After getting washed out by rain last year the Bruce Henderson Invitational was finally able to be ran after it was renamed to honor the legendary Atlantic coach last year. The hometown Trojans made the old coach leave with a big smile as they swept the team titles on the night and capped off the evening with wins by both the girls and boys 4x400M Relay teams.
On the girls side the Trojans ended up locking down the title after winning the 4x100M Relay and then put the exclamation point on in the 4x400M. Nicole Middents had a good start, Mariah Huffman kept the pace, Chloe Mullenix built a big lead in the third leg, and Ava Rush left no doubt as the Trojans easily outdistanced the field. Mullenix said they focus in well on that race.
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Rush said she feels like the team is peaking at the right time.
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Atlantic also got a 1-2 finish from Morgan Botos and Chloe Mullenix in the 400M Hurdles. Botos said it was great to push each other to the end.
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Atlantic girls also picked up a win in the 4x100M Relay (Hailey Huffman, Lila Wiederstein, Nicole Middents, Jayci Reed 53.33), 4x800M Relay (Abby Smith, Mariah Huffman, Claire Wiederstein, Claire Pellett 10:30.06), Sprint Medley (Nicole Middents, Jayci Reed, Chloe Mullenix, Ava Rush 1:53.82), and Shuttle Hurdle Relay (Chloe Mullenix, Adler Bruce, Morgon Botos, Jayci Reed). Rush also won the 400M (1:00.08).
On the boys side in the 4x400M Relay Colton Rassmussen, Bennett Whetstone, and Caden Andersen all had strong legs and then Carter Pellett sprinted out extremely fast in the final leg to pass Glenwood and he had enough gas to close out the win. The Trojans had a team lead heading into the race but knew they needed to finish strong to secure the title. Pellett gave his thoughts on that anchor leg.
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Fellow senior Caden Andersen enjoyed the chance to run at home on Senior Night.
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The Atlantic boys also picked up a 1-2 finish in the High Jump from Jayden Proehl(5-10.00) and Colton Rasmussen (5-08.00). The Trojans also won the 4x800M Relay (Bennett Whetstone, Alex Sonntag, Tanner O'Brien, Caden Andersen (8:30.23) and the Shuttle Hurdle Relay (Jackson McLaren, Colton Rasmussen, Alex Keiser, Easton O'Brien 1:04.49). McLaren also went 2nd in the 110M Hurdles (15.63). Alex Keiser also had a big point gathering third place finish in the Discus.
Boys Team Scores
Atlantic 135
Glenwood 122.50
Harlan 78
Lewis Central 76
Clarinda 68
Shenandoah 64
St. Albert 63
Red Oak 54.50
CB Abraham Lincoln 37
Creston 36
Girls Team Scores
Atlantic 138
Glenwood 121.20
Harlan 92.70
CB Abraham Lincoln 82.20
Lewis Central 72.70
Shenandoah 59.20
St. Albert 56
Clarinda 51
Creston 30
Red Oak 26
CB Thomas Jefferson 11
Combined Team Scores
Atlantic 273
Glenwood 243.70
Harlan 170.70
Lewis Central 148.70
Shenandoah 123.20
CB Abraham Lincoln 119.20
St. Albert 119
Clarinda 119
Red Oak 80.50
Creston 66
CB Thomas Jefferson 11
Full results: Bruce Henderson Invite Results-5.1.23
Full interviews with Morgan Botos and both 4x400M Relay teams below.