Des Moines, IA- Day one of the 2026 Iowa High School State Track and Field Championships is in the books after Classes 2A and 3A rounded out the schedule. For southeast Iowa, the strength has always been in the throwing events, which earned two state championships for our local athletes.
Field Events (2 pm)
To lead off the field events, Bella Forbes of Columbus heaved the shot put 35 feet and 8.75 inches to finish in 14th in the girls’ Class 2A division.
She had won it on her very first throw of the day; Burlington’s Kylee Hill won the girls’ Class 3A discus gold medal for the first time in her career, as her furthest throw went 151 feet and 3 inches. This earned the Grayhound 10 points, as she looks to add another 10 when she tries for the three-peat in the shot-put ring.
Fairfield’s Elyse Setterstrom claimed 18th place with a toss of 113 feet and 9 inches.
Over in the boys’ long jump for Class 2A, Mediapolis’ Truett Larson finished in 12th place with a mark of 20 feet and 1.5 inches, while Tyson Corneille of Columbus took 18th place with a leap of 19 feet and 5.5 inches.
In heart-breaking fashion, Eli Zillman of Fairfield was unable to reclaim the gold medal for the boys’ Class 3A high jump as his one fail on 6 feet and 5 inches proved to be the tiebreaker with Eli Patterson of Benton for the state championship. Still, the Trojan nabbed eight points.
Also grabbing points was Fort Madison’s Nolan Guzman, as the senior leapt 6 feet and 3 inches for 7th place and two points.
Field Events (4:30 pm)
Greyson Hartman of Washington did not enter as the favorite in the boys’ Class 3A division for discus after a subpar day—his standards—at the state qualifier put him at the third furthest throw. Just like Hill, Hartman had won it on his first throw but added on by uncorking a throw 189 feet and 5 inches to win by nearly 19 feet. This earned the Demon 10 points with a chance to grab more tomorrow in the shot put.
Urijah Brooks of Fort Madison snatched 19th place with a throw of 142 feet and 6 inches.
Columbus’ Ella Howell earned 22nd place in the girls’ Class 2A long jump with a mark of 14 feet and 10 inches.
For the final field event of the day, Lilan Mennen cleared 5 feet and 2 inches for 9th place, while Kylee Hoard of Keokuk took off for 5 feet-even for 14th place in the girls’ Class 3A high jump.
Running Events
The Class 2A boys’ shuttle hurdle relay prelims led off the running events for the afternoon slate and the squad of Tyson Kaalberg, Alexander Rees, Tyson Corneille, and Lamar Ceant managed a 6th place time of 1 minute and 0.74 seconds to advance to the finals. The Wildcats will run on Saturday at 12:18 pm.
Over in Class 3A for the boys’ teams, Mt. Pleasant with the quad of Kayle Brown, Caleb Shepherd, Keegan Heaton, and Kaden Schadt took 19th place with a time of 1 minute and 2 seconds, while Burlington finished in 21st place a second behind with the team of Zech Hart, Justin Hudley, Liam Enger, and Cj Owens.
The Class 3A girls’ 3000-meter run pinned a trio from the Southeast Conference (SEC) against one another and Fort Madison’s Avery Rump won the conference duel and nabbed three points for the Bloodhounds with a personal best time of 10 minutes and 4 seconds.
Washington’s Emma Horak and Mt. Pleasant’s Quintrie Lee finished in 18th and 19th place, respectively, with times of 11 minutes and 2 seconds and 11 minutes and 7 seconds.
Mediapolis’ Simon Wendel nearly ran down Emerson Vokes of Grundy Center, but the Bulldog will be happy taking the silver medal in the Class 2A boys’ 3200-meter run with a time of 9 minutes and 25 seconds, which was a personal best.
For Class 3A, Silas Hulett of Mt. Pleasant was the only local competitor racing, and the Panther paced his way to a personal best time of 9 minutes and 45 seconds, which was good enough for 12th place.
In her return to the Blue Oval, Burlington’s Mylee Stiefel dashed her way to the finals with the 4th fastest time in the girls’ Class 3A 200-meter with a mark of 24.9 seconds. Falling just outside of the top 10 was Jaedyn Moore of Washington with a time of 25.25 seconds. Stiefel will run at 2:25 pm on Saturday.
It will be a pair of qualifiers in the boys’ Class 2A 200-meter dash prelims as Ceant of Columbus takes 5th with a time of 22.02 seconds, followed closely by West Burlington/Notre Dame’s Landry Haberichter time of 22.03 seconds, which put him in 6th place. They will run on Saturday at 2:33 pm.
Keokuk’s Ryan Bair turned in the fastest time in the boys’ Class 3A 200-meter dash prelims with a mark of 21.82 seconds, moving him on to the finals on Saturday. Keshawn Wyldon of Burlington finished in 16th place with a time of 22.47 seconds. The finals will be run at 2:35 pm on Saturday.
The Mediapolis girls’ team of Bryn Wright, Gracie Beschomer, Evie Schmidgall, and Avery Dietz snatched 15th place in the Class 2A 4×800 meter relay with a time of 9 minutes and 59 seconds.
In the Class 3A side of the race, Fort Madison’s quad of McKayla Schinstock, Mara Smith, Avery Rump, and Addison Rump took 20th place with a time of 10 minutes and 2 seconds.
In the boys’ Class 2A 4×800 meter relay, Mediapolis squad of Lane Rigdon, Lucas Egan, Will Schmidgall, and Wendel led our local pack with a time of 8 minutes and 21 seconds for 14th place. West Burlington/Notre Dame’s quad of Michael Hadden, Case Johannsen, Prior Bowen, and Cavin Denney and Columbus’ team of Victor Tovar, Ryan Villa, Kevin Villa, and Cade Storm finished in 23rd and 24th place, respectively.
For the boys’ teams in Class 3A, Washington’s team of Ethan Hotchkiss, Sawyer Tschantz, Parker Tschantz, and Andrew Rees managed to grab two points with a 7th place time of 8 minutes and 2 seconds. Fort Madison squad of Nolan Guzman, Mason McLey, Henry Ireland, and Riley Tripp finished just outside of scoring with a 9th place finish of 8 minutes and 5 seconds.
Stiefel of Burlington will be busy on Saturday after qualifying for the girls’ Class 3A 100-meter dash finals with the 2nd best time of 12.16 seconds. Joining her will be Washington’s Moore as she tabbed the 8th fastest time of 12.47 seconds. Mt. Pleasant’s Alex Scott nabbed 11th place with a mark of 12.59 seconds. The finals will be run on Saturday at 1 pm.
West Burlington/Notre Dame’s Landry Haberichter flew to the time of 10.94 seconds in the boys’ Class 2A 100-meter dash prelims, taking 4th place and advancing to the finals. Dominic Garcia of Columbus claimed 21st place with a time of 11.45 seconds. He will run at 1:08 pm on Saturday.
Keokuk’s Ryan Bair will again show off his speed on Saturday after qualifying for the boys’ Class 3A 100-meter dash after turning in the 3rd fastest time of 10.88 seconds. His teammate, Kurt Joy, took 16th place with a time of 11.2 seconds. He will run at 1:10 pm on Saturday.
In the girls’ 400-meter dash, Ella Howell of Columbus earned 10th place with a personal best time of 59.91 seconds.
Mt. Pleasant’s Avery Fedler lived up to the hype, as the freshman grabbed four points and 5th place with a time of 57.56 seconds in the Class 3A 400-meter dash. Charley Huebner of Fort Madison finished in 12th place with a time of 59.76 seconds.
On the boys’ side for Class 2A, Nathan Schmidgall of Mediapolis grabbed 15th place with a time of 51.27 seconds.
Keokuk’s Chayce Smith snatched 20th place with a mark of 52.12 seconds in the Class 3A race.
Lastly, the Class 3A girls’ shuttle hurdle relay had Mt. Pleasant take 18th place with the team of Delaney Anderson, Meadow Carter, Kynlee White, and Taylor Williamson with a time of 1 minute and 10 seconds, while Keokuk’s quad of Alaya Carr, Nevaeh Logan, Kylee Hoard, and Baylee Billings finished in 20th place with a time of 1 minute and 11 seconds.
Team Standings
Boys’ Class 2A
- Alburnett: 23, 2. Grundy Center: 20, 3. Pella Christian: 15, … 6. Mediapolis: 8
Girls’ Class 2A
- Spirit Lake: 23, 2. Mid-Prairie: 21, 3. Van Meter: 18
Boys’ Class 3A
- Pella: 25, 2. Gilbert: 19, 3. Benton, Clear Lake, and Newton: 14, … 7. Washington: 12, … 19. Fort Madison: 2
Girls’ Class 3A
- Pella: 38, 2. Mt. Vernon: 26, 3. Sioux Center: 22, … 5. Burlington: 10, … 14. Mt. Pleasant: 4, … 17. Fort Madison: 3
More
Stay tuned to KILJ for updates and end-of-day recaps throughout the three-day event, as we thank our sponsors for allowing up to cover the 2026 State Track and Field Championships!