GILBERT - Today marks six weeks since Clay Harreld hopped up onto an operating table to endure arthroscopic surgery on his right knee that suffered damage during his all-state basketball season.
Talk about a quick healer.
The Northeast Hamilton senior sure can act if he's still gritting his teeth through the pain. He appeared to be back at full strength yesterday evening as he soared above the competition to win the Class B high jump competition at the Bengal Relays.
Article Photos
DFJ photo by Troy Banning
Northeast Hamilton senior Clay Harreld climbs the ladder to clear 6 feet, 2 inches to win the Class B high jump gold medal at yesterday’s Bengal Relays in Gilbert. Less than six weeks following arthroscopic surgery on his right knee, Harreld is back to the form that placed him eighth at last spring’s Class 1A state meet.
"Oh yeah, the knee I had surgery on feels 100 percent," Harreld, who will play college basketball at Briar Cliff, said after wrapping up his jumps yesterday. "I think I've got better form this year, but now I'm just trying to get my spring back."
Harreld didn't miss until the bar reached 6 feet, 2 inches; he needed all three attempts before he was successful at the same height that he cleared to finish eighth at last spring's Class 1A state meet. He then opted to push the bar up to 6-3 - a quarter-inch higher than his school record clearance of 6-3 - but was unsuccessful.
Three weeks ago Harreld was unsure if he would ever compete in track and field again.
Fact Box
Bengal Relays
Monday at Gilbert
Class B Team Standings
1. West Marshall 154.5; 2. Madrid 122.5; 3. South Hamilton 65; 4. Van Meter 58; 5. GMG 41; 6. Colo-NESCO 40; 7. Northeast Hamilton 39; 8. Ogden 37.
Class B Event Results
(Top 3 plus additional So. Hamilton/NEH)
High Jump - 1. Clay Harreld (NEH) 6-2; 2. Cody Gadbaw (WM) 5-10; 3. Grant Heineman (O) 5-8; T-6. Trevor Smith (SH) 5-4; T-10. Ross Enderson (SH) 5-4.
Long Jump - 1. Dalton Ferch (WM) 21-3; 2. Marcus Mechaelsen (NEH) 20-0.75; 3. Devin Howard (SH) 19-11.5; 9. Zach Zoske (SH) 17-11.5; 11. Jacob Ratzke (NEH) 17-5.5.
Shot Put - 1. Sean Loew (M) 48-8; 2. Byron Klauenberg (O) 44-6.5; 3. Garrett Eley (C-N) 43-2; 8. Sam Waid (SH) 38-3.25; 13. JT Greenfield (SH) 32-10; 15. Truman Chamness (NEH) 29-9; 16. Kyle Pruismann (NEH) 22-10.
Discus - 1. Clay Kirkpatrick (M) 151-4; 2. Loew (M) 140-8; 3. Dustin Aikin (WM) 126-5; 9. Lucas Olson (SH) 110-5; 11. Nick Jeffers (NEH) 103-11; 15. Greenfield (SH) 83-3; 16. Pruismann (NEH) 64-5.
100 Meters - 1. Ferch (WM) 11.36; 2. Howard (SH) 11.38; 3. Greyson Fraser (GMG) 11.69; 13. JD Rader (SH) 13.64.
200 Meters - 1. Josh Bunn (WM) 22.75; 2. Ferch (WM) 22.78; 3. Fraser (GMG) 23.37; 9. Jeffers (NEH) 25.29; 11. Enderson (SH) 25.86; 14. Trevor Smith (SH) 28.70.
400 Meters - 1. Elijah Streeter (WM) 52.15; 2. Gadbaw (WM) 52.35; 3. Anthony Lawson (C-N) 52.84; 7. Zoske (SH) 55.76; 12. Pruismann (NEH) 1:06.86.
800 Meters - 1. Cameron Reischauer (C-N) 2:09.68; 2. David McQuiston (VM) 2:11.00; 3. Caleb Olson (SH) 2:14.46; 7. Adam Carey (SH) 2:19.03; 12. Kyler Rapp (NEH) 2:33.05; 13. T. Chamness (NEH) 2:37.97.
110 High Hurdles - 1. Austin Groth (GMG) 15.47; 2. Tanner Adams (M) 16.31; 3. Bryce Kauffman (NEH) 16.39; 8. Josh Doering (SH) 18.01.
1,600 Meters - 1. Ben Ostendorf (M) 4:56.38; 2. Trey Thompson (O) 5:13.28; 3. Nathan Bradley (WM) 5:17.04; 7. Zach Coster (SH) 5:18.64; 9. Steven Smith (NEH) 5:28.70; 14. Nick Olson (SH) 5:47.24.
3,200 Meters - 1. Jacob Heeren (SH) 10:56.54; 2. Bradley (WM) 11:04.01; 3. Austin Dunbar (VM) 11:09.62.
400 Hurdles - 1. Jeremy Johnson (M) 56.73; 2. Triston Twedt (SH) 56.76; 3. Lawson (C-N) 57.36; 6. Ratzke (NEH) 1:01.32.
4x100 Relay - 1. West Marshall 45.68; 2. Madrid 45.74; 3. South Hamilton 46.25 (Howard, Kyle Lucas, Lane Heinlein, Twedt).
4x200 Relay - 1. West Marshall 1:30.73; 2. Madrid 1:34.88; 3. South Hamilton 1:35.86 (Howard, Lucas, Twedt, Heinlein); 4. Northeast Hamilton 1:39.67 (Jeffers, Stephen Chamness, Tyler Smith, Harreld).
4x400 Relay - 1. West Marshall 3:34.22; 2. Van Meter 3:41.19; 3. Madrid 3:47.84; 4. South Hamilton 3:56.14 (Andy Cook, Zoske, Rader, Coster).
4x800 Relay - 1. Van Meter 8:47.37; 2. Madrid 9:05.45; 3. West Marshall 9:21.38; 4. South Hamilton 9:25.02 (Rader, Cook, Carey, C. Olson); 7. Northeast Hamilton 10:25.22 (Rapp, T. Chamness, Pruismann, S. Smith).
Shuttle Hurdle Relay - 1. Madrid 1:00.57; 2. West Marshall 1:03.54; 3. South Hamilton 1:04.56 (Twedt, Doering, Lucas, Chris Jacobson); 4. Northeast Hamilton 1:07.80 (Kauffman, Ratzke, T. Smith, S. Chamness).
1,600 Medley Relay - 1. West Marshall 3:50.31; 2. Van Meter 3:53.23; 3. Northeast Hamilton 3:54.99 (Kauffman, S. Chamness, Harreld, T. Smith); 6. South Hamilton 4:14.39 (Waid, Rader, Cook, Heeren).
"After I recovered I tried it in practice and it felt good, so I figured I'd try one meet," he said. "I thought that if it hurt I would quit, but it felt really good so I'm just going to keep going."
Harreld claimed the only gold medal for the Trojans, who finished seventh in the team standings with 39 points. South Hamilton had a single winner as well - Jacob Heeren took the top spot in the 3,200-meter run in 10:56.54 - and was four rungs higher on the ladder in third with 65.
West Marshall and Madrid owned the competition, as they went 1-2 with 154.5 and 122.5 points, respectively.
The Hawks picked up eight medals in all, including individual silver medallions from Devin Howard in the 100 (11.38) and Triston Twedt in the 400 low hurdles (56.76). Head coach Darrell Paulsen felt there were some positives from the meet, but overall it wasn't the Hawks strongest performance of the season.
"I don't think we ran as well as we did Friday night (at the Hawk Relays), and I don't think the focus was there," he said. "It's not that we ran bad, but we've got to be more consistent."
Howard and season-long rival Dalton Ferch of West Marshall battled to the wire in the 100; Ferch owned a slight edge to win (11.36), and both beat Brandon Norman of Iowa Falls-Alden, one of the top 3A sprinters in the state.
Twedt again went head-to-head with Madrid's Jeremy Johnson (56.73), only to fall a half-step short.
Howard was also third in the long jump (19-11.5), as was Caleb Olson in the 800 (2:14.46).
"I thought Caleb Olson ran really well," Paulsen said. "For a freshman, his time was really good."
Ferch (21-3) and Northeast Hamilton senior Marcus Mechaelsen (20-0.75) took first and second in the long jump. Mechaelsen has missed time in the sand in recent weeks because of a hamstring injury, but Trojans' head coach Josh Vanderloop expects him to be ready to go for the Drake Relays on Thursday.
"Marcus didn't have the lift that he usually has off the board, but I'm sure he'll go on Thursday," he said.
Trojans' senior Bryce Kauffman was also a medal winner; he was third in the 110 high hurdles (16.39).