Hudson Boys Track & Field Wins First Meet Since 2018

By Blaire Puls  

The Hudson boys track and field team put together an impressive stretch across two  meets last week, highlighted by a long-awaited team championship and a gritty follow-up  performance in brisk, late-night conditions.  

On Tuesday, April 28, Hudson rose to the top at the South Tama meet, claiming the  team title behind a complete, all-around effort. With 160 hard-fought points and one clear goal  in mind—a team win—the Pirates delivered event after event and defeated host South Tama by  14 points.  

The championship marked the program’s first team title since 2018, a milestone made  even more meaningful by the determination shown throughout the lineup. The team celebration  during the score announcements at the end of the night was a special moment to witness.  

Hudson finished with seven golds, eight silvers, four bronzes and an impressive 16  personal records.  

Leading the charge were multiple gold medal performances, including Cooper Hamer in  the high jump (matching his PR), Drake Griffin in the long jump and Owen Bell with a dominant  double in the 400 and 200. The sprint medley (Hunter Coulson, Jackson Nesteby, Griffin and  Bell) and 4x100 relay (Coulson, Griffin, Nesteby and Bell) also struck gold.  

Despite not being a scored event, the 4x100 weight-man relay (Alston Loeb, Karson  Loeb, Grady Moseley and Jack Holbach) held off BGM in the final meters—who used a rubber  chicken as their baton—and earned a memorable win.  

The grit of the team was on full display with a long list of podium finishes and PRs.  Jackson Nesteby (long jump), Griffin (100), Rylan Dunbar (110 hurdles), Liam Rhymer (400, big  PR) and Alik Dodge (1600) all earned silver medals, while the distance medley and 4x200 relays  also added runner-up finishes.  

Bronze medals came from Colten Jensen (800, big PR), Hunter Coulson (200, PR out of  lane 8) and Casey Greiman (1600, 9-second PR). Additional highlights included Dodge’s 19- second PR in the 3200, a fourth-place finish from Moseley in the shot put, and a strong return  from injury by Alston Loeb in the discus.  

Just a few days later, Hudson returned to action Friday, May 1, in Hampton, battling  brisk conditions and a late finish to place fifth out of 11 teams with 59 points.  Despite the chilly weather and a 10:30 p.m. finish, the Pirates continued to compete at  a high level and stack more personal bests as the postseason approaches.  Griffin stayed consistent with a silver in the long jump, while the 4x100 relay (Coulson,  Griffin, Liam Rhymer and Bell) added another runner-up finish. The sprint medley returned to  the podium with bronze, and the 4x800 group of Payton Bishop, Rhymer, Casey Greiman and  Jensen delivered a standout performance with a 14-second PR, highlighted by Rhymer  stepping up in distance and running a lifetime-best split.  

Several athletes continued to trend upward individually. Moseley recorded a big PR in  the shot put (4th), Bell dropped a lifetime best in his first open 100 of the season (5th) and later  broke the 23-second barrier in the 200 for the first time.  

Hamer turned in a two-plus second PR in the 400 for fifth, with Rhymer close behind in  sixth. Additional scoring efforts came from the 4x200 relay, a top-five hurdles finish from  Dunbar despite an unexpected 11th hurdle in the final stretch, and a PR performance from  Griffin in the 200. The 4x400 relay capped the meet with a seventh-place finish.  

With the regular season now complete, Hudson shifts its focus to championship  season. The NICL Mega Conference meet is next on Thursday, May 7, at East Marshall,  followed by the Class 2A state qualifier on Thursday, May 14, at home.  

The work continues, and there is unfinished business. 

South Tama Results 

Team: 1st (160 points)  

Long Jump — Drake Griffin, 1st, 19-11; Jackson Nesteby, 2nd, 19-7; Brady Greiman, 8th, 17-0  High Jump — Cooper Hamer, 1st, 5-6  

Shot Put — Grady Moseley, 4th, 41-10.5; Alston Loeb, 10th, 39-3; Jack Holbach, 12th, 38-4.5;  Devin Lang, 14th, 36-8  

Discus — Alston Loeb, 5th, 113-6.5; Devin Lang, 10th, 105-0.5; Jack Holbach, 14th, 94-0.5;  Grady Moseley, 16th, 91-0.5  

Sprint Medley — 1st, 1:38.27 (Hunter Coulson, Jackson Nesteby, Drake Griffin, Owen Bell); JV  6th, 1:48.32 (Brady Greiman, Cooper Steele, Rylan Dunbar, Payton Bishop)  3200 — Alik Dodge, 3rd, 11:32.7  

100 — Drake Griffin, 2nd, 11.67; Jackson Nesteby, 5th, 11.94; Liam Rhymer, 14th, 12.56;  Carter Swanson, 29th, 15.43  

Distance Medley — 2nd, 3:58.31 (Rylan Dunbar, Payton Bishop, Cooper Hamer, Casey  Greiman)  

400 — Owen Bell, 1st, 52.49; Liam Rhymer, 2nd, 53.83; Carter Swanson, 16th, 1:12.13  4x200 — 2nd, 1:41.05 (Coulson, Cooper Steele, Brady Greiman, Casey Greiman)  110 Hurdles — Rylan Dunbar, 2nd, 16.41  

800 — Colten Jensen, 3rd, 2:11.85; Payton Bishop, 4th, 2:12.1; Carter Swanson, 16th, 3:06.23  200 — Owen Bell, 1st, 23.03; Hunter Coulson, 3rd, 23.84; Liam Rhymer, 11th, 24.74; Cooper  Hamer, 13th, 24.9; Carter Swanson, 25th, 35.79  

1600 — Alik Dodge, 2nd, 5:17.33; Casey Greiman, 3rd, 5:19.7  

4x100 — 1st, 44.95 (Coulson, Griffin, Nesteby, Bell)  

4x100 Weight-Man — 1st, 57.3 (Alston Loeb, Karson Loeb, Grady Moseley, Jack Holbach)  4x400 — 2nd, 3:46.76 (Rhymer, Bishop, Dunbar, Hamer); JV 5th, 3:58.03 (Cooper Steele,  Jensen, Brady Greiman, Casey Greiman)  

Hampton-Dumont  

Team: 5th  

(59 points)  

Long Jump — Drake Griffin, 2nd, 18-9.5; Jackson Nesteby, 17-11.75  

High Jump — Cooper Hamer, 9th, 5-4  

Shot Put — Grady Moseley, 4th, 44-9; Alston Loeb, 9th, 40-8; Carter Swanson, 20-7.5  Discus — Alston Loeb, 8th, 112-8; Devin Lang, 15th, 94-10  

Sprint Medley — 3rd, 1:38.1 (Hunter Coulson, Jackson Nesteby, Drake Griffin, Owen Bell)  3200 — Alik Dodge, 9th, 11:28.0  

4x800 — 3rd, 8:55.83 (Payton Bishop, Liam Rhymer, Casey Greiman, Colten Jensen)  100 — Owen Bell, 5th, 11.3; Hunter Coulson, 12th, 11.83; Carter Swanson, 15.46  Distance Medley — 9th, 4:20.22 (Rylan Dunbar, Jackson Nesteby, Cooper Steele, Alik Dodge)  400 — Cooper Hamer, 5th, 55.4; Liam Rhymer, 6th, 55.5; Carter Swanson, 1:13.72  4x200 — 6th, 1:55.27 (Coulson, Nesteby, Casey Greiman, Cooper Steele)  110 Hurdles — Rylan Dunbar, 5th, 17.28  

800 — Payton Bishop, 10th, 2:16.48; Colten Jensen, 17th, 2:28.17  

200 — Owen Bell, 5th, 22.97; Drake Griffin, 8th, 23.54; Carter Swanson, 31.94  1600 — Casey Greiman, 13th, 5:19.99; Alik Dodge, 5:23.81  

4x100 — 2nd, 45.25 (Coulson, Griffin, Rhymer, Bell)  

4x400 — 7th, 3:49.23 (Bishop, Hamer, Dunbar, Steele)