Foss earns Cyclone boys' lone state medal in long jump

 DES MOINES (May 18) -- State medals and personal bests were hard to come by for the Harlan Community boys track team this past weekend, but all nine Cyclone events basically finished middle of the pack or better at the 2018 State Co-Ed Track and Field Championships. Senior Nick Foss earned the lone HCHS medal with a fourth-place effort in the long jump, soaring 22 feet, 2.5 inches for the second-best mark of his two-year varsity career. The Cyclones finished strong on Friday evening as junior Jon Owens clocked a ‘PR’ of 56.74 seconds in the 400-meter hurdles to place 13th (out of 24 qualifiers) and the 4x400 relay ran a season-best time of 3:27.72 to place 11th. HCHS scored five points to tie for 34th place in Class 3A, where Marion rallied late to edge Atlantic for the team title on Saturday, 69-63. Foss, who placed third in the 3A long jump last year, jumped a few inches further Friday but slipped one spot to fourth place. Friday’s state medal provided a little vindication for Foss following a frustrating Thursday that saw him place ninth in both the 100 and 200-meter dash prelims. His 200 time (22.86) missed making the final by 0.01 and his 100 time (11.34) missed by 0.03. Also competing in field events for HCHS were junior Caleb Bieker in the discus (Thursday) and senior Caleb Brouse in the shot put (Friday). Bieker launched a throw of 152-9 on his third and final attempt to place 11th. Brouse finished 18th with a toss of 47-10.75. Three Cyclone relays placed between 11th and 14th at state. The 4x400 quartet featuring Deren Schmitz, Owens, Michael Erlemeier and Johnathan Monson ran a season-best time of 3:27.72 for 11th. In a timed final, the 4x200 team (Schmitz, Jake McLaughlin, Owens and Foss) placed 12th in 1:32.67. The shuttle hurdle relay team (Owens, Connor Bruck, Thomas Fah, McLaughlin) took 14th in 1:01.53 during Thursday’s prelims.