By Becky Walz,
A throw of 108 feet, 8 inches, in the discus earned Julia Alberts a third place finish Thursday. (Driftless Multimedia photo by Becky Walz)
It was a strong night on the track Thursday for the Decorah girls and boys track teams as they qualified for a combined 23 events to the state meet.
The girls scored 134 points to finish second behind Mt. Vernon who tallied 183 points. The boys didn’t do too shabby either, finishing third with 102 points. Waverly-Shell Rock won the championship with 149 points, followed by Mt. Vernon with 136.5.
More importantly, the Vikings will yet again be well-represented on the Drake Blue Oval. The girls will be sending 13 events, while the boys have 10 ready to compete at state.
Qualifying procedure
In Class 3A, the top two place winners in each event at every state qualifying site automatically qualify for state. The next eight best times/distances throughout the state qualify as well, making 24 total entries in each event.
The state track meet is Thursday through Saturday, May 18-20, at Drake Stadium in Des Moines.
13 for the girls
Hayley Stowe will be running in the 100-meter dash for the second year in a row, narrowly taking the crown in 12.59 seconds. She is seeded seventh. Joining her in the sprint will be senior Brinley Krivachek who finished third in 13.00 and is seeded 18th.
In the 200-meter dash, Lani Hubka came home as the runner-up in 25.73 seconds and is seeded fifth.
McKenzie Riley was the 400-meter champion. Her time was 1:00.09. Riley has the ninth-fastest time heading into the state meet.
A time of 16.32 in the 100-meter hurdles earned Sydney Kipp a trip to state. Qualifying on time, the junior enters as the 20th seed.
The shuttle hurdle relay will be at state again this year. Kipp, Renae Wilson, Kelby Kerndt and Leslie Campbell broke the tape in 1:07.98. They are seeded fifth.
The 4×100 relay of Krivachek, Stowe, Kailyn O’Gara and Hubka won the title in 49.16 seconds Thursday. They have the sixth-fastest time.
Krivachek, Stowe, O’Gara and Hubka finished third Thursday and earned a fifth seed with their time of 1:45.77 in the 4×200 relay.
Taking second Thursday was the 4×400. Riley, Lillian Olson, Lily Sandhorst and Mount had a time of 4:09.53. They are seeded 12th.
The 4×800 relay enters the state meet as the 20th seed after finishing third in 10:11.41 Thursday. Members of the qualifying team are Olson, Sandhorst, Paige Werner and Danielle Losen.
Saturday morning, the Vikings will take the track for the sprint medley relay. Krivachek, O’Gara, Stowe and Hubka won the event Thursday in 1:48.95. They are seeded second.
Decorah will have two entries in the throwing competition. Chloe Reiser was the shot put champion with a best of 42 feet, 9 inches. She is the Class 3A top seed. This will be her third time at state in the event.
Julia Alberts will compete in the discus after finishing second Thursday. The senior had a best throw of 128 feet even and enters the state meet as the sixth seed.
Boys to send 10
The boys will have 10 events take the stage at Drake.
Ben Wymer will take the track for the 100-meter dash. The senior took second Thursday in 11.33 seconds and is seeded 22nd overall.
In the 200-meter dash, Kelley Gates finished second at the state-qualifier in 23.13 seconds and enters the state meet with the 20th fastest time.
Cade Olson’s third-fastest time of 50.88 seconds in the 400-meter dash earned him an at-berth bid to state. He is seeded 10th.
Taking second in the shuttle hurdle relay in 1:03.56, the quartet of Joshua Adam, Tommy Sexton, Gavin Groux and Dakota Johnson enters the state meet as the 18th seed.
The 4×100 relay has the 16th fastest seed time. Johnson, Kaiden Quandahl, Wymer and Gates won Thursday’s event in 43.86 seconds. That same quartet broke the tape in the 4×200 relay to advance with an 11th seed time of 1:30.74.
In 3:26.54, the 4×400 relay of Groux, Olson, Trevor Kuennen and Brayden Hartl was second and are seeded fifth.
Johnson, Wymer, Gates and Olson combined for a sprint medley time of 1:35.28, finishing second at the qualifier and enters the Blue Oval as the 11th seed.
A jump of 21 feet, 3 inches, by Kaiden Quandahl has the junior seeded 12th in the Class 3A long jump.
Peyton Webb will compete in the high jump at state. Clearing 5 feet, 10 inches, has earned the freshman and 23rd seed.
“We really had our guys step up and compete at a high level at the state qualifier in Independence. Super proud of our efforts!” said boys coach Joel Rollinger.
Girls state-qualifying team scores
1. Mt. Vernon 183; 2. Decorah 134; 3. Marion 102; 4. Waverly-Shell Rock 81; 5. Benton Community 65; 6. Charles City 61; 7. Independence 56; 8. Vinton-Shellsburg 53
Boys state-qualifying team scores
1. Waverly-Shell Rock 149; 2. Mt. Vernon 136.5; 3. Decorah 102; 4. Marion 95; 5. Independence 79; 6. Vinton-Shellsburg 59.5; 6. Benton Community 59.5; 8. Charles City 53.5
Girls results
*Qualified for state
Long jump – 9. Sydney Kipp 14-6; 13. Ava Holthaus 13-2.5
Shot put – 1. Chloe Reiser 42-9*; 10. Lauren Luzum 31-6
Discus – 2. Julia Alberts 128-0*; 3. Sally Laybourn 108-8
100m – 1. Hayley Stowe 12.59*; 3. Brinley Krivachek 13.00*
200m – 2. Lani Hubka 25.73*; 7. A. Holthaus 28.28
400m – 1. McKenzie Riley 1:00.09*; 9. Lauren Holthaus 1:06.65
800m – 5. Lily Sandhorst 2:34.53; 8. Paige Werner 2:38.24
1500m – 6. Danielle Losen 5:23.78; 8. Brynn Storhoff 5:28.12
3000m – 8. Grace Brynsaas 12:15.58; 10. Natalie Stevens 12:28.50
100m hurdles – 4. Kipp 16.32*; 11. Renae Wilson 18.13
400m hurdles – 6. Madison Tollefson 1:15.19; 8. L. Holthaus 1:20.05
Shuttle hurdle – 1. Kipp, Wilson, Kelby Kerndt, Leslie Campbell, 1:07.98*
4×100 – 1. Krivachek, Stowe, Kailyn O’Gara, Hubka 49.16*
4×200 – 3. Krivachek, Stowe, O’Gara, Hubka, 1:45.77*
4×400 – 2. Riley, Lillian Olson, Sandhorst, Mount, 4:09.53*
4×800 – 3. Olson, Sandhorst, Werner, Losen, 10:11.41*
Sprint medley – 1. Krivachek, O’Gara, Stowe, Hubka, 1:48.95*
Distance medley – 4. Sami Mount, Dahlyn Headington, Losen, Olson, 4:34.49
Boys results
*Qualified for state
High jump – 3. Peyton Webb 5-10*
Long jump – 2. Kaiden Quandahl 21-3*; 7. Trevor Kuennen 19-0.5
Shot put – 13. William Hahn 39-6; 14. Fisher Tweten 38-6
Discus – 9. Hahn 126-3; 10. Tweten 119-11
100m – 2. Ben Wymer 11.33*; 12. Montana Jump-Gerleman 12.21
200m – 2. Kelley Gates 23.13*; 7. Webb 24.246
400m – 3. Cade Olson 50.88*; 9. Landon Quandahl 56.01
800m – 6. Thomas Hammel 2:05.62; 11. D’mitry Lesser 2:13.05
1600m – 8. Garrett See 4:54.32; 10. Grant Zilka 5:02.43
3200m – 7. Max Grimstad 11:36.10; 8. Carson Bohner 11:53.67
110m hurdles – 10. Luke Franzen 18.85
400m hurdles – 6. Ashton Saltou 59.93; 8. Tommy Sexton 1:01.65
Shuttle hurdle – 2. Joshua Adam, Sexton, Gavin Groux, Dakota Johnson, 1:03.56*
4×100 – 1. Johnson, K. Quandahl, Wymer, Gates, 43.86*
4×200 – 1. Johnson, K. Quandahl, Wymer, Gates, 1:30.74*
4×400 – 2. Groux, Olson, Kuennen, Brayden Hartl, 3:26.54*
4×800 – 4. Hammel, Hartl, Lesser, Grant Zilka, 8:49.23
Sprint medley – 2. Johnson, Wymer, Gates, Olson, 1:35.28*
Distance medley – 7. Garrett Waskow, Kaiden Youngblood, Mason Avila, Carter Dlhy, 4:03.12
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