Here are the leaders this spring for the 2026 BCR Boys Track & Field Team

James Arkins (St. Bede/Fr.) - The Bedan cub used a then season’s best vault of 10 feet, 9 inches to win the El Paso-Gridley Sectional and punch his ticket to state. He raised the bar to 10 feet, 11 3/4 inches in Charleston, good for 27th place in Class 1A.

Damien Bender (ALO/So.) - The Clipper sophomore met the state qualifying standards in the long jump with a sectional leap of 21-8 3/4 to lead the Honor Roll. He also was a sectional runner-up in the 300 hurdles with a time of 40.53.

Casey Etheridge (Princeton/Sr.) - Etheridge ran it back to state in both hurdles events by running qualifying times at sectional. He just missed advancing to the 2A finals in the 300 hurdles by 0.03 seconds. He led the Honor Roll in both hurdles with times of 15.15 and 39.76 as well as the 100 (10.58) and ran on the Tigers’ state-qualifying 4x400.

Ian Hassler (ALO/Fr.) - The freshman from Amboy punched his ticket to state for the first time in both throws, crowned as sectional champ in the discus. He had season bests of 160-0 in the discus and a Honor Roll leading 51-7 in the shot.

Landen Hoffman (Princeton/So.) - While the season didn’t end the way he wished, Hoffman has a bright future ahead of him. The 2025 Class 2A State discus runner-up led the honor roll in the discus with a throw of 173-2 and came in second in the shot at 49-3 3/4.

Morgan Mahnesmith (BV/Sr.) - The Storm senior was crowned Lincoln Trail Conference champ in the triple jump with a mark of 39-9 3/4 which put him atop the Honor Roll.

Maddox Moore (BV/Sr.) - It was Moore of the same when it came to the distance leader in the Honor Roll. The Storm senior and BCR Cross Country Runner of the Year last fall ran the top times in the 800 (2:04.21) and 1,600 (4:50.69) at conference, claiming the Lincoln Trail title in the 800.

Joseph Perez (Hall/Jr.) - The Hall junior was the Bureau County champion in the high jump, clearing a season-best 6-0 3/4 in April at the Princeton Invite.

Keenyn Richter (BV/So.) - The Storm’s speedy sophomore led the Honor Roll in the 200 dash (23.21) and 400 dash (52.01). He was the Lincoln Trail Conference runner-up in both events.

Edward Rodriquez (DePue/Fr.) - The Little Giants freshman moved atop the Honor Roll in his last race at sectional with a sixth-place time of 10:32.29.

Andrew Roth (BV/Sr.) - The Storm senior’s last hurrah took him to Charleston to compete in three events in the 1A State meet. He finished 15th in the 100 hurdles with a season best 15.37 and finished 26th in the 300 hurdles, having ran a season-best 41.12 previously. He picked up a third event at state on the Storm’s 4x100. He will run at Augustana College next year.

RELAYS

Bureau Valley 4x100 - The Storm’s foursome of Andrew Roth, Keenyn Richter, Tucker Shane and Morgan Mahnesmith made their way to state with a state-qualifying time of 44.01 at the Erie Sectional.

Bureau Valley 4x200 - Shane, Mahnesmith and Richter ran it back for the Storm in the 4x200 to state, this time with Kyle Velasquez with season-best and state qualifying time of 1:32.83, placing sixth at sectional. They finished 23rd at state.

Princeton 4x400 - The Tigers crew of Casey Etheridge, Ayden Agushi, Tyler VandeVenter and Gavin Lanham may have only placed ninth at the 2A Galesburg Sectional, but clocked a state qualifying time. They dropped their time at state to 3:29.55, placing 27th, and paced the Honor Roll.

Bureau Valley 4x800 - Brothers Alex Gallardo and Adrian Gallardo teamed up with Maddox Moore and Kayne Richter for a state-qualifying time of 8:30.48 to lead the Honor Roll. They finished 28th at state.