English Valleys' Gage Heyne claims runner-up honors in the 1A boys' 3,200

DES MOINES — Gage Heyne refused to deflate.

The versatile English Valleys senior couldn’t win Thursday’s Class 1A boys’ 3,200-meter race at the state meet in Drake Stadium. So he resolved to simply max out — finishing second to North Iowa’s Gavin Grunhovd in a personal-record time of 9:29.86.

“Yeah, it’s pretty difficult,” said Heyne, who saw Grunhovd cross the stripe roughly seven seconds earlier. “You kind of get a little demotivated when they keep running away from you, but that’s the thing about distance races. It’s gonna happen at some point, so just gotta stay focused and start running your race, focusing on laps and positioning. So I did what I could today.”

Heyne will also compete in the 800, 1,600 and distance medley relay at state. He’s focused more on those races than the 3,200 this season, so Thursday’s second-place finish fuels optimism climbing one stop higher on the podium could be possible.

“I’m pretty proud of it,” Heyne said. “This isn’t exactly my strongest event in the scheme of things, so getting this second is real big, because I know I can do a bit better in the other races.”

Hillcrest Academy’s Owen Scott was the only other Gazette-area 1A boys’ athlete to earn a podium finish. The junior claimed third in the long jump for the second year in a row.

“It’s good,” Scott said. “I can’t say I’m not disappointed, but I’m thankful for the opportunity.”

Scott’s qualified for state three times already and has immediately set his sights on the top spot a year from now.

“I’ve just gotta work harder at it,” Scott said.

Once Heyne fell behind early in the 3,200, he worked hard to remain within striking distance, but couldn’t get close enough to fully challenge Grunhovd.

“He finished real strong and I wasn’t able to make up as much ground as I hoped for,” Heyne said. “Still a good race.”

West Hancock leads the 1A boys’ standings with 16 points. Lisbon is in a tie for fifth with nine points and English Valleys is tied for seventh with eight points.

Class 1A Boys

At Des Moines (Drake Stadium)

Top 10 teams (through 5 events) — 1. West Hancock 16; 2. Tie, Nodaway Valley, North Iowa, Oakland Riverside 10; 5. Tie, Lake Mills, Lisbon 9; 7. Tie, Coon Rapids-Bayard, English Valleys, New London, Sibley-Ocheyedan 8.

Long jump — 1.Giovanni Garcia (West Hancock), 22-02.75; 2. London Franklin (New London), 21-11.25; 3. Owen Scott (Hillcrest Academy), 21-07; 4. Daylin Schaefer (Lisbon), 21-04.

Shot put — 1. Grant Gray (Northeast Goose Lake), 59-01.50; 2. Jace Henderson (MVAOCOU), 54-10.25; 3. Burke Berry (Mid-Prairie), 54-04.

3,200 — 1. Gavin Brunhovd (North Iowa), 9:22.99; 2. Gage Heyne (English Vallleys), 9:29.86; 3. Matt Richardson (Baxter), 9:32.52; 6. Matthew Schaul (Maquoketa Valley), 9:44.22.

3,200 relay — 1. Riverside Oakland (B., Henderson, Fenner, Jaquez, D. Henderson), 8:01.86; 2. Sibley-Ocheyedan, 8:05.58; 3. Earlham, 8:06.95; 4. Springville, 8:14.78; 5. Lisbon, 8:17.39; 7. Maquoketa Valley, 8:22.72; 8. North Linn, 8:23.49.

400 — 1. Kolby Hodnefield (South Hamilton), 48.13; 2. Gabe Funk (Lenox), 49.33; 3. Luke Sternberg (AHSTW), 49.63.

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