Mount Pleasant, IA- The 2024 high school girls’ and boys’ track and field season ended back on May 18th, but the Mt. Pleasant girls’ and boys’ team recently held their team award ceremony to commemorate the season and here’s their honorees.
The Mt. Pleasant girls’ team claimed seven individual state qualifiers along with three relay teams. Alex Scott was one of the individual qualifiers and ran in two of the relays; moreover, in her sophomore campaign she nabbed a school record and “Leading Scorer.”
Kya Goodrich, a senior, caught fire late in the season, culminating in a second-place finish at the conference meet, a first-place finish at the state qualifying meet, and the 7th best throw at state with a heave of 119 feet and 6 inches. This earned Goodrich “Most Improved.”
Bailey Jalas claimed the conference crown in the long jump and was consistently at the top of the leaderboard, including a state qualifying leap of 16 feet and 6 inches. She finished in 15th place at state. Jalas was honored with “Most Improved” as she also grabbed a school record.
Rookie of the Year went to Kiyah Sanders. The freshman was a part of the 4×200 meter relay team that finished in 9th place at the state meet. Additionally, Sanders was finishing in the top 10 for long jump for most of the season.
Andi Scott, a senior, and Kynlee White, a sophomore, also finished with school records as they both made trips to the state meet. White and Scott both ran in the 4×100 meter relay and 4×200 meter relays, 5th and 9th respectively, and White took 19th in the 200-meter run along with 22nd place in the 800-sprint medley.
Courtney Raub was the honoree for the “Panther Award.” Raub ran in the 800-sprint medley relay and was one of the senior leaders for this Panther team. Raub had the second-best team time of the 400-meter dash with a finish of 1 minute and 6 seconds.
Ultimately, the girls’ team finished in first place in five meets and second in two meets, including the SEC meet.
(Photo Courtesy of Scot Lamm)
Moving over to the boys’ side, Payson Coleman and Harmon Ensminger were honored with the “Panther Award.” Ensminger had the second-best throw of the team in the shot put with a heave of 46 feet and 7.5 inches, while Coleman was apart of the 4×100, 4×200, and 4×400 meter relays.
Jude Dykstra, a sophomore, earned the “Hammer Award.” He was the team’s top distance runner with the best time in the 400-meter dash, the 800-meter run, and the 1600-meter run.
Gavin Slagel, a sophomore, grabbed the “Most Improved.” Another distance runner, Slagel positioned himself as the third-best on the team in the 1600 and 3200-meter runs.
Hoang Quang made a name for himself in his first season donning the Maroon and Gold at the high school level. The freshman was one the top-three runners on the team in the 100 and 200-meter dashes, along with ranking in second on the team in the long jump with a leap of 20 feet and 2 inches. This earned Quang “Rookie of the Year.”
Lastly, Avin Truong was named team “MVP.” Truong earned a trip to the state meet where he finished in 14th place with a leap of 20 feet and 4.5 inches. His best jump of the year was 21 feet and 11 inches. Truong also had the fastest times in the 100 and 200-meter dashes.
The Mt. Pleasant boys’ team claimed four second-place finishes this season.