Des Moines, IA- The 2025 State Track and Field meet is off and running with Classes 2A and 3A to lead off the three-day event. Here’s a look at how our local athletes have fared against some of the best competition in the state.
Girls Class 2A
Kira Messer, the lone qualifier for Mediapolis, competed in the 100-meter dash prelims and sprinted to a time of 12.82 seconds, which was good enough for 15th place.
Girls Class 3A
Over in the field events, Elyse Setterstrom of Fairfield was unable to advance to the finals of the discus after logging a throw of 107 feet and 2 inches, which was good enough for 20th place.
Fort Madison’s Brylie Lorence entered as the #11-seed and would need to add at least three feet on a good day to find a spot in the top nine. Unfortunately, Thursday morning was not the optimal day for most of the throwers as her toss of 114 feet and 3 inches claimed her 13th place.
The prelims shuttle hurdle relay kicked off the running events for the 2025 State Track and Field meet and none of the three Southeast Conference squads managed to qualify for the finals. Washington led the trio of teams, taking 14th place with a time of 1 minute and 10 seconds.
Fairfield, in the 3rd heat, turned in a time of 1 minute and 11 seconds, which was good enough for 18th place. Keokuk did not fair much better with a 23rd place time of 1 minute and 17 seconds.
In the 3000-meter run, Fort Madison had a duo competing and Avery Rump set a new personal record with a time of 10 minutes and 22 seconds, snatching 5th place and four points for the Bloodhounds. Jordan Marshall, a freshman, turned in an 18th place performance with a time of 10 minutes and 57 seconds.
The two will run again for the 1500-meter run on Saturday at 2:30 pm.
In the first of her two events for the day, Mt. Pleasant’s Alex Scott turned in a personal record time of 25.56 seconds in the 200-meter dash prelims; however, it was not fast enough to make the finals, securing 13th place.
Jaedyn Moore of Washington claimed 16th place with a time of 25.95 seconds.
Over in the 4×800 meter relay, Fort Madison took home 12th place with at time of 9 minutes and 53 seconds, while Washington grabbed 18th place with a time of 10 minutes and 1 second.
Lastly, for the running events, the Panther duo of Scott and Kiyah Sanders went racing for the 100-meter finals, which are scheduled for 12:50 pm on Saturday. In her second event of the day, Scott qualified with a time of 12.42 seconds, taking that 8th and final spot. Sanders took 24th place with a time of 13.1 seconds.
In the second half of the field events, Camryn Atterberg of Keokuk was able to get up and over 4 feet and 10 inches but failed at the height of 5 feet. She finished in 19th place.
Boys Class 3A
The high jump was crowded with local talent. Mason Wakins of West Burlington/Notre Dame cleared 6 feet and 1 inch, but failed at 6 feet and 3 inches, finishing tied for 13th place.
Similar to last year, the Southeast Conference brought their A-Game with Fairfield’s Ryan Giberson and Eli Zillman—attempting to defend his title—and Fort Madison’s Kenden Bowie guaranteeing at least a top five finish after everyone cleared 6 feet and 3 inches.
However, the height of 6 feet and 5 inches proved to be challenging for everyone, except Eli Patterson of Benton Community. Bowie finished tied for 4th place after taking all three attempts to clear 6 feet and 3 inches.
Giberson, who had outperformed Zillman for most of the season, also was unable to get over 6 feet and 5 inches in his three attempts. Shockingly, neither was Zillman. The two tied for 2nd place after hopping over 6 feet and 3 inches in their first attempt.
Patterson claimed the state championship for the high jump as he was able to make 6 feet and 7 inches.
Ryan Bair of Keokuk will be busy on Saturday after qualifying for the 100 and 200-meter dashes. He completed a personal record time of 21.89 seconds in the 200-meter dash, which was good enough for 5th place. That final will take place on Saturday at 2:10 pm.
In the 100-meter dash, he will be joined by West Burlington/Notre Dame’s Landry Haberichter, as the Falcon flew to a 4th place time of 10.73 seconds, while Bair grabbed 6th place with a time of 10.8 seconds. The finals are scheduled for 1 pm on Saturday.
In the 4×800 meter relay, both Washington and Fort Madison were able to add to their team point totals as the Bloodhounds collected three points on a 6th place time of 8 minutes and 1 second, while the Demons finished in 8th place with a time of 8 minute and 3 seconds for one point.
For the 400-meter dash, Fort Madison’s Payton Lambert took home 17th place with a time of 51.59 seconds, while Chayce Smith of Keokuk finished in 22nd place with a time of 53.05 seconds.
Fairfield’s shuttle hurdle relay team was unable to qualify for the finals as the Trojans finished in 12th place with a time of 1 minute and 2 seconds.
In the second half of the field events, two members of the Southeast Conference competed in the discus. Fort Madison’s Brayton Schneider fell about 30 feet short of his personal best, throwing for 143 feet and 17th place.
Greyson Hartman of Washington ripped an impressive mark of 169 feet and 8 inches on his first throw of the day. It would turn out to be his best throw as the sophomore finished with the bronze medal and six points for the Demons.
Stay tuned to KILJ for updates, results, and recaps from now until Saturday, May 24th! We would like to thank all of our sponsors for allowing us to cover the 2025 State Track and Field meet.