Clarke, shuttle hurdle relay team lead Newton girls in Ames

AMES — The Newton girls track and field team faced its toughest competition yet during the Jim Duea Invitational on Tuesday.

The Cardinals improved their shuttle hurdle relay time and Lauren Clarke scored a pair of top-three finishes in the 100- and 200-meter dash.

Newton finished 12th in the 14-team field with 32 points. Class 3A Gilbert (34) was two points better in 10th. The only other 3A school was Sioux Center, which placed 14th with eight points.

“This meet had some of the best schools in the state competing at it,” Newton head girls track and field coach Rachelle Tipton said. “The goal tonight was to go fight and get best performances, which the team did. Five relays ran their best times of the season and nine individuals had personal-best performances.”

Waukee Northwest won the meet title with 142 points. Johnston (90), Dowling Catholic (73), Ames (66.5) and Ankeny (64.5) completed the top five.

West Des Moines Valley (61), Waukee (49), Ankeny Centennial (40), Urbandale (37), Des Moines Roosevelt (33) and Mason City (11) finalized the field.

Newton’s shuttle hurdle relay team placed third with a season-best time of 1 minute, 7.4 seconds. The foursome of Camryn Klein, Macy Lampe, Mack Sims and Tori White improved upon their second-fastest time in 3A. It also ranks 12th overall, and the top 16 teams advance to the Drake Relays.

Clarke was second in the 200 in 26.26 seconds and third in the 100 in 12.95.

Tori White finished fifth in the high jump with a leap of 5 feet, 0 inches. She also took sixth in the 100 hurdles in 16.11.

The Cardinals’ sprint medley relay team of Lampe, Klein, Lola Rivera and Clarke finished fifth in a season-best 1 minute, 53.77 seconds, which is top 20 in 3A.

“There was a decent headwind on the straightaway early on that was tough for the sprinters so it was all about competing there,” Tipton said. “It’s fun to go out and win meets and events, but it’s also fun to put yourself to the test with the best. We continue to see what we need to train next week and start prepping for the second half of the season.”