AMES — Track action has started with area teams competing in the Iowa State Girls High School Classic on Monday and the West Marshall girls track team has started the season off strong.

The Trojans finished in the top-10 in three events, winning the 4×400-meter relay with a time of four minutes, 19.58 seconds, while senior Isabelle Gradwell took sixth in the 60 hurdles and sophomore Renae Schaper finished sixth in the shot put.

Gradwell ran a time of 9.88 to take sixth in the 60 hurdles, while Schaper threw the shot a distance of 36-feet-6.75 inches.

Also placing in the top 10 for the Trojans was the sprint medley team, who finished ninth.

Marshalltown’s best finish came in the 60-meter dash, where Kierra Gardner finished 30th with a time of 8.63 seconds. The Bobcats did well in the relays as well, taking 35th in the 4×400, 40th in the 4×800 and 42nd in the sprint medley.

South Tama County’s Stacey Slaven had the best individual finish for any of the area girls in attendance, taking fourth in the high jump with a height of 5-2, matching the height that landed her in fourth place at the state meet last year. Morgan Haughey placed 32nd in the 60 hurdles, Callie Frakes finished 35th in the 3,000, Jo Youngbear placed 40th for STC in the 800 and the 4×400 team also finished 40th.

East Marshall had one top-10 placing, as junior Melinda Puumala took ninth in the long jump with a distance of 15-7.5. Puumala also finished 49th in the 800, while the 4×400 took 38th and the 4×800 team took 45th for the Mustangs.

STC’s Keahna, BCLUW’s Garber triumph

AMES — Though the weather isn’t quite ready for the outdoor track season to start, indoor track is underway here in Iowa and two area boys already have an event win under their belts.

BCLUW junior Jack Garber won the 60-meter hurdles in the 25th Iowa State Boys High School Classic on Tuesday, while South Tama County junior Keith Keahna won the high jump.

Keahna’s winning mark of 6-foot-6 wasn’t just good enough to take first in the event, it was actually enough to already qualify him for the Drake Relays, meeting the Blue Standard which is set right at 6-6. Keahna is looking to improve off of his fifth-place finish at the Class 3A state meet.

Garber finished first in the 60 hurdles with a time of 8.56 seconds, just five-hundredths of a second ahead of Trent Davis from Linn-Mar and Tyler Williams from Waukee in second. Garber, only the second Comet to ever win an event at the Iowa State Boys High School Classic, finished fourth at the state meet in the 110 hurdles in 2A, and he is the only returning athlete out of the top four finishers in the class.

Marshalltown’s best finish in the meet was from Gabe Wyant, who finished 18th in the long jump with a distance of 18-4. Tyler Reeder also took 22nd in the 60 hurdles, while the Bobcats’ 4×400 team finished 27th. The other relay teams showed well for MHS too, with the spring medley finishing 35th and the 4×800 finishing in 36th.

Aside from Garber’s win in the 60 hurdles, the 4×400 team finished ninth with a time of 3:41.98 for BCLUW and Caleb Silver took 31st in the 3,200.

Payton Vest joined Keahna as a high-finisher for the Trojans in the field events with a 24th-place finish in the long jump, while 4×400 team took 33rd.

GMG rounded out the area participants in the meet, and Wes Steiner had the best placing for the Wolverines by taking 29th in the shot put with a throw of 41-5. Jackson Edens also showed well in the 3,200, placing 40th in the race.

WIlliams named to MVFC honor roll

CEDAR FALLS — The Missouri Valley Football Conference has announced the 2017 Academic Awards and 52 Northern Iowa student-athletes have earned a spot on the league’s honor roll.

One of those 52 Panthers was former Marshalltown Bobcat Peyton Williams, who was also given a Commissioner’s Academic Excellence Award.

Williams was set to play in his first season at tight end for UNI after redshirting his freshman year, but he was sidelined with a back injury before the season started.

Spring games scheduled for April

The spring game schedules have been announced for three of the Iowa college football programs and there will be plenty of pigskin action coming up.

First up is Iowa State as the Cyclones play their spring game on April 14, starting at 1 p.m. at Jack Trice Stadium.

Next the Hawkeyes take center stage when the University of Iowa will conclude its spring program with a final spring practice at Kinnick Stadium on April 20, starting at 7 p.m.

Rounding out the spring games will be Northern Iowa, as the Panthers will play their spring game in the UNI-Dome on April 27, starting at 6 p.m.

Lasley named to all-Region XI team

The NJCAA Division II Region XI all-region teams have been announced and South Tama County graduate and current Ellsworth Community College player Darius Lasley has been named to the first team.

Lasley led the Panthers in scoring at 14.4 points per game while shooting 48.5 percent from the floor. He also averaged 3.9 rebounds, four assists and two steals per contest. He actually led the conference in steals as well with 26 in ICCAC games.

Joining Lasley on the first team was former Marshalltown Community College player Terence Shelby, who now plays for Southwestern Community College. Shelby helped lead the Spartans to their second consecutive Region XI title and he was named to the Region XI all-tournament team.

He led SWCC in scoring with 13.5 points per game, and he finished third in the division with 7.7 rebounds per game.

Southwestern will be a No. 5 seed in the NJCAA Divsion II tournament, and the Spartans take on Dakota County today starting at 1 p.m. in Danville, Ill.