The Spartan Track & Field team competed at two meets in two states this past weekend, with select students traveling to the Jim Duncan Invitational at Drake University and the full team to the Darrel Gourley Open at William Jewell College. At Drake, Freshman Gabe Esser (Winterset) placed eighth in the men's 10,000m run in a time of 36:39. "Gabe had a rough day in his 10,000m debut in the warm and windy conditions; however he will be a much improved distance runner for the experience of completing the twenty-five lap race," stated head coach Nick Ekel.

Competing in a scored meet for the first time this outdoor season, the Spartan men tied for seventeenth place in the field of twenty four teams. Tyrell Paul (Ajax, ON, Canada) placed fourth in the 400m dash with a personal record of 48.75 and placed third in the 200m dash in a time of 21.86. The quartet of Cranston Claggett, Seth Starks, Mat Hopkins, and Paul earned fifth place in the 4 x 100m relay in a time of 43.06.

The Lady Spartans scored two points with Sisillia Seavula's (Fiji) seventh place effort in the 200m dash. Seavula ran a time of 25.62.

"Overall, our students had a good meet as the majority either set personal records, or were very close to their personal record," praised Ekel. "Coach Mark Evans and Coach Mikayla Vail have done a great job of making sure our students are prepared whenever they step onto the track to compete. We will take the results today, and move towards the fast-approaching Region XI Championships."

The Spartans will travel to Forest City to battle the Waldorf University Warriors and the North Iowa Area Community College Trojans in a triangular meet this Saturday. Follow Spartan Track & Field on Twitter at @SWCC_Track_XC for updates.