The Sparta boys track team surprised a few teams Saturday with a third place finish at the Eastern Illinois Invitational that featured 43 class A teams.

The Runnin’ Dawgs finished with 41 points, while Herrin won the meet with 78 followed by Tuscola in second with 42. Rochester took fourth with 38 points and Beecher rounded out the top five with 32.

Cody Klein continued his dominance in the pole vault as he cleared 14 feet to break the meet record. He also took fifth in the high jump with a leap of six feet.

Preston Nance took third in the high jump clearing 6’3, while Luke Nurnberger took third in the 400 meter dash, finishing with a time of 52.97.

Other top finishers for Sparta included Wade Reeves taking fifth in the 1600 meter run, Seth Buch finishing seventh in the 200 meter dash and Jon Hill taking eighth in the 1600 meter.

The Bulldogs also picked up two fifth place showings in the relay events Buch, Klein, Michael Weber and Nurnberger in the 4 by 200, and Michael Hall, Hill, Dustin Neff and Trevor Morgan in the 4 by 800.