Back on land, Berry shines

CEDAR FALLS -- Instead of pounding the miles this winter, Joe Berry hit the pool."It's something I've wanted to do, to go out for swimming," said Berry, a senior at Cedar Rapids Washington. "At our school, swimming isn't a sport. It's a religion."So Berry diminished his running throughout the winter. For a month, in fact, he eliminated it.Maybe there's something to be said for rest and rejuvenation.Berry won the 1,600-meter run at the Mississippi Valley Conference boys' indoor track meet Monday at the UNI-Dome. He did so in an impressive time of 4:34.70."I'm happy with that," Berry said. "I'm leaps and bounds from where I was last year. I've put in extra work I hadn't put in before."Some of it was on the pavement. A lot of it was in the water."Swimming helped so much," he said. "Especially with my legs. And it helped with the strength of my upper body. That's something I defeinitely needed."Berry is hopeful that a strong track season will lead to a college career. He will enroll at the University of Notre Dame in the fall.Team scores were not kept Monday, but judging by event wins, it was a successful night for the Metro.Washington captured three events, Cedar Rapids Kennedy and Cedar Rapids Prairie two apiece, Cedar Rapids Jefferson one.Cedar Falls led with five event victories.Nick Corbett was a double-winner for Washington, anchoring the Warriors from behind to edge Kennedy in the 800-meter relay. Washington was timed in 1:36.14, Kennedy in 1:36.35.Corbett then won the 200 in 22.41 seconds and led off Washington's second-place 1,600-meter relay."The 200 time, that really surprised me," said Corbett, who has not determined his college plans but it leaning toward running at Iowa State. "I did a lot of lifting, working with a personal trainer."What I hope to do is run the open 400 in 47 this season. I think it's feasible."Kennedy countered with strength in the jumps and the hurdles. Willie Rhoads won the high jump, clearing 6-4, while the Cougars prevailed in the shuttle hurdle relay in 35.29 seconds.Prairie got titles from Tristan Beyer in the 400 (52.64) and Mitch Dellamuth in the 60 hurdles (8.37).Jefferson's Timauntay Jones sizzled to a 1:57.78 effort in the 800 on the track in which he will run collegiately; he has signed with UNI."Running on a short track, it's really not that much different from running outdoors," Jones said. "In here, you hear your split each 200, so you know where you're at."Jones has grown an inch and gained about 10 pounds -- "Not all muscle, but most of it," he said"And I put in a lot of miles, lots of intervals."Jones, who would like to run 1:51 by the end of the season, made it look easy Monday. He knows it will get more difficult later."When we get outside, the other guys will probably catch up somewhat," he said.

MVC BOYS' INDOOR TRACK MEET

At Cedar Falls (UNI-Dome)

(No team scores)

Shot put -- 1. Ross Pierschbacher (CF), 52-1; 2. Joe Weiner (DH), 50-10 3/4; 3. Collin Frazier (DS), 47-11; 4. Zach Gillis (CRW), 47-10; 5. Craig Murtha (CRX), 47-6;

High jump -- 1. Willie Rhoads (CRK), 6-4; 2. Cam Spears (ICH), 6-0; 3. Chris Francis (DH), 6-0; 4. Jacob Shannon (CRK), 5-10; 5. Shawn Beyer (CRK), 5-10;

Long jump -- 1. Dequavious Martin (WW), 21-10; 2. Javon Middleton (WE), 20-11 1/2; 3. Famiek Cook (CRK), 20-9 3/4; 4. Jason Millett (WW), 20-9 3/4; 5. Derek Jacobus (CRK), 20-4 1/2.

3,200 -- 1. Tim Sevcik (CF), 9:57.11; 2. Freund (DH), 10:05.95; 3. Jonathon Smith (CF), 10:07.20; 4. Brawdon Crawford (DW), 10:09.00; 5. Chris Ohret (ICH), 10:25.80;

3,200 relay -- 1. Cedar Falls, 8:18.82; 2. Waterloo West, 8:32.71; 3. C.R. Jefferson, 8:39.33; 4. Iowa City West, 8:45.78; 5. Iowa City High, 8:50.18;

Shuttle hurdle relay -- 1. C.R. Kennedy, 35.29; 2. C.R. Prairie, 35.46; 3. Linn-Mar, 36.91; 4. C.R. Jefferson, 37.68; 5. C.R. Washington, 38.31;

60 --1. Harrison (DH), 6.80; 2. A. Taylor (WE), 6.90; 3. Larke Dunn (WW), 6.91; 4. D. Mastin (WW), 6.93; 5. Denison Harrington (CF), 6.95;

400 -- 1. Tristan Beyer (CRP), 52.64; 2. Tim Wittman (DS), 53.38; 3. Trevor Luebe (CRW), 53.42; 4. Jase Grant (DS), 53.79; 5. Brown (DH), 54.20;

800 relay -- 1. C.R. Washington, 1:36.14; 2. C.R. Kennedy, 1:36.35; 3. Dubuque Senior, 1:37.28; 4. Waterloo West, 1:37.78; 5. Dubuque Hempstead, 1:37.84;

1,600 -- 1. Joe Berry (CRW), 4:34.70; 2. Tim Sevcik (CF), 4:36.20; 3. Danny May (DW), 4:44.52; 4. Dylan Southhall (CF), 4:44.52; 5. Cole Folken (DS), 4:44.98;

60 hurdles -- 1. Mitch Dellamuth (CRP), 8.37; 2. Tom Kaiser (CRK), 8.42; 3. Matt Goedken (DW), 8.42; 4. Conner Riehm (CF), 8.48; 5. Matt Fedro (CF), 8.57;

200 -- 1. Nick Corbett (CRW), 22.41; 2. Lance Dunn (WW), 23.08; 3. Dequavious Martin (WW), 23.20; 4. John Koelling (CRK), 23.39; 5. Kevin Bernard (CF), 23.90;

1,600 medley relay -- 1. Cedar Falls, 3:47.80; 2. Dubuque Senior, 3:52.61; 3. Dubuque Hempstead, 3:58.10; 4. Iowa City High, 3:58. 12; 5. C.R. Prairie, 4:04.19;

800 -- 1. Timauntay Jones (CRJ), 1:57.78; 2. Ohl (WW), 2:01.93; 3. Travor Luebe (CRW), 2:02.81; 4. Dylan Eigenberger (DS), 2:07.70; 5. Joe Berry (CRW), 2:07.89;

400 relay -- 1. Waterloo East, 45.60; 2. C.R. Kennedy, 45.83; 3. Dubuque Hempstead, 46.07; 4. Cedar Falls, 46.18; 5. C.R. Washington, 46.54;

1,600 relay -- 1. Cedar Falls, 3:32.03; 2. C.R. Washington, 3:42.20; 3. Dubuque Senior, 3:42.80; 4. C.R. Kennedy, 3:43.67; 5. Waterloo West, 3:44.22.