Track teams capture medals at State

The track and field teams ended their seasons at the state meet, which took place at Drake stadium in Des Moines on May 18-20. Both the men’s and women’s teams had competitors, who rounded out their seasons. 

Women’s Results 

The shuttle hurdle relay started off the day on the women’s side, with the prelims. They finished in 7th, which qualified them for the final. 

Junior Maddie Gallagher started it off on the women’s open events, as she competed in the 3k. She finished with a time of 10:58, which earned her 20th. 

The women’s 4×800 finished in 8th place, with their time of 9:32. The team is young, as it featured freshman Paige Wilson, sophomore Zoe Zylstra, sophomore Ruby Schillinger and sophomore Josee Simonson. They scored 1 point for the Tigers and earned a medal. 

In the 400m, freshman Karis Finley finished in 15th place, with a time of 59.96, breaking 60 seconds once again. 

“It was a good experience at State. I was decently happy with the result, but it was more fun to be able to experience the crowd and spend time with my teammates cheering everyone on,” Finley said. 

In the 100m hurdles prelim, junior Paige Paup finished in 19th, with a time of 15.86. 

In the 400m hurdle, senior Johnna Dieken finished in 17th place, with a time of 1:09.50.

Sophomore Josee Simonson competed yet again in the 800m dash. She finished in 9th place, with a time of 2:17.24. Freshman Paige Wilson also competed again, placing 23rd with a time of 2:25.83. 

In the 1500m run, senior Rachel Mandt finished in 24th, with a time of 5:10.97. 

In the shot put, sophomore Peyton Cota finished in 24th, with her throw of 29-05.00. 

In the 800m sprint medley relay, the women finished in 21st place, with their time of 1:54.41. 

In the shuttle hurdle relay final, the women’s team finished in 7th place, with a time of 1:07.98. 

In the 4×200, they finished with a time of 1:47.41, earning them 20th place. 

The DMED finished in 7th place, earning them a medal. The team consisted of sophomore Avery Berte, junior Grace Knutson, Wilson and Simonson. 

In the final event, the 4x400m finished in 7th place with a time of 3:54. The team featured yet again, Simonson, Berte and Wilson. A new addition to the team was senior Grace Hannam. 

Men’s Results 

On the men’s side, the competition started with the 3200m. Freshman Jaden Merrick led the Tigers in the 3200m, finishing 7th, and earning a medal with a time of 9:21. Junior Luke Hartman was close behind, finishing in 11th place, with his time of 9:34. 

The 4×800 finished in 8th place as well, breaking 8 minutes for the first time. The team featured seniors Gavin Denholm, Derek Woods, Ben Roussell and sophomore Connor Martin. 

In the 400m, Tanner Jacobson finished in 14th place, with a new PR of 51.13. 

“It was an amazing opportunity to be able to run at State. I was hoping to qualify, and I had the race of my life to make it here. I was super happy with the season, being able to run at State and on the Blue Oval,” Jacobson said. 

In the shuttle hurdle relay, the Tigers qualified for the final, placing 5th in the prelims with a time of 59.49. The team consisted of senior Morgan Hendrikson, sophomore Jackson Schreiber, junior Rece Thola and junior Tyler Kenega. 

In the 100m WC, sophomore Xavier Conlin finished in 9th place, with a time of 30.51. In the 200m WC, he doubled back with a time of 1:13.55, placing him in 8th and earning a medal. 

In the 110m hurdles prelim, Kenega finished 23rd, with a time of 16.34, while running with an injury. 

In the 400m Hurdles on the men’s side, Hendrikson finished in 9th place with a time of 55.46. Sophomore Jackson Schreiber finished in 23rd, with a time of 58.16.

Freshman Brennan Hoyer made his state debut in the 800m, where he finished in 24th, with a time of 2:03.18. 

In the 1600m run, Merrick competed again, finishing in 6th place with a time of 4:14.79, earning the freshman state record, and the overall school record. Senior Colby Cryer also competed, finishing in 24th with a time of 4:46.88. 

In the discus, junior Jake Peters finished in 14th with his throw of 146-00. Senior Kael Martin finished in 21st, with his throw of 138-01. 

In the shot put, the roles reversed, as Martin led the Tigers finishing in 13th with his throw of 49-06.75. Peters was close behind in 20th, with his throw of 45-03.25. 

In the high jump, senior Jacob Kieler finished in 3rd place, with his jump of 6-09.00, earning himself a medal and a spot on the podium. 

In the wheelchair shot put, (WC), Xavier Conlin finished 4th, with a throw of 9-05.75. 

In the 800m sprint medley relay, the team consisting of freshman Will Remmert, senior Cy Anderson, Roussell and Woods finished in 5th place with a time of 1:32.96.

In the 4x100m prelims, the team placed 10th, missing the qualification for the finals. They finished with a time of 42.97. 

In the shuttle hurdle relay, the team finished 6th in the finals, with a time of 1:01.6, earning them a medal. 

In the 4×200, the team finished in 6th place, with a time of 1:29.94, breaking 1:30 for the second time. This earned them a medal and a spot on the podium as well.

In the distance medley relay, the team finished in 7th place, with a time of 3:31.96, which was a new personal record for the team. 

In the 4x400m finals, the team consisting of sophomore Jordan Townsend, sophomore Hunter Russell, Roussell and Woods finished in 3rd place, with a huge PR, finishing in 3:16.44. 

Recap 

Both the mens and womens team had amazing results this season, as they prepare for next year. The men’s team finished in 7th place, with 30 points, along with achieving multiple school records, and grade records. Tagging along with them was the women’s team. They scored 7 points, and finished in 27th. They also rewrote the Cedar Falls records book, racking up multiple all-time performances.