Relays, hurdles highlight Newton girls track state qualifiers

DES MOINES — The Newton girls track and field team is proving again this season that hurdles remain a strong event.

The shuttle hurdle relay foursome will get a shot to defend its Class 3A title this week at the state meet after the Cardinals scored a victory in the event at the 3A state qualifier on Thursday.

It was the lone win for Newton, but the Cardinals locked up five automatic state entries and grabbed five more at-large berths the next day.

It all added up a third-place team finish at Saydel High School as Newton was second four times and finished third five times.

“There was a lot of joy around the track tonight, and it was wonderful to see the support and cheers amongst the team,” Newton head girls track and field coach Rachelle Tipton said. “I’m incredibly proud of how the team competed tonight and all season.”

Gilbert won the state qualifiying meet with 156 points, while Pella was the runner-up with 145. Newton (133.5), Grinnell (83) and Des Moines Hoover (82) completed the top five.

The top two finishers in each 3A event automatically qualify for the state meet. The next best eight times, distances or heights from around the state also grab at-large spots.

The shuttle hurdle relay win highlighted the night, but the Cardinals also locked up state entries in the 100- and 400-meter hurdles, Lauren Clarke is headed to state in both the 100 and 200 and Tori White and Addie Hammerly secured automatic bids in a field event.

Clarke is the lone Cardinal who will compete in four events at the state meet, but White qualified in three and Chloe Rorabaugh, Abby Bruce, Lola Rivera and Gracie Clayton will be in two.

White anchored the shuttle hurdle relay to a win with Macy Lampe, Mack Sims and Rorabaugh. That foursome was clocked in 1 minute, 7.12 seconds. That was the fifth-best qualifying time, but the top time was 1:06.37.

The Cardinals locked up their first state berth in the sprint medley relay. They opened the night with a runner-up finish as Rorabaugh, Bruce, Rivera and Clarke posted a season-best time of 1:52.12. That’s the 14th-best qualifying time in 3A.

Clarke rallied the troops on the anchor leg. She got the baton outside the top two but closed the gap right away and took the second spot on the back stretch.

White returns to the state meet in the high jump after finishing second and clearing 5 feet, 0 inches. It was not her best jump, but the goal was to get to state. Bella Winther tied for fifth with a leap of 4-6.

“I know I can do better than that, but I’m also not super upset,” said White, who was seventh at state last season. “The goal was to qualify, and I have another meet to do better.”

Shortly after White qualified in the high jump, Hammerly was locking up her state berth in the discus. The Cardinal freshman needed her final throw of 106-8 to move into second place but advanced as an auto qualifier.

Hammerly has the 22nd best qualifying throw, but that distance is 7 feet off her personal best so there’s room to move up at Drake Stadium.

“I felt so relieved after that throw,” Hammerly said. “I’m honored and excited to have the opportunity to go to state and be a part of this great team.”

The fifth and final automatic berth came from Clayton in the 400 hurdles. The Cardinal senior has been so close in recent years but got over the hump Thursday with a career-best time of 1:12.18. White finished fourth in 1:14.95.

The two teammates were hoping they would both qualify for state in the event, but Clayton gained extra confidence in herself after running down White for the come-from-behind win at the Cardinal Relays last week.

“Every other year it seems like I was just so close. I just had to get it this year,” Clayton said. “I didn’t want to take it for granted. Getting that win at Cardinal Relays showed me that I can do it and catch someone at the end. Before this year, my PR came in my freshman year so it feels good to PR twice this season.”

Clarke locked up at-large berths in both the 100 and 200, while White qualified in the 100 hurdles and Winther advanced in the 800. Newton also will compete at state in the 4x200 relay.

Clarke was third in the 100 and fourth in the 200 at the state qualifier. She posted a career-best time of 12.76 seconds in the 100 and finished the 200 in a career-best 26.37. That’s good for the 19th and 20th fastest qualifying times, respectively.

Winther also has the 20th fastest qualifying time in the 800. She was fourth in the race but posted a career-best time of 2:26.53.

White’s final event will be the 100 hurdles. She was third in the race on Thursday but her career-best time of 15.93 is the 15th-fastest qualifying time. Lampe also posted a career-best time of 16.59 in sixth.

Despite not getting an auto berth into state, White was super excited about her time and had a strong feeling she’d be in with an at-large time.

“I was so excited. It feels good to get into the 15s,” White said. “That’s been the goal for the past four or five meets. I have been so close recently. Today had to be the day to do it. It’s nice weather and there’s good competition.”

The final state berth came in the 4x200 relay. The foursome of Bruce, Clayton, Rivera and Clarke finished third in a season-best 1:48.81. That’s the 20th fastest qualifying time.

A pair of Cardinals also were super close to qualifying in the long jump. Bruce’s leap of 15-4 1/2 put her in fourth and Sims went 15-3 1/2 in fifth. The final at-large distance was 15-5 1/2, but one site had an automatic qualifier who jumped 14-10 1/4.

The 4x400 and 4x800 relays both were third. The 4x400 team of Alex Riney, Winther, Sims and Hailey Dickerson finished in 4:29.73 and the 4x800 foursome of Riney, Hadley Kruse, Winther and Harper Barton posted a season-best time of 10:25.53.

Cameron Sharp ran in her final prep race and finished fourth in the 3,000 with a career-best time of 12:24.94. Barton (5:21.17) and Peyton Ray (career-best 5:27.65) came in fifth and sixth, respectively, in the 1,500 and Dickerson posted a career-best time of 1:07.56 and took sixth in the 400.

“I’m incredibly proud of how the team competed tonight and all season,” Tipton said. “Even for those events not making it to state, the athletes ended the season strong with many personal-best performances.”

Notes: There was less drama and competition with the shuttle hurdle relay this season. White said that led to a better team dynamic overall. “We have a good, loving team. We are super close, we pray together before every race and we all have fun at practice,” White said. “When it’s time to lock in, we can do that, too. It’s been really fun to run with them.” ... Hammerly started the season with discus throws fewer than 100 feet. But once she reached triple figures, she didn’t look back. “I just tried to listen and take constructive criticism,” Hammerly said. “Once I started doing that, the throws got better.”

Four wins power Cardinals to second at Pella Dutch Invitational

OSKALOOSA — Bruce and Hammerly registered career-best distances to win a field event and Rorabaugh was part of two relay wins as the Cardinals finished second at the Pella Dutch Invitational on Monday.

Newton scored 152 points and trailed host Pella (166) by 14 points. Pella Christian (126), Oskaloosa (103) and PCM (73) completed the top five. Pella’s three junior varsity teams rounded out the eight-team field.

The meet took place at Oskaloosa’s Lacey Sports Complex because of construction at Pella’s stadium.

“The team looked good tonight as some tuned up for Thursday and a few saw their last competition of the season,” Tipton said. “For those competing Thursday, there should be confidence and excitement. For those whose competitions are now over, they have persevered this windy season and ended on high notes.”

PCM’s night featured a win from Tiffani Koonce in the 400 hurdles and a pair of second- and third-place finishes.

Hammerly opened the night with a win in the discus and a career-best throw of 113-4. Bruce also reached a career-best leap of 16-4 to win the long jump and Sims was fifth with a career-best mark of 15-4 3/4.

The other wins came in the shuttle hurdle and sprint medley relays. The foursome of Lampe, Sims, Rorabaugh and White won the shuttle hurdle in 1:08.32 and Rorabaugh, Bruce, Rivera and Clarke turned in a 1:53.16 to win the sprint medley relay.

The 4x800 relay team of Riney, Winther, Barton and Kruse was second in 10:27.53 and the 4x100, 4x200 and 4x400 relays all were third.

The 4x100 relay team of Lampe, Clayton, Bruce and Rivera finished in 52.66, while the 4x200 foursome of Bruce, Clayton, Rivera and Clarke posted a time of 1:49.78.

Riney, Winther, Barton and Dickerson turned in a season-best time of 4:28.41 in the 4x400 relay.

The Cardinals scored double points in five events. They went 2-4 in the 100 hurdles with White (16.7) and Rorabaugh (17.5), finished 2-4 in the high jump with White (5-0) and Winther (4-6) and ended up 3-6 in the 100 with Clarke (13.18) and Lampe (career-best 14.06).

Brooke Garvis tallied a third-place finish in the shot put with a toss of 31-5 1/2 and Paxton Panada (career-best 13:37.95) and Alivia Kingery (career-best 13:40.85) were 3-4 in the 3,000.

Clayton (1:13.62) and Sims (1:14.98) also placed fifth and sixth, respectively, in the 400 hurdles, while Winther (1:06.25) was fifth in the 400. Kingery (2:58.05) placed sixth in the 800 and Kruse (5:30.57) took sixth in the 1,500.

Koonce won the 400 hurdles in 1:08.93 and Bailey Wheeler finished second in the 800 in 2:45.09 for PCM.

The Mustangs’ shuttle hurdle relay team also placed second with Tori Lindsay, Jorja Teeter, Lillian Humpal and Morgan Karr. That foursome posted a time of 1:10.34.

Ayla Barrett and Lexi Fagg both placed third in a field event. Barrett cleared 5-0 in the high jump and Fagg registered a career-best leap of 15-9 1/2 in the long jump.

Karr (13.59) also was fourth in the 100 and Fagg (29.65) placed sixth in the 200.