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On day two of the high school state track and field championships from Drake Stadium in Des Moines, it was North Union’s girls who made a big statement.
The strong day for North Union’s girls team began in the 100 meter hurdles, as Anna Longhenry ran a 16.44, placing 8th in the preliminaries and grabbing the last qualifying spot for Saturday’s final.
Longhenry wouldn’t be the only Warrior advancing however, as the 4×100 meter relay had perhaps the most eye opening performance of the day. Coming into Friday’s preliminary round with a season best of 53.05, and seeded 17th out of the 24 competing teams based on times from the district meets, North Union shattered all expectations, running a 51.50, and placing 4th overall to punch their ticket to Saturday’s finals with time to spare. The team of Ella Ulrich, Naomi Jones, Shelby Fraker, and Anna Longhenry shaved over 1.5 seconds off of their previous best as a relay.
Adding to the impressive performances was Sam Nielsen, who tied for 2nd in the girls high jump, clearing a bar of 5-02. Nielsen, who after passing on the 4-06 height, cleared 4-08, 4-10, and 5-00 on her first tries, was one of only four competitors in the 1A field to get over the 5-02 bar. All four however, could not clear 5-04. Cadence Douglass of Lenox won the title by tiebreaker, as she cleared every height on her first try prior to the 5-04 bar, while Nielsen had previously missed on her first attempt at 5-02.
In the boys high jump, Carter Anderson had a strong day for the Warriors, finishing just outside the scoring places, coming in 9th as he cleared a bar of 6-01, which was a season best for the senior.
Bishop Garrigan provided another local highlight in the final event of the day for girls class 1A. The Golden Bears established a new season best time in the 4×400 meter relay, as the team of Reagan Murphy, Gracie Elsbecker, Molly Joyce, and Emma Grandgenett ran a 4:13.81 to place 3rd in the preliminaries and qualify for Saturday’s final.
Also competing today for Bishop Garrigan’s girls were the 4×200 meter relay, who finished 10th in 1:50.66, Molly Joyce, who placed 10th in the 100 meter hurdles in 16.85, Emma Grandgenett, who finished 17th in the 100 meter hurdles in 17.07, and Audi Crooks, who did not make the finals for discus after fouling on her first three attempts.
North Union also had Carter Anderson competing in the boys 110 meter hurdles, where he finished 20th in 16.50.
In class 3A, Algona’s girls 4×200 meter relay finished 21st in 1:49.54.
In girls class 1A, Bishop Garrigan is tied with Tri-Center for first place with 20 team points through 10 events scored, with St. Edmond close behind in third at 18.
If you missed any of our interviews from Drake Stadium, they can be heard below:
Algona Girls 4 x 200M Relay
BGHS Girls 4 x 200M Relay
BGHS–Emma Grandgenett
North Union Girls 4 x 100M Relay
