ROXANA — The Salem Wildcats closed the book on their time in the Cahokia Conference in a big way on Tuesday, finishing third overall in their final conference championships before making the move to the River to River Conference next season.
Salem was led by a pair of conference champions, as Silas Lux captured the shot put title and Payton Gullion claimed the high jump crown. Roxana won the team championship — its first conference boys track title in 56 years — while Freeburg placed second.
Lux delivered one of the top performances of the meet, winning the shot put with a throw of 16.45 meters. Darryll Kaufman added more points for Salem by taking third in the event with a mark of 14.07 meters.
In the high jump, Gullion cleared 6 feet, 2.75 inches to earn the conference championship. Avery Gullion also placed well, finishing third after clearing 6 feet, 0.75 inches.
The Wildcats also found success in the pole vault, where Holden Richardson placed second by clearing 11 feet, 5.75 inches, and Nate Lowry tied that same height to finish third.
Other strong field performances included Trey Clark placing third in the discus with a throw of 44.93 meters, Gavin Harper taking third in the long jump at 5.97 meters, and Riley Tate and Liam Shober placing fourth and fifth in the triple jump with jumps of 11.82 and 11.72 meters.
On the track, Alex Spencer turned in one of the highlight moments of the night, running a personal-best 1:59.58 in the 800 meters to take second place and break the two-minute barrier. Hunter Malan also ran a personal best in the event, placing fourth in 2:01.78.
Salem’s 4×400 relay team of Payton Gullion, Avery Gullion, Malan and Spencer finished second with a time of 3:32.88.
The Wildcats also earned points in multiple relay events, as the 4×100 team of Keegan Cain, Troy Keele, Avery Gullion and Payton Gullion placed third with a personal-best time of 44.62, while the 4×200 relay team of Keele, Avery Gullion, Payton Gullion and Cain also took third in 1:36.31.
Distance runner Robby Shober had a strong meet as well, finishing third in the 3200 meters with a time of 10:37.81. He also placed fifth in the 1600 meters at 4:58.12, while Malan finished sixth in the mile in 5:02.11.
In the sprint events, Cain placed fifth in the 100 meters (11.91), while Keele finished fifth in the 200 meters (24.60). Spencer added another top-five finish in the 300 hurdles, placing fifth in 47.37.
The Wildcats will now turn their attention to postseason competition, returning to action next Wednesday at the IHSA Sectional meet in Monticello.
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- Photo: Trevor Greene
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- Photo: Courtney Spencer
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- Photo: Courtney Spencer
