Friday marked day two of the Iowa High School State Track and Field Championship from Drake Stadium in Des Moines.
The morning started out with the class 2A and 3A session, with several Algona Bulldog athletes competing in class 3A. Much like the Algona girls 4×800 meter relay on day one of the competition, the Algona girls 4×200 meter relay also set a massive season best in the timed finals of class 3A. The Bulldog relay team of Lilly Allie, Kaitlyn Burns, Summer Thompson, and Natalie Johnson shaved nearly four seconds off of their season best, clocking a 1:46.49 to come in 16th place overall, after coming in seeded to finish 23rd. With one freshman, two sophomores, and one junior on this year’s 4×200, Algona will bring back all four relay members next season.
In the boys class 3A 1600 meter medley, Algona entered with state medal aspirations, coming in with the seventh fastest seed time in the field and the opportunity to race in the fastest of three heats in the timed finals. Although Algona missed out on a state medal, placing 7th in their heat and 14th overall in 3:37.45, the Bulldog relay team of Will Weichert, Ashton Moreno, Evan Allie, and Gavin Weber set a new season best time by just under half a second. The Bulldog relay was highlighted by a big carry on the 400 meter leg from Allie, as the Algona sophomore moved the Bulldogs from 7th place in the third heat to 2nd on his leg, and gave Weber an opportunity to run with the leaders of the race. Weber would split a 2:02 on the anchor leg, running a blazing early pace for the first 500 meters to try to keep up with the other top teams in the heat, before fading back over the final portion of the race. The event was won by Western Dubuque, who received a 1:51 800 meter spit on their anchor leg and finished the relay in 3:28.17.
The final Algona event on the track of the Friday session would be the boys class 3A 4×100 meter relay preliminary round. Needing to produce a top eight time to advance to Saturday’s final, Algona’s relay team of Will Weichert, Jack Limbaugh, Levi Walker, and Evan Allie finished 12th in 43.27 seconds, their second best time of the season trailing only their school record time of 43.17 set at the North Central Conference Championship meet two weeks ago. All four members of the Algona 4×100 meters are underclassmen, with Weichert, Limbaugh, and Allie all scheduled to run again on Saturday in the 800 meter medley timed finals.
In the field, sophomore Max Nevitt returned to action in the boys class 3A shot put after throwing the discus on Thursday. Nevitt did not advance to the finals, placing 12th with a throw of 51-05, a mark Nevitt hit on his first throw before fouling on his next two attempts.
In the afternoon session featuring classes 1A and 4A, North Union senior Olivia Merrill made the final throws of her career count, earning a second state medal of the weekend by placing 7th in the class 1A girls discus with a mark of 120-09. Merrill found herself on the outside looking in after two throws, standing at 11th place at 114-04, with only the top nine qualifying for finals. On Merrill’s third throw, she was able to put down a mark of 118-07, moving into eighth heading into the finals. After coming up short of that mark on her next two throws, Merrill saved the best for last, moving up one spot into seventh with the throw of 120-09.
It was also a strong day in the discus throw for Bishop Garrigan sophomore Amaury Thomas, who continued his late season ascent by throwing 140-10. Thomas had set a personal best by over six feet at the state qualifying meet the previous week to punch his state ticket with a 139-09. Thomas progressively improved on each state throw, going from 125-06 to 132-00 to his career best of 140-09 on the third throw.
In the other class 1A field event for area athletes, West Bend-Mallard sophomore Allie Fehr finished 10th in her first state high jump appearance, clearing 5-00. Fehr started off shaky, missing her first two attempts at 4-10 before succeeding on a do or die third attempt. Fehr would settle in once the height was raised to 5 feet, grazing the bar slightly on the way over, but not enough to dislodge it. The Wolverine sophomore would ultimately be stopped by the 5-02 bar, missing on all three attempts.
On the track, Bishop Garrigan senior Reagan Murphy continued a busy weekend with the girls class 1A 100 meter hurdle preliminaries. Murphy, a 100 hurdle qualifier last season alongside her now-graduated teammate Molly Joyce, survived and advanced this season, taking 2nd in her heat and 5th overall at 16.15, with the top eight advancing to Saturday’s final. Saturday will mark Murphy’s 1st career state appearance in the 100 meter hurdle final, after finishing 11th in the preliminaries in 2023. As long as Murphy finishes the 100 meter hurdles on Saturday, she will earn her first career individual state medal, having already earned past state medals in the shuttle hurdle, 4×100, and 4×400 meter relays.
In the girls class 1A 400 meter hurdle timed finals, West Bend-Mallard senior Kierstin Montag produced a season best time and finished just shy of her career best, finishing 16th in 1:09.48.
The Friday session also featured the 4×200 meter relay timed finals for class 1A. In the boys race, Bishop Garrigan’s relay team of Sam Plathe, Trayton Cink, Nick Leerar, and Owen Murphy presented a different lineup combination than the state qualifying meet for a Golden Bear relay team that has seen the lineup shuffle, and came in 23rd place in 1:35.24.
In the girls 4×200 meter timed finals for class 1A, North Union’s relay of Libby Stevens, Peyton Jenkins, Beth Streuber, and Naomi Jones clocked in at 24th in 1:51.73. Less than an hour later, the 4×100 meter relay team of the same members finished 18th in the preliminaries in 52.52, bringing to an end the track and field careers of seniors Stevens, Streuber, and Jones, who have made multiple appearances at Drake Stadium’s Blue Oval.
Wrapping up the day would be the 4×400 meter relay preliminaries for class 1A. In the girls race, West Bend-Mallard’s relay team of Hannah Stalzer, Allie Fehr, Maddie Fehr, and Kierstin Montag produced a season best time of 4:16.10, which was good for 12th place. Fehr and Montag ran the final two legs of the relay and ran the fastest two splits for the Wolverines at 61.59 and 62.70 respectively. The race would represent the final trip around the oval in the track career of Montag, a state qualifier in all four seasons of her career for West Bend-Mallard.
The Bishop Garrigan boys 4×400 meter relay team of Caden Roethler, Owen Murphy, Andrew Lichter, and Justin Bauer capped off the day by finishing 14th in the preliminaries in 3:33.10, which was their second fastest time of the season, trailing only last week’s state qualifying meet 3:31.75.
Saturday’s final day of state track and field gets underway from Drake Stadium starting at 9 A.M.
Athlete Interviews
Algona boys class 3A 1600 meter medley relay (Will Weichert, Ashton Moreno, Evan Allie, Gavin Weber)
Algona girls class 3A 4×200 meter relay (Lilly Allie, Kaitlyn Burns, Summer Thompson, Natalie Johnson)
Algona boys class 3A 4×100 meter relay (Will Weichert, Jack Limbaugh, Levi Walker, Evan Allie)
Allie Fehr – West Bend-Mallard – girls class 1A high jump
Amaury Thomas – Bishop Garrigan – boys class 1A discus
Bishop Garrigan boys class 1A 4×200 meter relay (Sam Plathe, Trayton Cink, Nick Leerar, Owen Murphy)
Kierstin Montag – West Bend-Mallard – girls class 1A 400 meter hurdles
Reagan Murphy – Bishop Garrigan – girls class 1A 100 meter hurdle preliminaries
Olivia Merrill – North Union – girls class 1A discus
North Union girls class 1A 4×200 meter relay (Libby Stevens, Beth Streuber, Peyton Jenkins, Naomi Jones)
North Union girls class 1A 4×100 meter relay (Libby Stevens, Beth Streuber, Peyton Jenkins, Naomi Jones)
Bishop Garrigan boys class 1A 4×400 meter relay (Caden Roethler, Owen Murphy, Andrew Lichter, Justin Bauer)
West Bend-Mallard girls class 1A 4×400 meter relay (Hannah Stalzer, Allie Fehr, Maddie Fehr, Kierstin Montag)
