Des Moines, IA- Day one of the 2026 Iowa High School State Track and Field Championships is underway and Classes 1A and 4A led off the day with the morning and early afternoon schedule. For the Class 1A girls’ teams, Pekin sprinted out of the starters gate to take an early lead on points.
Field Events (9 am)
In the first field event of the day, Pekin’s Anna Hadley was looking to reclaim her title in the girls’ shot put after winning her sophomore season and getting 6th last year. In the first flight, Kendra Schultz of Pekin finished in 24th place with a toss of 30 feet and 6.25 inches, while Chloe Sexton of Highland grabbed 12th place with a heave of 33 feet and 8.75 inches.
Hadley put herself in a great position to reclaim her gold medal after her toss of 43 feet and 1 inch put her almost three feet ahead of second place after the first three throws. In the finals, Hadley would add on to her distance by throwing the shot 43 feet and 9.75 inches for her second state championship in the shot put.
A trio from the Southeast Iowa Super Conference competed in the boys’ Long Jump Thursday morning and two of them advanced to the finals. Logan Franklin of New London got a mark of 19 feet and 8.25 for 14th place.
Out of his first three jumps, WACO’s Hayden Shelman broke the 20-foot barrier twice, landing at 20 feet and 7 inches on his second jump, locking him at 3rd place entering the finals. On top of the rankings was London Franklin from New London after getting a mark of 21 feet and 11 inches on his first jump of the day.
The Tiger entered as the favorite, as the jump hit Iowa Valley’s Nolan Kriegel’s personal best from the season, but a lot can happen in the finals. It looked like it would be a possibility after Kriegel landed just two inches short of Franklin’s mark on his first jump of the finals.
Yet, the Tiger would unfurl his personal best leap of 22 feet and 4.25 inches to secure the gold medal and 10 points towards New London’s team total. Shelman would finish in 4th place with his second jump of 20 feet and 7 inches being his best of the day, giving five points to WACO.
Field Events (11:30 am)
Winfield-Mt. Union’s Colin Anderson nearly found his way into the finals, but the Wolve took home 10th place with a heave of 47 feet and 1 inch in the boys’ shot put.
In the girls’ long jump, Alexa Hahn of Highland secured a point for the Huskies after leaping 16 feet and 3.5 inches for an 8th place finish.
Running Events (Class 1A)
The Girls’ Shuttle Hurdle prelims started off the day for the running events and the Pekin squad of Reece Brisby, Abby Guise, Carlie Gambell, and Paislee Coleman finished in 22nd place with a time of 1 minute and 14 seconds.
The Girls’ 3000-meter run will have a new state meet record after Pekin’s Chloe Glosser destroyed the competition, turning in a time of 9 minutes and 37 seconds, which was nearly three seconds faster than the record and 24 seconds faster than second place. Her victory gave the Panthers 20 points after only two scored events.
Marie Yoder of Hillcrest Academy took 23rd place with a mark of 11 minutes and 39 seconds.
As the lone runner from southeast Iowa in the boys’ 3200-meter run, Van Buren County’s Landry Loeffler scored a personal best time with a mark of 10 minutes and 2 seconds, as the Warrior claimed 16th place.
In the girls’ 200-meter dash prelims, Rya Scott of Hillcrest Academy generated a 14th place time of 26.54 seconds. On the boys’ side of the 200-meter dash prelims, WACO’s Hayden Shelman, in his second event of the day, finished in 16th place with a time of 22.83 seconds, which was a personal best.
WACO added five points to their team total after the quad of Carlee Lunsford, Macie Carter, Aliya Graber, and Josie Dykstra snatched 4th place in the girls’ 4×800-meter relay with a mark of 9 minutes and 51 seconds, which was a season best time.
Van Buren County’s team of Rory Philips, Rylee Philips, Gabby Titus, and Kayley Snowgren rounded out the top 10 with a time of 10 minutes and 10 seconds.
In the boys’ 4×800-meter relay, the team of Mason Dahlstrom, Cody Silvers, Cole Millikin, and Lane Fariss of Pekin turned in an 11th place time of 8 minutes and 21 seconds, while WACO’s squad of Locken Henderson, Garrett Landau, Gavin Slagel, and Jude Dykstra captured 7th place and two points with a mark of 8 minutes and 12 seconds.
Rya Scott of Hillcrest Academy was able to qualify for the girls’ 100-meter dash finals after turning in a 3rd place time of 12.54 seconds. The finals will be run on Saturday at 12:55 pm.
After taking home the gold medal in the long jump, New London’s London Franklin will have another opportunity at a medal after qualifying for the boys’ 100-meter dash finals with a time of 11.12 seconds, which was the 2nd fastest. He will run on Saturday at 1:05 pm.
In the girls’ 400-meter dash, Highland’s Alexa Hahn notched a time of 1 minute and 1 second, which was good enough for 19th place, while Alaina Gourley of Danville finished in 11th place with a time of 59.37 seconds, which was a season best time.
Lincoln Bainbridge, in his first of four events, nabbed a personal best time and a state championship for Van Buren County in the 400-meter dash with a time of 48.08 seconds. Wapello’s Justyn Faulkner took home 19th place with a time of 52.76 seconds.
In the boys’ shuttle hurdle prelims, Winfield-Mt. Union’s team of Gavin Prior, Tayson Samuels, Jaxton Jones, and Cruz Hagmeier finished with a season best time of 1 minute and 2 seconds, which landed the Wolves in 12th place.
Team Standings
Girls’ Class 1A
- Pekin: 20, 2. Madrid: 14, 3. Mount Ayr: 14, … 15. WACO: 5
Boys’ Class 1A
- Lisbon and Riverside: 15, 3. Lake Mills: 13, 4. New London, Baxter, Van Buren County, and East Union: 10, … 11. WACO: 7
Girls’ Class 4A
- Waukee Northwest: 40.5, 2. Cedar Falls: 30.5, 3. Ames and Iowa City High: 19
Boys’ Class 4A
- Bettendorf: 21, 2. Cedar Falls: 19, 3. Cedar Rapids Kennedy: 14
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!