State track comes to an end with plenty to be happy about
May 18—DES MOINES — The finals are underway at the Iowa High School Track and Field Championships with two runner-ups already secured.
Clinton's Kanijah Angel was the first to earn her spot on the podium, taking second place in the Class 4A 100 M dash on Saturday.
The Clinton senior, committed to Northern Iowa, ran a 12.36 in the finals.
With one more event left, Angel competed in the 200 meter dash to end her high school career. She placed seventh in the finals with a time of 25.81 seconds.
Central DeWitt standout Tristan Rheingans was a state champion in the 400 meter hurdles on Friday and he became the state runner-up in the 110 meter hurdles on Saturday with a 14.61 performance.
Earlier in the day Rheingans along with Cal Kueter, Jameson Gregoire and Abe Krukow were able to secure a top four finish in the shuttle hurdle relay, taking fourth with a time of 59.58 seconds.
Another senior, Camanche's Jayden Cravatta, ran extremely well to take sixth in the Class 2A 100 meter dash, running a 13 flat to end her season on an extremely high note.
The Northeast girls started the day off for local schools with Kaitlyn Hansen, Alivia Chamber, Teryn Hansen and Jordan Tegeler running a 1:54.61 in the 800 meter sprint medley for 17th place. Teryn Hansen also competed in the 800 meter run, taking 21st with a 2:32.98.
Camanche ran along side the Rebels in the sprint medley, taking 23rd with a time of 1:56.93 behind Jasalyn Jensen, Celina Hermann, Miley Duritza and Jeorgia Neumann.
Clinton was in the same event but in Class 4A with Emme Jensen, Hannah Malli, Quinn Nielsen and Carryn Sattler taking 15th with a 1:52.86. Sattler then turned around and took 21st in the 800 meter run.
The Camanche boys ran well in the sprint medley, taking 13th with a time of 1:36.05 from Trey Hartung, Demarion Honaker, Josh Wiersema and Tyson Seeser.
Central DeWitt in Class 3A ran a strong race as Colton Sullivan, Michael Palmer, Will Ginter and Alex Brown took eighth with a 1:33.83.
Easton Valley senior Cole Venema recorded a personal best in the Class 1A 800 meter run, running a 2:04.62 to take 22nd overall.
Later in the afternoon, Clinton senior Camryn Sattler took to the track for her last race of her high school career. She did not waste this opportunity, recording a personal best in the 1500 meter run with a 4:39.88. That time was good enough for sixth place in Class 4A, the most loaded class of distance runners in the state.
Camanche capped off their season in the final event of the day, running in the 4x400 meter relay finals. Tyson Graves, Wiersema, Landon Hill and Seeser ran a 3:27.58 to finish in seventh place.
However, the last local team to compete was the Central DeWitt boys in the 4x400. Rheingans along with Caleb Olson, Nathan Butler and Ginter were able to take fourth place with a 3:21.64.
The Sabers as a team finished in fourth place in Class 3A with 42 total points after a remarkable season.
Friday at the Iowa High School Track & Field Championships
The first two days of the Iowa High School Track & Field Championships at Drake Stadium brought a lot of excitement and energy, with one state champion, a runner up, a couple of third place finishes and a fourth place finish.
Starting with the most recent action, the Clinton girls got things going in the afternoon session on Friday.
Hannah Malli, Sescie Haan, Carryn Sattler and Camryn Sattler shaved three seconds off their time in the 1600 meter distance medley to record a 4:14.34 personal best and finish 11th in a loaded Class 4A field.
Senior Kendie Huizenga also was in action during the early afternoon window, taking 22nd in the shot put with a throw of 31 feet, 8.5 inches. Joselyn Petersen, a sophomore, took 23rd in the long jump with a distance of 14 feet, 8.5 inches.
The 4x200 meter relay team of Malli, Haan, Quinn Nielsen and Kanijah Angel took 15th with a combined time of 1:45.75. Malli, Nielsen, Angel and freshman Aumree Russell also took 15th in the 4x100 meter dash with a time of 49.46 seconds.
Tytus Wright, Terry Liggins, Jordan Coleman and Bryant Lee were the lone River Kings to make the trip to the state meet, placing 13th with a personal best in the 4x200 meter relay. They totaled a 1:29.39.
Claire Unke, Carryn Sattler, Julia Suessmith and Haan closed out the relays for the Queens with a 23rd place finish in 4x400 meter run. Haan had a very busy day, also finishing in 12th place in the 400 meter hurdles, running a 1:07.36.
Finally, Prince of Peace junior Hakeal Powell also ran the hurdles, taking 22nd with a 58.50.
Rheingans defends his crown in final 400 M Hurdles race as a Saber
Iowa State commit Tristan Rheingans defended his title in the Class 3A 400 meter hurdles on Friday afternoon, boasting a 52.64 second run to stay atop his class.
"I just wanted to come out and enjoy my last race in the 400 hurdles as a Saber," Rheingans said.
Last year he was the underdog. This year, he fought through the expectation and the competition to win the hurdles.
"This year was completely different. There was a lot of expectations. It's really hard to run when there's a target on your back," he said.
It came down to the final stretch over the last hurdle but he caught one last blip of speed to beat Western Dubuque's Ashton Hogrefe.
"When I came over that last barrier and I felt myself speeding up again, I was like 'This is God's work right here,'" he said.
Rheingans also qualified for the finals in the 110 meter hurdles with a 14.56 for the second best time on the day. He'll run Saturday morning looking for another championship.
His teammates were busy as Colton Sullivan, Alex Brown, Will Ginter and Caleb Olson took sixth in the distance medley with a 3:33.50. Sullivan, Ginter, Brown and Michael Palmer also took sixth in the 4x200 meter relay.
Abe Krukow joined Rheingans in the 400 meter hurdles, placing ninth with a 55.52.
Finally, Rheingans led off the 4x400 meter relay, followed by Caleb Olson, Nathan Butler and Will Ginter as they snuck into the finals with a seventh place finish. Their time of 3:25.81 will let them run in the final event of the day on Saturday.
Camanche's Seeser clears 6'7" to take second place in High Jump
Camanche's Tyson Seeser has had a dominant junior year out in the high jump, adding to his resume with a second place finish in Class 2A on Friday morning.
"You know, it's great. I couldn't get it done, but it's also a great experience just coming out here and competing," Seeser said. "It's come with experience, just being out here three times now. You pick stuff up as you go."
Seeser was able to clear 6-07 but was matched by Albia's Ryan Little. At 6-09 he failed his first two attempts but pushed his last attempt to 6-10 where he just missed that.
He is not done at the state meet and will compete for Camanche in both the 4x400 meter relay and the sprint medley.
"I'm gonna be running with some anger out there since I couldn't take first place," Seeser said. "I think it's going to help me out a lot.
He was not the only Camanche member competing today. Senior Demarion Honaker recorded a personal best of 15.51, taking 13th in the 110 meter hurdles.
Their 4x200 team with Trey Hartung, Tyson Graves, Ty Stone and Josh Wiersema later placed 20th with a time of 1:32.90.
However, their best relay of the day was in the 4x400 meter relay where Graves, Wiersema, Landon Hill and Tyson Seeser combined for a 3:26.52 to place fifth. They will compete in the finals on Saturday.
The Northeast girls ran their only race of the day, placing 20th behind Kaitlyn Hansen, Jorden Tegeler, Teryn Hansen and Alivia Chambers.
'I have dreamed for this moment'; Clinton's Sattler places fourth in 3000 M Run
In her senior season, Clinton senior Camryn Sattler has already accomplished a lot of her goals. Breaking multiple school records to go with multiple MAC Championships.
On Thursday Sattler accomplished another goal, beating her own personal best in the 3000 meter run by six seconds with a time of 10:04.03 to place fourth overall in a loaded Class 4A field.
"I've been thinking about this race for months now. Coming off the seasons I've had in the past and this being my last chance as a senior, it just came down to 'How bad do I want this' and today was the day," Sattler said. "I give all the glory to God. All the glory to my coaches for making me fit enough and confident enough to do this."
A big move through the final three laps helped propel her up the tight pack of ten runners and into the top five before she secured the fourth place finish.
"It was an unreal moment because I have dreamed of this. I have prayed for this moment every single day," Sattler said. "When you want something bad enough and you finally get it, it's a feeling of 'wow, everything is worth it'. I'm super grateful to get a moment like this because not everyone does."
Sattler is not done yet and will run in the distance medley on Friday night and the 1500 meter run on Saturday afternoon.
"Coming out here on a hot day like this and running a big pr along side girls that I've had a mental block with. Beating them has given me a lot of confidence for these next races. I'm super fit, super healthy and I'm super confident," Sattler said.
She was not the lone Queen to have stellar performances on day one.
Another senior, Kanijah Angel, was a dominant force as a sprinter for Clinton and she proved that on Thursday as she qualified for the finals in both the 100 and 200 meter dashes.
First, she placed seventh in the 200 meter dash, running a 25.42 which moved her on to Saturday. Her best race however was the 100 meter dash in which she placed first with a dominant 12.17 second performance to give her momentum heading into the finals.
Quinne Nielsen also ran well in the 100 meter dash, hitting a personal best with a time of 12.42 seconds but she came up just short of the finals cut by placing ninth.
Wrapping things up on the track was Claire Unke who ran a 1:03.96 in the 400 meter dash.
Out in the field events, sophomore Elle Lonergan was able to clear five feet even to finish in a third place tie for 13th place in her state debut.
Easton Valley senior Hudson Underwood closed out the Class 1A and 4A sessions with a 21st place finish in the shot put, throwing 43-06.50. He also took 22nd in discus with a throw of 107 feet.
Northeast's Gray takes third in both shot put and discus
Northeast junior, Grant Gray, made his mark out at the Iowa High School Track & Field Championships at Drake Stadium on Thursday, finishing in third place in the Class 2A shot put.
Gray came in with the number one seeded distance, quickly notching his best throw of the day with a 55 foot 10.75 throw on his second attempt.
Making the finals, he was unable to eclipse his second throw but he didn't need to as he made the podium for the Rebels. Gray will have another shot at a podium placement on Friday morning when he competes in the discus throw beginning at 11:30 a.m.
He was joined by his teammate Clayton Meyermann who took ninth with a 50 foot, 4.25 throw.
On Friday, Gray did it again, throwing 173 feet on his second throw of the day to take third place in the Class 2A discus throw.
Gray easily made the finals ended up in third place to finish off his junior season. He made it look easy all season long in only his first year in track & field.
Thursday morning session at Drake Stadium
Camanche sophomore Ty Stone had a strong performance in his long jump debut, taking 15th with a 19-11.75. Northeast's Colby Gray, another sophomore, finished in 22nd with a 19-04.75.
Closing out the Class 2A and 3A session field events, Camanche's Paige Irvine took 22nd with a throw of 33-01.
Out on the track, Camanche's Jayden Cravatta had a fantastic outing in the 100 meter dash, taking third place with a 12.66 to earn herself a spot in the finals on Saturday.
Tyson Seeser ran the 400 meter dash later in the day taking seventh place overall with a 49.98 to cap off day one for the Storm.
Northeast freshman Jordan Tegeler had a nice day in her first ever state track meet, also placing seventh in the 400 meter dash, running a 58.85. She also finished in 12th in the 200 meter dash preliminary round to miss out on the finals.
The Rebel boys were able to take 23rd in the 4x800 meter relay, running an 8:31.15 for their only track event of the weekend.
Central DeWitt also ran the 4x800 meter relay but in Class 3A, taking seventh behind Brady Freeman, Kyle Olson, Ben Zimmer and Caleb Olson who ran an 8:07.71.
Finishing off the morning session, Tristan Rheingans, Cal Kueter, Jameson Gregoire and Abe Krukow recorded a personal best in the 4x110 shuttle hurdle relay, blazing down the track for a fourth place finish to secure themselves a spot on Saturday afternoon in the finals.
