Cyclone track squads win nine golds in opener

 HARLAN -- The Harlan Community girls and boys track teams combined for nine gold-medal events, but neither was able to secure a team title as the host of Tuesday’s Denison-Schleswig Monarch Co-Ed Relays at Merrill Field.
 The first outdoor meet of the season, featuring the six “north division” schools of the Hawkeye Ten Conference, was held in Harlan due to the football field renovations taking place in Denison.
 The Monarchs outscored HCHS 133-119 for the girls team crown, while Atlantic won the boys’ half of the meet with 119 points, outscoring Lewis Central (109) and third-place HCHS (84.5).
 The Denison girls showed great balance in winning six events on the track, taking gold in the 100, 200 and 400-meter sprints, the 4x100 relay, the 4x800 and the open 1,500. The Cyclone girls and Atlantic (102 points) both won five events and LC won three.
 The Atlantic boys led all teams with seven golds, winning two hurdles events, two distance races and three out of six relays. LC and HCHS both won four events.