10 things to look for from Ames-area female athletes at the state track and field meet
The 2024 Iowa high school state track and field meet takes place this Thursday through Saturday at Drake Stadium in Des Moines.
Ames-area high school girls track and field athletes had a strong showing at last week's state qualifying meets. They combined to qualify for state in 44 events.
The Ames girls led the way by making state in 13 Class 4A events. Gilbert was right behind with 12 headed to the Blue Oval in 3A.
Collins-Maxwell will be competing in eight 1A events and Roland-Story qualified for seven in 2A. Ballard (3A) and Colo-NESCO (1A) both made it in two events.
Here are 10 things to look for from Ames Tribune-area female athletes and teams at the state track and field meet this week.
Will Angelica Attinger and Sophia Hatcher bring home gold for Ames?
Angelica Attinger is looking to give Ames a state champion in the 4A girls 400-meter hurdles for the second year in a row and Sophia Hatcher enters state rated among the best 4A long jumpers and 200 runners.
Attinger has the fastest qualifying time among all 4A competitors in the 400 hurdles at 1:03.84. Hatcher is ranked fourth in the long jump with a qualifying distance of 17 feet, five inches, and she is sixth in the 200 with a time of 25.49.
More: How Angelica Attinger and Sophia Hatcher give Ames a dynamic duo in girls track and field
Indianola freshman Madison Grover (1:04.42), Ankeny Centennial's Kylin Smith (1:04.54) and Pleasant Valley's Jessie Clemons (1:04.61) are close behind Attinger among 400 hurdle qualifiers. Hatcher has her work cut out if she is to catch the 18-2.5 distance of Linn-Mar's Abby Mecklenburg in the long jump and the top 4A 200 qualifying time of 25.17 by Dowling Catholic's Annie Smith.
Can the Gilbert girls 4x800 relay team repeat as 3A state champions?
The Gilbert girls have a chance to place in the top three during several relays at state.
Clare Stahr, Sophia Bleich, Keira Andersen and Sarah Feddersen all were a part of last year's team Gilbert girls 4x800 team that won state in 3A. The talented quartet ran a 9:40.70 during the 3A qualifying meet at Saydel last Thursday, which is six seconds faster than any other qualifying 4x800 time in 3A.
Gilbert girls poised for big-time success in other relays
The 4x800 was not Gilbert's only standout relay during its qualifying meet.
The Tigers ran the second-best 3A qualifying times in both the distance medley and 4x400 and the fourth-fastest 4x200 time.
Taylor Banning, Keaton Hanson and Emee Dani join Feddersen in the distance medley. The Tigers ran a 4:17.34 at Saydel, which only trails Sioux Center's 4:14.22 among 4A qualifying times.
Gilbert's 4x400 team of Rebecca Schrader, Bleich, Andersen and Feddersen enters state with a qualifying time of 4:01.17. Only Sioux Center's 4:00.88 was faster among 3A qualifying teams.
Banning, Hanson, Laurel Mizerak and Gretchen Mizerak ran a 1:45.43 in the 4x200 during the qualifying meet. Only Western Dubuque (1:43.99), MOC-Floyd Valley (1:44.08) and Maquoketa (1:44.23) qualified with faster times in 3A.
The Gilbert girls 4x100 and sprint medley teams are both ranked 10th heading into state. Banning, Hanson and the Mizerak sisters ran both events for the Tigers.
Ames girls also set up to excel in relays
The Ames girls have two relays ranked in the 4A top 10.
The Little Cyclone 4x200 team of Attinger, Edyn Cowles, Holly Dettbarn and Hatcher ranks fourth in 4A with a qualifying time of 1:44.97. Waukee Northwest (1:41.26) might be out of Ames' reach, but the Little Cyclones could challenge Sioux City East (1:43.93), Cedar Rapids Prairie (1:44.89) and Southeast Polk (also at 1:44.97) for second place.
Ames' shuttle hurdle team of Attinger, Elia Varghese, Camryn Johnson and Hatcher is ninth heading into state with a qualifying time of 1:06.37. But the Little Cyclones placed fifth during the Drake Relays prelims, so they clearly have the potential to place high at state.
Sarah Feddersen and Sophia Bleich give Gilbert individual standouts
Feddersen and Bleich both have a chance to place very high for the Gilbert girls in individual 3A events.
Feddersen enters state ranked fourth in the open 800 with a qualifying time of 2:20.98. Sioux Center's Audrina Jones (2:18.46) and Kolby Oldenkamp (2:18.97), and Washington's Iris Dahl (2:19.99) are the only runners ahead of her.
Feddersen placed third in the 3A girls 800 last year.
More: How Gilbert star runner Sarah Feddersen found her niche in track and field
Andersen could be a Dark Horse candidate for Gilbert in the 800. She enters state 14th with a qualifying time of 2:24.23, but she placed fifth in the event at state in 2023.
Bleich has been a pleasant surprise for Gilbert in the girls 400 hurdles. After placing 19th in 3A during the event at last year's state meet, Bleich is headed to the 2024 state meet ranked third with a qualifying time of 1:07.93.
Catching top 400 hurdler Reese Brownlee of Clear Lake (1:02.97) is unlikely. But Bleich will challenge for second as Mount Vernon's Eastin Whisner is only a hair ahead of Bleich with a qualifying time of 1:07.03.
Roland-Story quartet will be busy
Roland-Story's Adalyn Sporleder, Lauryn Kilstofte, Kennedy Petersen and Kamryn Lande will all run together in three relays for the Norse at state.
They run the sprint medley, 4x200 and 4x100. The Norse foursome are serious contenders to win two of those events and earn a top-five finish in the other.
Roland-Story ranks second in the 4x200 with a qualifying time of 1:45.61. Pella is first at 1:44.37.
The Norse ran a 50.31 in the 4x100 to tie Forest City for the second-fastest qualifying time in 2A behind Spirit Lake (50.02). Roland-Story is fifth in the sprint medley relay with a qualifying time of 1:51.67.
Kilstofte and Petersen will also run in the 4x400 alongside Matilde Motta and Riley Johnson. That Norse team is 14th with a time of 4:13.73.
More: Meet Kennedy Petersen, the glue to the Roland-Story girls' outstanding sprint relay teams
Lande and Sporleder will compete in one individual event apiece.
Lande runs the open 200, where she comes in seventh with a time of 26.22. Sporleder will compete in the long jump for the third year in a row, entering state ranked fifth in 2A with a distance of 16-11.
Distance runners ready to do some damage
The Ames area features some talented girls distance runners.
Ames has state veterans Marley Turk and Lauren Risdal in the 4A 1,500 and 3,000. Gilbert will have Dani in both the 3A 1,500 and 3,000 and Stahr in the 1,500.
More: Ames' Lauren Risdal and Gilbert's Emee Dani enjoy their first 3,000 run at Drake Relays
Ballard's Ava Vance will join Dani in the 3A 1,500. Collins-Maxwell freshman Jayden Peters will be running in the 1A 800, 1,500 and 3,000.
Turk is ranked 14th in the 1,500 and 15th in the 3,000 with respective qualifying times of 4:49.18 and 10:32.51. Risdal is 17th in the 1,500 (4:53.55) and 21st in the 3,000 (10:37.23).
Dani and Stahr both have the potential to place well in the 3A 1,500. Dani is third in 3A with a qualifying time of 4:55.54 and Stahr sixth in 4:59.73. Pella's Marissa Ferebee (4:42.80) and Harlan's Lindsey Sonderman (4:52.53) lead the field.
Dani is also fifth in the 3,000 with a qualifying time of 10:48.05. Maquoketa's Isabelle Hardin has the fastest qualifying time at 10:35.34.
Vance ranks 14th in the 3A 3,000 field after running an 11:02.67 at the 3A qualifying meet in Alleman.
Peters enters state ranked sixth in the 1A 3,000, 10th in the 1,500 and 22nd in the 800 with respective qualifying times of 10:59.24, 5:10.77 and 2:31.73. Colo-NESCO freshman Elizabeth Erickson ranks 20th among 1A 3,000 qualifiers with a time of 11:23.84 and 24th in the 800 with a time of 2:33.02.
Chloe Wierson ready to go out with a bang
Collins-Maxwell senior Chloe Wierson qualified for state in four events.
Wierson made it individually in both the 1A girls 100 and 200. She is also going in the sprint medley relay with Cypress Erickson, Erica Houge and Hannah Kimberley and the distance medley with Erickson, Kimberley and Peters.
Wierson comes into state ranked fifth in the 200 and eighth in the 100 with respective qualifying times of 26.59 and 12.89. The Spartan sprint medley is 11th (1:54.98) and the distance medley is 14th (4:29.97).
Who will step up in field events?
Outside of Hatcher and Sporleder girls long jump, none of the area athletes participating in field events are among the top qualifiers in their respective events.
But there could always be a surprise.
Anisa Percival and Ayak Akol are back in the 4A girls high jump for Ames. Percival turned heads with an eighth-place finish last year, so she has shown the potential to raise the bar, and Akol has built a lot of momentum this season.
More: Why Ames sophomore track athlete Ayak Akol is driven to succeed in girls high jump
Gilbert freshman Allie Grandgenett is jumping in the 3A girls high jump after an impressive qualifying jump of 5-2. Cowles will join Hatcher in the 4A long jump.
How will area teams factor in the team scoring?
By qualifying in most events, Ames and Gilbert both have the potential to place high in the final team standings of their respective classes.
Ames will not be able to match last year's runner-up team finish. But the Little Cyclones definitely have the potential to place in the top 10 of the 4A standings.
Gilbert should rack up a lot of points in relays, Feddersen, Dani and Bleich could give the Tigers a nice boost in individual events. If Gilbert gets a surprise performance or two, it could find itself in the top five, or even higher.
Roland-Story and Collins-Maxwell also could do well. They do not have the depth of Ames or Gilbert, but they have enough quality events to pick up a double-digit point total.
Joe Randleman covers high school sports for the Ames Tribune. Contact him at jrandleman@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter at @JoeRandleman
This article originally appeared on Ames Tribune: 10 things to look for from Ames-area female athletes at state track
