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New uniform, same old state track success for Center Point-Urbana's Myles Bach
Jeff Linder
May. 17, 2018 9:42 pm
DES MOINES — The only difference was the uniform.
'It feels the same, to be honest,' Center Point-Urbana's Myles Bach said after winning his third consecutive Class 3A boys' 3,200-meter state championship Thursday afternoon at Drake Stadium.
Bach captured two state titles in both the 3,200 and the 1,600 at Marion, then trekked northward for his senior year. He outran former teammate Jeremy Fopma in the final three laps and won in 9 minutes, 28.90 seconds. Fopma finished in 9:33.91.
'He's a great runner,' Bach said of Fopma. 'I respect the hell out of him.'
It was a controlled pace early. Bach and Fopma were at the front at 2:30 through 800 meters before the tempo quickened. They were at 4:50 at 1,600 meters.
Fopma led by 2 seconds with three laps to go before Bach pulled even, then pulled ahead.
'Nobody wanted to take the pace very fast at the beginning,' Bach said. 'We could have gone through (the 1,600) in 6 minutes for all I cared.'
Runner-up finishes by Fopma and Blair Brooks (high jump) staked Marion to the 3A boys' lead after five events. The defending-champion Indians have 18 points and are followed by Sergeant Bluff-Luton with 13.
Brooks was second to South Tama's Keith Keahna, who cleared 6 feet 7 inches. Brooks cleared 6-5.
'I never saw this coming,' Keahna said. 'I was hoping for the top three.'
It appeared that Keahna had one more jump — over the south railing and into the stands — in him as he sprinted to meet with his family.
'It was perfect sharing this with them,' he said. 'I couldn't have pictured this any better.'
West Delaware's Harrison Goebel led a 1-2-3-4 finish by the Wamac Conference in the discus. Goebel's effort of 169-9 was 6 inches better than the best throw by Mount Vernon's Matt Vislisel. Solon's Tyler Linderbaum and Coal Flansburg were third and fourth.
Goebel did not qualify for state last year.
'During warmups, I was a little off. I made some adjustments,' Goebel said. 'Basic stuff.'
STATE TRACK & FIELD: 3A BOYS
Teams (top 10) — 1. Marion 18, 2. Sergeant Bluff-Luton 13, 3. (tie) Boone, Glenwood and Mount Pleasant 12, 6. Solon 11, 7. Dubuque Wahlert 10.5, 8. (tie) Atlantic, Mount Vernon, Center Point-Urbana, South Tama and West Delaware 10.
High jump — 1. Keith Keahna (South Tama), 6-7; 2. Blair Brooks (Marion), 6-5; 3. Bret Price (Boone), 6-5; 4. (tie) Jackson Fisher (Chariton) and John Carlson (Bondurant-Farrar), 6-5; 6. (tie) C.J. Rickels (Vinton-Shellsburg) and Matt Bandy (Dubuque Wahlert), 6-3; 8. (tie) Damon Clapper (Dallas Center-Grimes), Max Molle (Carroll) and Tommy Donovan (Carlisle), 6-1.
Discus — 1. Harrison Goebel (West Delaware), 169-9; 2. Matt Vislisel (Mount Vernon), 169-3; 3. Tyler Linderbaum (Solon), 166-2; 4. Coal Flansburg (Solon), 162-11; 5. Zach Beason (Mount Pleasant), 160-4; 6. Tyler Endres (Norwalk), 160-2; 7. Mosai Newsom (Waverly-Shell Rock), 159-0; 8. Miles Diefken (West Burlington-Notre Dame), 156-6.
3,200 — 1. Myles Bach (Center Point-Urbana), 9:28.90; 2. Jeremy Fopma (Marion), 9:33.91; 3. Andrew Kephart (Decorah), 9:44.25; 4. Cody Mertens (Mount Pleasant), 9:44.46; 5. Malachi Hornbuckle (Nevada), 9:50.84; 6. Trenton O'Halloran (Grinnell), 10:00.94; 7. Harrison Vanderlinden (Marion), 10:01.05; 8. Jacob Waymire (Dallas Center-Grimes), 10:04.24.
3,200 relay — 1. Atlantic (Becker, Eden, Whetstone, Mullenix), 8:01.05; 2. Dubuque Wahlert, 8:04.83; 3. Gilbert, 8:07.34; 4. Anamosa, 8:10.99; 5. Grinnell, 8:11.26; 6. Mount Pleasant, 8:12.56; 7. Mount Vernon, 8:13.13; 8. Sergeant Bluff-Luton, 8:13.40.
400 — 1. Nate Kennedy (Glenwood), 48.28; 2. Ty Boekelman (Sergeant Bluff-Luton), 49.09; 3. Devin Sheridan (Iowa Falls-Alden), 49.35; 4. Clay Cornelis (Boone), 49.47; 5. Britton Delperdang (Sergeant Bluff-Luton), 49.54; 6. Will Greder (Gilbert), 49.67; 7. Kohen Watson (Glenwood), 49.97; 8. Tyler Casotti (Boone), 50.27.
l Comments: (319) 368-8857; jeff.linder@thegazette.com