DCG heads to state track, Fenn strikes out 15 in baseball debut
The summer season is officially underway while other summer teams have their eyes on one last ride. (Note: Events covered May 7-13)
Girls Track
Between Thursday and Saturday, the Mustangs will be called to 10 events at the state track meet in Des Moines.
Coming in with the best odds at a medal, the 4x800 meter relay team of Maddy Stevens, Addison Dooley, Tess Meggison and Maddie Schmitz are tagged fourth after hitting their PR at the state qualifying site. That’s on par with the fourth-ranked distance medley team where Alicia Glay, Asia Jahangir, Schmitz and Piper Messerly are also slotted.
On her own, the freshman Messerly is running in the 1,500 and 3,000-meter runs and is ranked in the top 12 in both events.
In the field, the Mustangs are also well-represented, as Preslie King and Jacey McFarland each made the cut in the high jump while Halley Beaudet made the grade in the shot put, keeping DCG’s streak alive getting a thrower in-competition after having a four-time qualifier graduate.
Boys Track
DCG made the grade in 11 events this season at the state track meet, improving upon the eight qualifications in 2023.
At the top of the callsheet, Elias Arbuckle is slotted sixth in the 3,200-meter run and 10th in the 1,600-meter, the teams only multi-qualifier in a solo event. Meanwhile the 4x400, 4x800, distance medley and 4x110 hurdles hold some overlap, bringing a busload of Mustangs downtown.
Baseball (1-0)
The 2024 season started with a strong swing on Monday, taking down Ballard with a 2-0 road win.
A stalemate for five innings, the game broke DCG’s way with Cross Bandy and Josiah Cox scoring the winning runs in the sixth frame. Senior pitcher Keaton Fenn did the heavy lifting on defense, fanning the Bombers 15 times. Only two pitchers in Class 4A last season had more strikeouts in a single game.
Fenn returns as the team’s leading pitcher from 2023 with 74 K’s an 8-1 record. Only losing one starting pitcher and two batters, the Mustangs reload the bullpen but have some big shoes to fill in the batters box without three primary starters including home run king Clayton Campidilli. Taitn Gray, Ty Mikkelsen and Dayne Mauk were the team’s next-best power hitters and return to the roster.
Softball
DCG’s run to the state tournament was interrupted by ADM last year after posting a 29-11 record. Now the journey back to Fort Dodge begins on Monday with a homestand against Harlan and Fort Dodge on Tuesday.
It’s nearly a full deck returning for Dallas Center this season, as four of the team’s top-five hitters according to total bases all come back for another round before a major roster reset. This year’s depth chart has eight seniors form 2023 that started in at leaset 15 games. Macee Reiling headlines that group, leading the team with 102 total bases and 42 RBI as a jnior while Summer Campbell and Lydia Zaruba each crossed homeplate 45 times.
Boys Soccer (12-4)
The Mustangs capped the regular season with a 5-0 win over Muscatine, finishing the season with a 12-4 record. The path to the state tournament can add two more wins to that line, starting Monday in the substate semifinals against either Winterset or Atlantic.
Girls Soccer (11-3)
DCG fans have one more game to catch in the regular season on Thursday at Dowling Catholic (6-8) before the postseason begins. The Mustangs play host to either Carroll or Denison-Schleswig on Tuesday on the road to defending the state championship.
This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: DCG heads to state track, Fenn strikes out 15 in baseball debut
