Clarke, two relays headline Newton girls at Dickinson Relays

CEDAR FALLS — Lauren Clarke was part of a pair of top-15 finishes and two relays got off to strong starts for the Newton girls track and field team at the annual Dickinson Relays at the UNI-Dome on Tuesday.

The Cardinals registered four top-20 finishes and placed in the top 50 six other times during the team’s indoor opener.

“This is a great way to start the season,” Newton girls track and field coach Rachelle Tipton said. “The athletes have come in tough and ready to compete. That some of them are still a bit disappointed shows what they are expecting out of this season.”

Clarke had the top individual finish as she placed 11th in the 60-meter dash. She also anchored the 4x400 relay to 14th place.

The Cardinals also got a 16th-place finish from Tori White in the high jump and the 4x800 relay was 11th.

Clarke posted a time of 8.11 seconds in the 60 dash to take 11th. She was eighth in the preliminary round in 8.06.

Mack Sims placed 99th in the 60 dash with a time of 8.71, and she also led a trio of Cardinals in the 60 hurdles. Sims finished 31st in that race in 10.14 and Macy Lampe was 48th in 10.46. White completed the trio in 71st as she was clocked in 10.76.

The Cardinals also showed off their depth in the 800. Audrey Muckler led the way in 31st with a time of 2 minutes, 38.82 seconds and Alexis Sorensen was 43rd in 2:41.36. Peyton Ray placed 78th in 2:50.12.

White’s 16th-place finish in the high jump included a best jump of 4 feet, 10 inches. Ellie DeVries was 26th with a leap of 4-8.

Lola Rivera (28.35) came in 40th in the 200, Alex Riney (1:07.41) was 72nd in the 400 and Brooke Garvis placed 63rd in the shot put with a toss of 30-1 1/4.

The Cardinals were 11th in the 4x800 relay and 14th in the 4x400 relay.

Harper Barton, Muckler, Bella Winther and Ray finished the 4x800 relay in 10:28.45 and Winther, Camryn Klein, Barton and Clarke posted a time of 4:19.05 in the 4x400.

The 4x200 relay team of Rivera, Klein, Jazmyn Rivera and Abby Bruce ended up 31st in 1:55.84.

“This is only a part of our team due to the limited nature of indoor meets,” Tipton said. “I reminded the team this is just the beginning and May is the goal, but it’s a strong foundation to start with.”