Mason Auge 2013 Iron Man

2013 Iron Man Mason Auge (photo by Jim Lindquist)

All-Missota Conference linebacker Mason Auge compiled 5072 points in seven events to earn the title of 2013 Iron Man at the competition held on the first day of fall football practice.

Darren Beenken, now a freshman quarterback at Winona State University, won Iron Man honors last fall with 4810 points.

Auge didn't win any of the seven events but placed high in all of them, including runner-up finishes in the 40-yard dash and tire flip and a third place effort in the pro agility run.

Auge led a strong effort by the senior class that accounted for the top eight finishers and 17 out of the top 20. A total of 94 Tiger hopefuls took part in the competition.

Jack Erickson, who is coming off ankle surgery, showed no signs of rust, finishing runner-up with 4894 points. Erickson won the tire flip competition with a school record 38 (in 60 seconds) and also claimed the 40-yard dash title in 4.68.

Individual event winners besides Erickson included Clean (278) and Squat (405)--Husnik; Bench Press (315)--Ruark; Pro Agility (4.13)--Dittman and vertical jump (34.0)--Rockett.

Dittman's clocking in the Pro Agility event set a new school mark. Mac Bassett's time of 4.22 also eclipsed the former school record.

Nick Ruark ranked third overall with 4754 points. Other top 10 finishers included CJ Wynings 4704, Mason Gaylord 4573, Kevin Clifton 4554, Eli Rockett 4523, Johnny Dittman 4461, Mike Husnik 4388 and Nick Meyer 4300.

Jack Erickson set a new school record in tire flips with 38 in 60 seconds

Tiger strength and conditioning coach Scott Meier said there were a lot of positives to be found in the analysis of the final stat sheet from the 2013 Iron Man.

"Things are finally getting back up to where we were when we had really good football teams," he said. "Not there yet, but getting much closer than where we have been lately."

Meyer said one of the first things that caught his eye was the big improvement in the tire flip event where the top five finishers all bettered the old school mark of 34.

"Twenty-one guys had 30 or more flips, which is over double the next best team we have ever had," Meier said. "That is outstanding."

Meier also liked what he saw in the 40-yard dash and Pro Agility numbers.

"We had 16 guys run under 5.00 in the 40-yard dash and 55 finish in under 5.50," he said. "It looks like this is one of the fastest teams we have ever had."

Vertical jump numbers also stood out with a large group surpassing the 24 and 30 inch benchmarks.

"The vertical jump is the one test that best correlates with athletic success, and we have a lot of fast guys who can jump," Meier said. "For football, that's a great combo to have."

The weight events didn't break any records but the numbers were still up from recent years.

"In terms of strength, we are sitting more in the middle compared to other past Farmington teams," Meier said. "There are a couple things though that look really good. 

"Six guys cleaned over 250 pounds which ties the 2003 team for the most ever.  In the bench press, we have the second highest number of kids maxing out at 200 or more at 34...This group of seniors has really been working hard since the end of last season, so it's nice to see their hard work pay off.  I'm excited to see what happens on the field."