The 8th grade boys 4×4 team (consisting of Eli Abraham, Roman Lubbers, Austin Bugner, and Easton Rieger) has come a long way since 7th grade. They’ve worked extremely hard these past couple of weeks getting ready for their last middle school season, and their last chance to beat the school record for the boys 4×400. The boys are also wanting to beat the 8th grade 4x200m relay record. Coaches and parents are very confident in them achieving these goals and beating those records. St. Marks coach Cory Reichenberger says that if they have a good meet with nice weather, then the boys have a really good chance at beating the 8th grade 4×4 record.

Eli Abraham, does long jump and the open 400 meter dash, as well as the 4×400 relay. Eli works really hard and is very determined in everything he does. He also participates in basketball and club baseball. His parents are super supportive and are a big influence to him. Eli’s PR’s are 60 seconds in the 400, and 15 ’6” in long jump.

 Austin Bugner, along with doing the 4×400, does triple jump, pole vault, and 110m hurdles. Other than track, Austin does football, basketball and club baseball. He excels in all of these sports and is extremely passionate about them. Austin’s PR’s are 35 ‘5 ” in triple jump, 8’ 10” in pole vault, and 16.78 in the 110m hurdles. Last year, Austin broke the 75m Hurdle record with a time of 12.52, the previous record being held by their coach, Cory Reichenberger, with a time of 12.58. 

Roman Lubbers, other than the 4×400, does the mile and long jump. Roman used to go to Andale Elementary, but switched to St. Marks a few years ago. Outside of track, Roman does football, basketball, and baseball. Roman’s PR’s in his other events is a 5.35 minute mile, and 15‘1“ in long jump.

Easton Rieger, also does long jump, high jump, and the open 400m dash. Easton, along with Austin and Eli, has been going to St. Marks since kindergarten. Other than track, Easton does football, basketball, and club baseball. He does well in all of these sports, and says that his parents and coaches are a great impact on him and what he does. Easton’s PR’s in his events are 16 ‘ 7” in long jump, 5‘ 4“ in high jump, and 60 seconds in the open 400m dash. Last year, Easton broke the 7th grade boy’s discuss record with a throw of 108′ 10″. The previous record being 106′ 10″, held by Hank Purvis.

The previous St. Marks school record for the 4×400 was held by a team from 2016 consisting of (Connor Hennes, Evan Dome, Joseph Korte, and Easton Hunter). Their record time for the 4×400 was 04.01.82. On April 16, 2024, almost 8 years later, St. Marks had a track meet at Belle Plaine. The weather was great and the boys’ main goal was to beat Garden Plain. The whole race, St. Marks and Garden Plain were switching 1st and 2nd place. Their last leg of the relay, Austin Bugner, goes back and forth with Garden Plain’s last leg. At the last 100m, Austin fights in front of Garden Plain and wins the relay. Along with winning the race, they beat the school record by almost a whole second. The hard work paid off and the boys achieved their goal of beating the school record.

Their last middle school track meet didn’t disappoint either. In the 4×400, they got 3rd place, but BEAT THEIR OWN RECORD. At the league track meet, their biggest competition was Garden Plain and Trinity. Even though the boys didn’t get first place, they were super excited and proud of themselves. All of these boys are multi-sport athletes, so who knows where highschool will take them. We’ll just have to see what these kids do come next season.