Young record-setting Waukee Northwest 4x200 relay team shines at Iowa state track meet

No negatives here: The kids are all right.

Well, in the case of Waukee Northwest, they’re better than all right.

Best in Iowa history, in fact, as the Wolves ran the 4x200 relay in 1:39.15, edging out a nine-year-old record of 1:39.24 set by Cedar Rapids Jefferson in 2015.

Northwest’s relay team of Ayrissa Robinson, Keziah Caldwell, Aunya Van Zetten and Katie Stahl finished over two seconds ahead of the next-closest contender, delivering the gut punch to competitors hoping to spoil the Wolves’ day.

Ask Stahl – who anchored Northwest to the first-place finish – and she’d say another team could have crossed the finish line first.

“I thought there was someone right behind me,” Stahl laughed. “So, I thought that really pushed me to go a little bit quicker. But then when I realized there was no one else and we got the new time, it felt amazing.”

In a day when several other state record holders’ reins ended, Waukee Northwest added to the downfall.

While the Wolves quartet will remember this win, this moment could fall down the list of their favorite memories over the next few years, because there is a lot left for this group to accomplish and a lot of time to do it.

Seriously, a lot of time.

Lead-off runner: Robinson, freshman.

Second leg runner: Caldwell, freshman.

Third leg runner: Van Zetten, junior.

Anchor: Stahl, sophomore.

This exact group will compete together for one more season, and Robinson and Caldwell will be around for three more years. If they’re breaking records this young, imagine what they could accomplish before the end of their high school careers.

Northwest isn’t the only team featuring freshmen competitors, and it might be something in central Iowa’s water.

Only three other teams – across three heats in the 4x200 final – ran two freshmen. All three – Johnston, Southeast Polk and Urbandale – come from the Des Moines metro area. Urbandale was the only other team out of that group that ran without a senior.

There is a secret to Northwest’s success, though, and it starts off the track.

“We do a lot of team bonding drills during practice,” Van Zetten said. “And just being together all the time, I feel like that plays a huge part in it.”

Van Zetten – a sort of pseudo-mother as the oldest in the group – doesn't need to do much to keep her younger peers in line. She’d practiced and raced with Stahl before this season, and her freshman teammates' work ethic made up for their age.

But she is quick to speak about her teammates with immense pride.

As for the kids in this crew, Robinson and Caldwell don’t shy away from the teachings of their older teammates.

They seek them out.

“I have my teammates push me,” Robinson said. “Because of their experience, they’re able to push me to be the best I can be, and that’s given me the opportunity to push others, as well.”

Caldwell is still processing being a freshman in high school. Winning Drake Relays flags and state titles feels surreal, even when she’s among the best of the best.

That makes it all the more fun to think about what’s to come.

And this group has their sights set on more record-breaking performances, starting with replacing their own history-making mark next season.

“We’re just getting started,” Caldwell said.

Alyssa Hertel is the college sports recruiting reporter for the Des Moines Register. Contact Alyssa at ahertel@dmreg.com or on Twitter @AlyssaHertel.

This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Waukee Northwest girls 4x200 relay sets all-time Iowa track record