especially noteworthy,” Smith said. “Everything around the track was hurt by the wind. We were jumping into the wind.
“And we just cannot get healthy,” he continued, noting Braden Plumlee has been sidelined with a hip injury, preventing him from running or competing in the pole vault. Back spasms kept Jessica Oakley from throwing. Shannon Vogel and Jeremy Spears are limited because of allergy issues. Taylor and Brian Hu ran their races, but have had leg problems holding them back in races and in conditioning.
“The weekend could not come at a better time,” Smith said.
Driskel tacked on a bronze in the 100-meter hurdles, as did Kauth in the 300-meter hurdles and the Mustangs’ 4×800 relay team of Tyler McIntosh, Hu, Spears and Chase Regehr on the boys’ side. Taylor added a bronze in the 1600.
Iola ran three JV relay races, capturing a third and two fourths.
Results follow:
Francis Wendt Invitational
Boys
Team scores: 1. Spring Hill, 156; 4. Iola, 60
Pole vault — 1. Michael Wilson, 11’; 3. Travis Hermstein, 9’; 4. Gage Cleaver, 7’
Triple jump — 6. Darius Greenawalt, 34’11”
800 meters — 2. Tyler Powelson, 2:11.7
1600 meters — 3. Powelson, 4:50.8
110m hurdles — 2. Adam Kauth, 16.3
300m hurdles — 3. Kauth, 44.5
4×100 relay — 6. Iola (Wilson, Kauth, Tyler McIntosh, Brian Hu), 49.1
