Lisbon bests own record in 800-meter relay win

DES MOINES — There’s a good reason Lisbon 800-meter relay anchor Daylin Schaefer’s hair lacks the creative and colorful flourishes the Lions are well know for adopting.

“He’s the only one out of us with a girlfriend, so …” Lisbon standout Tiernan Boots said.

Schaefer and his teammates didn’t meed racing stripes of any sort Friday in the Class 1A boys’ state track and field meet at Drake Stadium. They won the 4 x 200 in 1:28.44 seconds — shaving two-hundredths off their previous class record set in victory at state last season.

“Dude, you don’t even understand,” Schaefer said when asked what it’s like to take the baton from a multi-time state champion such as Boots. “I don’t run relays, ever. It’s my first year. He make sit so easy. Puts it right on the mark every time (so) I can pretty much leave whenever I want. It’s automatic with him.”

So is winning relays — and 1A state titles — for the Lions. Lisbon’s seeking to extend its streak of 1A state titles to three, which would match a program record set from 2015-17.

“We’ve all been on the biggest stages in Iowa,” said Boots, the top seed in the 100-meters. “Pressure makes diamonds.”

The Lion’s nearly set a state record early Friday in the distance medley relay, but Oakland Riverside ran even faster, finishing in 3:30.94 — an eye blink better than Lisbon’s time of 3:31.16.

“That’s a five-six second PR from what we ran all season long,” said the Lions’ Dakota Clark, who also ran on the winning 4 x 200 relay. “It’s a school record for us, and any record that we break at our school is pretty impressive.”

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Another Gazette-area athlete, Anthony Harrington of Midland, produced impressive results in the discus. The junior finished second with a top throw of 157 feet and 11 inches.

Lisbon’s determined to maintain its stronghold on gold at the state meet — and carry top seeds into three races on Saturday. The Lions led Oakland Riverside 27 to 20 atop the 1A boys’ standings after day two.

“It’s a lot of fun,” Boots said. “After each of these races, we get to relax just a little bit. But then (we) step right back up.”

Class 1A Boys

At Des Moines (Drake Stadium)

Top 10 teams (through 10 events) — 1. Lisbon 27; 2. Oakland Riverside 20; 3. Lenox 18; 4. Woodbine 17; 5. Tie, ACGC, West Hancock, New London 16; 8. Tie, Nodaway Valley, Sibley-Ocheyedan 14.

Discus— 1. Ambrose Savage (Lamoni), 158-10; 2. Anthony Harrington (Midland), 157-11; 3. Morgan Cooley (East Union), 157-01..

High jump — 1. Trevon Keely (Paton-Churdan), 6-08; 2. Landon Blum (Woodbine), 6-07; 3. Xavier Haller (West Fork), 6-03; 4. Kale Bailey (Hillcrest Academy), 6-01; 7. Kaden Barton Franzen (South Winneshiek), 6-01.

Distance medley relay — Oakland Riverside (Jeppesen, Gordon, Knoke, Henderson), 3:30.94; 2. Lisbon, 3:31.16; 3. Van Buren, 3:33.96; 4. Belle Plaine, 3:34.22; 5. English Valleys, 3:34.79.

800 relay — 1. Lisbon (Coleman, Clark, Boots, Schaefer), 1:28.44; 2. New London, 1:29.14; 3. Woodbine, 1:29.51; 4. Iowa Valley, 1:29.91.

400 hurdles — 1. Gabe Funk (Lenox), 53.43; 2. Tate Fever (ACGC), 54.25; 3. Tate Marco (Sibley-Ocheyedan), 54.47; 5. Sam DeMeulenaere (Belle Plaine). 55:39.

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