Dixon wins Big Northern Conference meet by over 50 points

WINNEBAGO – Since joining the Big Northern Conference in the 2014-15 school year, Dixon has won the league title every year in boys track and field. With a 144-86.5 advantage over second place Byron, it was another huge win for the depth-laden Dukes.

“The kids have worked their butts off since January,” Dixon coach Ryan Deets said. “This is the beginning of reaping those awards and there is more to come. That’s for sure.”

Distance running has been the main calling card all those years, but Owen Belzer in the sprints/long jump and Jayden Toms in the hurdles/high jump scored 24 points each.

After two weather delays, Dixon started the meet in style with a 9-second win in the 4X800 meter relay. Running a time of 8:26 were Keegan Shirley, Hayden Fulton, Dean Geiger and Averik Wiseman.

“Winnebago had three good legs and we had four,” Deets said. “Hayden stepped in for Aaron Conderman and ran a strong leg. We got the baton to Dean (5-meter lead) and he put it away.”

Geiger would later come back to win the 1,600 run with a 4:28 clocking, holding off a pair of Rockford Christian runners.

“I got out in 2:10 and closed it from there,” said Geiger, whose best time remains 4:26 from the indoor season.

Conderman ran a 9:53 to win the 3,200 run by 4 seconds over Tim Starwalt of Byron. Both were a part of a exceptionally strong group of BNC distance runners. Nicolai Martino of Winnebago had previously run 9:00. Wiseman and Shirley were third and fourth in the 800 behind a pair from RC.

Toms withstood strong winds to run a 42.84 in the 300 hurdles and 15.70 in the 110 highs, both good for titles. Cullen Shaner was second in the 110s at 16.08.

“I’m proud to be a dual winner, not so for me, but for the team,” Toms said. “With the wind, I stayed low and kept chugging.”

With Dawson Kemp winning the jayvee hurdles, it was a clean sweep for the Dukes.

“It’s a super strong event for us,” Deets said. “JD Giesen is one of the best hurdle coaches around.”

Belzer demonstrated his versatility by winning the long jump, 6.51-6.50 over top seed Myles Smith of Winnebago and then placing second in the 200 (23.33) and third in the 100 (11.36). David Ballard of Rockford Lutheran won both sprints in 10.98 and 22.92. Close behind Belzer in the 100 was teammate Adam Staples at 11.37.

In the shot put, sophomore Owen LeSage nearly upset the No. 4 thrower in 2A, Sam Gentz of Byron. It was Gentz finishing at 15.87 and LeSage 15.85. Another Duke sophomore, Max Kitzman, was third at 14.15.

With top-seeded vaulter Hayden Yingling still hampered by injury, sophomore Tukker Tanner did his part with a second place at 3.56.

Rock Falls, which took fourth with 69 points, had a double winner in Anthony Valdivia. In the high jump, Valdivia had a personal best of 1.88. In his specialty, the 400, he ran 51.27 to hold off Ballard (51.43) of Lutheran for the win.

“He’s a rare breed,” RF coach Eric Bontz said. “Two years ago as a sophomore he qualified for state in the 800. He could be a sprinter too.”

Conner South had a PR of 12.55 in the triple jump to place second. Braxton Nelson added a third in the 300 hurdles (44.21). In the tight long jump battle, Christian Hernandez was third at 6.23.

Jeff Sommer, Gunnar Damhoff, Christian Cid and Valdivia teamed up for a third in the 4X800 relay for the Rockets.

Both Dixon and Rock Falls will be at a highly competitive 2A sectional at Rochelle on Wednesday.

“I’m looking forward to it. The 400 is going to be anyone’s race,” said Valdivia, who has six other runners under 51 seconds to contend with.

Area top times going into the sectional are Conderman in the 3,200, Toms in the 110 high hurdles and Sterling’s 4X200 relay.

Oregon was without its best athlete in injured 800 runner Daniel Gonzalez, but did have a conference champion in Peter Alfano. With the discus finishing in near darkness, Alfano had his best effort of the year at 44.21.

“It was a great throw today,” Oregon coach Jim Spratt said. “As a senior, he’s waited his turn behind other guys we’ve had in our throwing program. He paid his dues and is earning the rewards for it.”