By Becky Walz,
Everything is looking good for a Viking takeover of Drake Stadium this week.
After a lengthy wait for one district to run Friday, the Decorah track teams learned they would be sending a combined 23 events to the state meet.
The girls produced 121 points to finish as the runner-up at the state-qualifying meet at home Thursday, producing 11 entries to state. Epworth won the team title with 132 points.
The boys came through with 119 points, good for third overall behind Epworth’s 159.5 and Waverly-Shell Rock’s 121. In total, the boys will have 12 events at state.
The state track meet runs Thursday through Saturday, May 18-20, at Drake Stadium in Des Moines.
Class 3A girls’ team scores
1. Epworth 132; 2. Decorah 121; 3. Dubuque Wahlert 106; 4. Center Point-Urbana 99; 5. Waverly-Shell Rock 82; 6. Independence 71; 7. Charles City 64; 8. West Delaware 60
Class 3A boys’ team scores
1. Epworth 159.5; 2. Waverly-Shell Rock 121; 3. Decorah 119; 4. Charles City 100; 5. Center Point-Urbana 84; 6. Dubuque Wahlert 82; 7. Independence 57.5; 8. West Delaware 13
Everything is looking good for a Viking takeover of Drake Stadium this week.
After a lengthy wait for one district to run Friday, the Decorah track teams learned they would be sending a combined 23 events to the state meet.
The girls produced 121 points to finish as the runner-up at the state-qualifying meet at home Thursday, producing 11 entries to state. Epworth won the team title with 132 points.
The boys came through with 119 points, good for third overall behind Epworth’s 159.5 and Waverly-Shell Rock’s 121. In total, the boys will have 12 events at state.
The state track meet runs Thursday through Saturday, May 18-20, at Drake Stadium in Des Moines.
Qualifying process
In Class 3A, the top-two place winners in each event at every state qualifying site automatically advance to state. The next eight best time/distances throughout the state also move on, making 24 entires total per event.
The 11
The girls will be sending all seven relays to state, along with four individual entries.
The 4×200 is seeded second overall after the top-notch performance Thursday. Lani Hubka, Brielle Buresh, Sami Mount and Brinley Krivachek had a time of 1:44.91 to win the event at the state qualifying meet.
In 1:09.31, Kallie Mincks, Sydney Kipp, Autumn Schaller and Anya Lovstuen came through in the shuttle hurdle relay for the victory. They have the eighth-best time heading into state.
In the speedy sprint medley, Krivachek, Buresh, Mount and Hubka qualified for the event on time. Their third-place finish in 1:50.87 gives them a fifth seed in Class 3A.
In 10:20.63, Danielle Losen, Madison Tollefson, Lily Sandhorst and Abby Halverson came through in the 4×800 for second. They are seeded 15th heading into state.
Krivachek, Hubka, Kailyn O’Gara and Buresh combined their talents in the 4×100 relay to finish second in 49.92 seconds and seeded 4th in Class 3A.
The distance medley quartet finished third and posted a time of 4:29.82. Members of the 18th seeded squad are Hayley Stowe, O’Gara, McKenzie Riley and Losen.
The final relay to take the track in Des Moines will be the 4×400 as the 14th seed. Stepping on to the Blue Oval will be Mount, Riley, Losen and Sandhorst after they finished in 4:12.89 at the qualifier, good for third place.
Four individuals will also be competing for the Vikings.
Julia Alberts won the discus with a throw of 125 feet 9 inches and is seeded seventh heading to Drake. Another field event will have a Viking as Chloe Reiser will step into the shot put ring as the fifth seed. She was the runner-up at the qualifier with a throw of 41 feet 9.75 inches.
In the 100-meter dash, Buresh finished third in 12.76 seconds and earned a sixth seed in the prelims Thursday. Hubka will also take the track alone in the 200-meter dash. She also crossed the finish line third, posting a time of 26.08 seconds for an eighth seed.
Big results
The Decorah boys have a nice mix of individual and relay events at state this year.
The state meet will begin with the shuttle hurdle relay. Austin Wilkins, Dakota Johnson, Gavin Groux and Jacob Pipho broke the tape in 1:02.01. They are seeded seventh.
Also on the track Thursday will be the 4×800 relay of Hogan Smith, Cade Olson, Thomas Olson and Bennett Schutte. They posted a time of 8:25.30 for second and a sixth seed.
Haywood Stowe will be both on the track and a field event for the Vikings. The senior won the 200-meter dash title in 22.04 seconds and is second in the state in Class 3A for Thursday’s race. Stowe will be on the front stretch for the long jump Friday afternoon after finishing third with a leap of 21 feet 11 inches to earn a third seed.
Throwing twice during the weekend will be senior Joseph Hjelle, who won the shot put and was second in the discus. Hjelle’s sent the shot put 57 feet 10 inches and is seeded second in Friday afternoon’s event. In the discus, the senior garnered the sixth seed with a throw of 156 feet 5 inches for Thursday’s competition.
Wilkins will be on the track Friday afternoon as the 16th seed in the 110-meter hurdles. Thursday, he had a time of 15.67 seconds, good for second place.
Also taking stepping on to the track for an individual event is Pipho in the 400-meter hurdles Friday afternoon. He enters the state meet with a fourth seed time of 55.98 seconds.
Two relays will be on the track Friday afternoon as well, including the 4×200 of Addae Whitsitt, Ben Wymer, Kelly Gates and Stowe. Their time of 1:29.92, gives the Viking quartet the third seed.
Groux, Pipho, Kaiden Quandahl and Schutte enter the state meet with the fourth-best time in the distance medley with a time of 3:40.79.
Smith will be the lone guaranteed runner Saturday as he competes in the 800-meter run. The senior’s time of 2:03.16 gives him a 17th seed.
Girls’ individual results
*Denotes state qualifier
High jump – 4. Ashley Schneberger 4’10”; 5. Annika Franzen 4’8”
Long jump – 3. Hayley Stowe 16’4.5”; 9. Chelsey Holtz 14’7”
Shot put – 2. Chloe Reiser 41’9.75”*; 8. Sally Laybourn 32’2.5”
Discus – 1. Julia Alberts 125’9”*; 10. Laybourn 85’10”
100m – 3. Brielle Buresh 12.76*; 6. Stowe 13.05
200m – 3. Lani Hubka 26.08*; 7. Dahlyn Headington 27.89
400m – 9. Lillian Olson 1:05.32; 11. Lily Sandhorst 1:08.41
800m – 3. Abby Halverson 2:33.91; 7. Paige Werner 2:41.32
1500m – 9. Kathryn Kelly 5:55.94
3000m – 6. Grace Blikre 13:29.39
100m hurdles – 8. Sydney Kipp 17.77; 14. Kallie Mincks 21.37
400m hurdles – 5. Madison Tollefson 1:13.68
Shuttle hurdle – 1. Mincks, Kipp, Autumn Schaller, Anya Lovstuen, 1:09.31*
4×100 – 2. Brinley Krivachek, Hubka, Kailyn O’Gara, Buresh, 49.92*
4×200 – 1. Hubka, Buresh, Sami Mount, Krivachek, 1:44.91*
4×400 – 3. Mount, McKenzie Riley, Danielle Losen, Sandhorst 4:12.89*
4×800 – 2. Losen, Tollefson, Sandhorst, A. Halverson, 10:20.63*
Sprint medley – 3. Krivachek, Buresh, Mount, Hubka, 1:50.87*
Distance medley – 3. Stowe, O’Gara, Riley, Losen, 4:29.82*
Boys’ individual results
High jump – 3. Kaiden Quandahl 6”0”*
Long jump – 3. Haywood Stowe 21’11”*; 10. Montana Jump-Gerleman 16’9”
Shot put – 1. Joseph Hjelle 57’10”*; 11. Thomas Ostlie 48’7.25”
Discus – 2. Hjelle 156’5”*; 12. Tweten Fisher 108.4”
100m – 8. Cade Averhoff 12.06; 13. Garrett Waskow 12.52
200m – 1. Stowe 22.04*; 5. Kelley Gates 23.69
400m – 12. Douglas Bentley 58.09; 15. Kaiden Youngblood, 59.95
800m – 5. Hogan Smith 2:03.16*; 11. Bradyn Hartl 2:11.77
1600m – 10. Grant Zilka 5:20.79
3200m – 7. D’Mitry Lesser 11:33.22; 11. Landan Folkedahl 12:00.71
110m hurdles – 2. Austin Wilkins 15.67*; 6. Dakota Johnson 16.46
400m hurdles – 1. Jacob Pipho 55.98*; 5. Johnson 59.28
Shuttle hurdle – 1. Wilkins, Johnson, Gavin Groux, Pipho, 1:02.01*
4×200 – 1. Addae Whitsitt, Ben Wymer, Gates, Stowe, 1:29.92*
4×400 – 5. Cade Olson, Quandahl, Bentley, Bennett Schutte, 3:34.91
4×800 – 2. Smith, Olson, Thomas Hammel, Schutte, 8:25.30*
Sprint medley – 6. Whitsitt, Wymer, Gates, Bentley, 1:41.48
Distance medley – 2. Groux, Pipho, Quandahl, Schutte, 3:40.79*
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