DENVER — The BCLUW girls track and field team took second place at the Denver Invite on Monday on the strength of three event championships.

The Comets totaled 139 points to trail only Hudson’s 167. Gladbrook-Reinbeck scored 12 points and placed last out of five teams.

BCLUW swept the top two spots in two events, with Madison Engle and Betula Messerly finished first and second, respectively, in the 400-meter dash. Engle timed in at 1 minute, 6.71 seconds, while Messerly crossed the finish line in 1:07.96.

Olivia Hughes led a 1-2-4 finish for the Comets in the 100 hurdles, finishing in 17.01 to lead Kiersten Kruse (17.55) and Payton Pekarek (17.79) to the tape. Dahlia Gardiner was first in the shot put with a heave of 33 feet, 3 inches, and she also took second in the long jump (14-10). Kruse also scored silver in the high jump, clearing 5 feet, while Kenna Paxson was second in the 400 hurdles (1:18.59).

BCLUW also brought in second-place points in three relays: the 4×200, 4×400 and sprint medley.

Gladbrook-Reinbeck was led by Lily Ehlers’ fourth-place finish in the 800 (2:42.30) and her sixth-place result in the 1,500 (5:44.84). Emilee Pepe placed sixth in the shot put as well (29-1).

Mustangs lead locals at Denver meet

DENVER — The East Marshall boys track and field team placed fifth out of 11 squads to lead local competitors at the Denver Invite on Monday night.

The Mustangs totaled 81.5 points to place fifth, BCLUW was seventh with 76.5 points and Gladbrook-Reinbeck was 10th with 17 points.

Leading the Mustangs was the championship performance of Hunter Vilez, who won the discus with a throw of 130 feet, 11 inches. Austin Elliott was second in both the 100- and 200-meter sprints (11.94 and 23.92 seconds, respectively), while the foursome of Cade Curphy, Dane Thompson, Logan Bowie and Cam Hungerford finished second in the 4×800 (9:00.15).

East Marshall teammates Gage Hulin and Korbin Seth shared third place in the long jump (19-8), while the 4×200 and sprint medley relays both placed fourth.

BCLUW had four event champions, as Jack Garber won the 110 high hurdles (14.89) and Neifer Ralston topped the 400 (56.42). The Comets’ 4×800 quartet of Ruben Montoya, Noah Gallentine, Henry Kaisand and Caleb Silver won in 8:42.27, while Coby Willett, Carson Hoffman, Ralston and Garber got the shuttle hurdle relay crown (1:03.84).

Silver also scored second in the 1,600 (4:39.64) while Ben Paper placed third in the 100 (11.96). Paper joined Hoffman, Noah Lehman and Jesse Moore in the 4×100, which took fourth.

Gladbrook-Reinbeck’s top finish was sixth. Sam Schildroth finished the 400 in 56.31, and Paul Brockett clocked in at 11:00.14 in the 3,200. The Rebels’ 4×400 foursome of Ridge Van Daele, Colby Hauser, Schildroth and Dylan Riffey was sixth as well.

GC/G-R boys netters suffer first defeat

IOWA FALLS — The first loss of the season for the Grundy Center/Gladbrook-Reinbeck boys tennis team came down to three third-set tiebreakers in doubles play on Monday night at Iowa Falls-Alden.

After the two teams split in singles, the host Cadets (5-3) came from behind to take two of three marathon doubles bouts to prevail 5-4.

Nick Voss and Cale Hendricks survived their No. 1 doubles clash against Alex Geitz and Owen Kinnetz, winning 6-7, 6-3, (10-5), but Iowa Falls-Alden got the other two. Dayne Zinkula and Brayden Sawyer fell to Saul Sanchez and Dawson Hadwiger at No. 2, 4-6, 6-4, (17-15), while Sloan Klar and Bryce Greiner were edged by Nolan Frohwein and Nic Warrington at No. 3, 5-7, 6-4, (16-14).

Hendricks, Zinkula and Sawyer scored the three singles wins for the Spartans (5-1).

Barkema named Player of the Week

ROCHESTER, Minn. — Brad Barkema, a freshman catcher at Rochester Community and Technical College, has been named the Minnesota College Athletic Conference’s Southern Division Baseball Player of the Week for the week ending April 28.

Barkema, a Conrad native and BCLUW High School graduate, batted .368 (7-for-19) with two doubles and five RBIs as the Yellowjackets went 4-2 in six games last week.

Barkema leads RCTC with a .429 batting average, 18 hits and a .520 on-base percentage while ranking second with 17 RBIs and a .476 slugging percentage. He also has no errors in 99 total chances behind the plate, recording five assists.

Fritz picked as Pitcher of the Week

PELLA — Central College pitcher Mariah Fritz has been named the American Rivers Conference Softball Pitcher of the Week, the league recently announced.

Fritz helped the Dutch to a 6-0 record last week and the program’s 13th conference championship. Fritz, an East Marshall High School graduate, went 5-0 in the circle while tossing four complete games to raise her season record to 17-7.

Central (24-8) has the top seed for the American Rivers Conference Tournament, which the Dutch host Friday and Saturday in Pella.