MASON CITY - Tad Steffensen won two individual golds and assisted on a pair of runner-up relays in leading the Marshalltown boys' track and field team to a fourth-place finish at the CIML Iowa Conference meet on Friday night - and early Saturday morning.
Thunderstorms that slammed northern Iowa forced delays throughout the meet, which ended around 12:15 a.m.
Waukee captured the team title with 176 points, winning 10 of 14 running events on the night. was a distant second (113), followed by Ames (99), Marshalltown (75), Mason City (60) and Fort Dodge (29).
"Overall we competed very well," said MHS head coach Doug Bacon. "We had 42 season-best times, which included 31 lifetime bests" from varsity through freshmen ranks.
Steffensen claimed first place in the 100- and 200-meter dashes and was one of four two-time individual champions in the meet. Ames thrower Chris LaMar won both the shot put and discus, Waukee's Noah Larrison took the 110 high hurdles and the 400 hurdles, and the Warriors' Kyle Nuehring led the pack in the 800 and 1,600.
Steffensen timed in at 11.18 seconds to top the 100, while he and fellow Bobcat Jordan Dean made it a 1-3 finish for MHS. Steffensen crossed the finish line in 22.41 and Dean in 23.40.
Austin Hauser chopped 1 second off his season-best time to place second in the open 400, nearly ousting Waukee's Corbin Lowe (50.37) with his clocking of 50.45.
The Bobcats also had three runner-up relays - 4x200, 4x100, 4x400. The MHS 4x200 foursome of Ty Steffensen, Jordan Dean, Kyle Carnahan and Tad Steffensen finished in 1:31.21; the 4x100 quartet of Tad Steffensen, Dean, Carnahan and Hauser chased Waukee across in 43.83; and the 4x400 group of Hauser, Bennett Mann, Nate Menuey and Dean trailed only the Warriors in 3:27.70.
The shuttle hurdle was the only relay race Waukee did not win.
Marshalltown's top finish off the track came from Brock Pappas, who cleared 141 feet, 5 inches for third place in the discus. Pierce Kelly took fourth (5-10) and Dacota Ewalt was sixth (5-8) as both matched their season-bests in the high jump.
The Bobcat 1,600 medley team of Carnahan, Ty Steffensen, Mann and Christian Kremer collected fourth place (3:48.17), while the 4x800 quartet of Menuey, Kremer, Zach Wells and Daniel Talbert finished fifth (8:26.40).
Marshalltown's shuttle hurdle relay of Paul Landherr, Kolby Keeler, Marco Tapia and Connor Ruddick took sixth (1:05.29).