Des Moines, IA- The 2024 Iowa State Track championships are halfway over—time wise—as Class 2A and Class 3A have finished their second day of events. Here’s a look at how our local athletes fared.
Running Events
The Southeast Conference (SEC) rivalry started off the day in the girls’ Class 3A distance medley with Fort Madison’s squad of Lillian Gelsthorpe, Olivia Buckner, Mara Smith, and Avery Rump claiming 14th place with a time of 4 minutes and 19 seconds, while Washington’s team of Ada Kendall, Leighton Messinger, Jaedyn Moore, and Iris Dahl claimed 22nd place.
Aedin Nelson, Noah Schmidgall, Reese Campbell, and Logan Rosas grabbed the bronze for the boys’ Class 2A division with a time of 3 minutes and 31 seconds, giving Mediapolis six more points to their team total.
Van Buren County’s team of Bryce Moquin, Tyler Stoltz, Kayden Simmons, and Lincoln Bainbridge finished in 14th place with a time of 3 minutes and 37 seconds.
For the boys’ Class 3A division, Washington finished in 10th place with a time of 3 minutes and 34 seconds with the team of Keider Gomez Valdez, Kael Williams, Alec Ulin, and Micah Rees. Fort Madison’s team of Hayden Segoviano, Julian Dear, Peyton Lambert, and Nolan Guzman claimed 15th place.
In the girls’ 100-meter hurdles for Class 3A, Messinger took 10th place with a time of 16.18 seconds, while Fairfield’s Lilly Bergren claimed 19th place.
In the boys’ 110-meter hurdles for Class 3A, Fort Madison had Henry Wiseman finish in 14th place with a time of 15.69 seconds and Kiawante Smith took 24th place. Keokuk’s Mason Claus grabbed 18th place.
The Class 2A girls’ 4×200 meter relay had Bailey Jackson, Josie Hutcheson, Kira Messer, and Haley Steffener of Mediapolis grab 22nd place with a time of 1 minute and 49 seconds.
In the boys’ 4×200 meter relay, Van Buren County’s squad did not finish, and Mediapolis’ team of Nelson, Henry Luttenegger, Noah Schmidgall, and Kyler Crow finished in 14th place with a time of 1 minute and 31 seconds.
For the boys’ division of Class 3A, Travarius Smith, Lucas Swainey, Ryan Bair, and Drew Campbell finished in 12th place for Keokuk with a time of 1 minute and 30 seconds.
The girls’ 400-meter hurdles produced another close SEC finish and points for Washington as Ryen Pepper grabbed 4th place with a time of 1 minute and 6 seconds (five points).
Messinger and Bergren were neck-and-neck with Messinger taking the battle, finishing in 15th place with a time of 1 minute and 9.51 seconds, while Bergren claimed 16th place with a time of 1 minute and 9.55 seconds.
For the boys’ Class 2A 400-meter hurdles, Logan Hamma of West Burlington clinched 15th place with a time of 57.09 second. Keokuk’s Claus finished in 18th place for Class 3A.
The Mt. Pleasant girls’ 4×100 meter relay team of Kynlee White, Alex Scott, Bailey Jalas, and Andi Scott will be competing tomorrow in the Class 3A finals after claiming 4th place with a time of 48.89 seconds.
Washington’s squad of Kendall, Eden Levetzow, Moore, and Leighton Salazar finished in 21st place.
For the boys’ division in Class 2A, Mediapolis had the same team as the 4×200 meter relay team run and they finished in 11th place with a time of 43.84 seconds. West Burlington’s team of Maddox Diewold, Eli Oleson, Colby Booton, and Landry Haberichter finished in 19th place.
In Class 3A, Fort Madison did not finish, and Washington’s team of Keider Gomez Valdez, Kael Williams, Jayfred Espinosa, and Alec Ulin claimed 18th place with a time of 44.09 seconds.
Lastly, Rosas, Campbell, Nathan Schmidgall, and Nelson of Mediapolis qualified for the boys’ Class 2A 4×400 meter relay finals tomorrow after finishing in 8th place with a time of 3 minutes and 28 seconds.
Fielding Events
At 9 am, Ella Ensminger of Mt. Pleasant and Brylie Lorence of Fort Madison competed in the girls’ Class 3A shot put. Ensminger threw the shot 36 feet and 5.75 inches to take 13th place, while Lorence finished in 15th with a heave of 36 feet and 1.5 inches.
Avin Troung of Mt. Pleasant finished in 14th place in the boys’ Class 3A long jump with a leap of 20 feet and 4.5 inches.
In the boys’ Class 2A high jump, Van Buren County’s Tyler Stoltz cleared 5 feet and 11 inches to finish tied for 15th place. West Burlington’s Mason Watkins hopped over 6 feet and 1 inch to claim 11th place.
In the late morning field events, Greyson Hartman of Washington took 20th place with a throw of 48 feet and 1 inch for the boys’ Class 3A shot put.
Finally, Mt. Pleasant’s Bailey Jalas finished in 15th place with a leap of 16 feet and 1.5 inches, while Salazar of Washington claimed 23rd place for the girls’ Class 3A long jump.
Team Standings
Girls Class 3A: Mt. Vernon (35), Clear Lake (31), Gilbert (29)
Boys Class 3A: Pella (35), Western Dubuque (28), Solon (27)
Girls Class 2A: Van Meter (34), Spirit Lake (32), Tipton (31)
Boys Class 2A: Underwood (26), South Hamilton and Mediapolis (24), Des Moines Christian (21)
How to Watch
The Iowa High School Sports Network (IHSSN) will live stream and broadcast the entire coed State Track Championship. It will air on the IHSSN Cable Network and be streamed for free at IHSSN.com or the WatchIHSSN app. You can access the stream through the IHSAA or IGHSAU websites.
KILJ will continue providing updates tomorrow for championship Saturday.