Bishop Garrigan’s girls track program wrapped up one of the best seasons in program history with a fourth place finish in class 1A at day three of state track from Drake Stadium.
The 34 team points from the Golden Bears trailed only the 51 from Madrid, 41 from South O’Brien, and Tri-Center’s 40 in class 1A.
The Golden Bears tallied two top three finishes on the day, as the shuttle hurdle relay of Gracie Rosenmeyer, Reese Rosenmeyer, Emma Grandgenett, and Molly Joyce proved themselves as one of the best teams in the state with a runner up finish to Belle Plaine in a time of 1:08.78, and the 4×400 meter relay of Reagan Murphy, Gracie Elsbecker, Joyce, and Abbie Capesius stepped up when it mattered most, running their best time of the season to place third in 4:11.85. Going into the 4×400, Bishop Garrigan was in seventh place as a team, and needed at least a top six finish in the relay to move them to fourth in the team standings. Their third place finish was more than enough to accomplish that goal.
The meet was also a success for West Bend-Mallard’s Rachel Fehr, who wrapped up a brilliant track career with her second title of the meet, taking the 200 meter crown in 26.15, adding to her 400 meter title from Thursday.
Fehr had perhaps the busiest state meet of any local athlete, running a grand total of five races between relays, preliminaries, and finals. In addition to her state title in the 200, Fehr helped the West Bend-Mallard sprint medley relay of Kara Fehr, Ashley Fehr, and Kiersten Montag run a new season best time of 1:54.00, placing 9th overall in 1A and barely missing earning a medal. Fehr, who ran the 400 meter leg, received the baton in eighth place of eight teams in heat two, but made up the ground on the pack in the first 200 meters, then pulled away in the final 200. The Wolverines were in section two of three in the timed finals, and won their heat, which appeared to set them up to earn a top eight finish. However, the third heat produced some blazing times, as all eight teams ran under 1:54, bumping the Wolverines out of medal position.
Bishop Garrigan’s sprint medley relay, consisting of the same members as their 4×400 meter relay, placed 16th in that same event, running a time of 1:56.51.
Fehr’s performance helped West Bend-Mallard earn a top ten finish as a team, finishing in a tie for eighth place with 22 points.
North Union had several athletes earn state medals as well. Bryer Prochniak competed in the finals of two sprint events, earning sixth place in the boys 100 meters in 11.36, and eight place in the 200 meters in 23.27. Anna Longhenry would earn her first of two top eight finishes in the girls 100 meter hurdles, placing eighth in 16.39, then coming back later in the meet to anchor the Warriors 4×100 meter relay of Longhenry, Ella Ulrich, Naomi Jones, and Shelby Fraker to an eighth place finish in 54.03 during a brief downpour of rain that erupted towards the end of the meet.
In the morning session of the meet, Moriah Knapp from Algona was the lone area competitor, running in the 3A girls 1500 meters. Knapp made the most of her experience at state, running her second personal best of the weekend, placing 17th in 5:05.08, marking an improvement of over seven seconds on her previous personal best. In an event in which many competitors went out at a blistering pace at the start of the race and paid for it in the second half, Knapp ran patiently, running close to even splits, starting at the back of the pack and moving up in the second half of the race. Knapp had previously placed 11th and run a personal best in the 3000 meters on Thursday.
Interviews from day 3 of competition can be heard below:
Bishop Garrigan Shuttle Hurdles Relay
Bishop Garrigan 4x400M Relay
Algona – Moriah Knapp
West Bend-Mallard – Rachel Fehr
