Kennedy Girls Track

Kennedy girls qualify for state in 13 events

Washington senior Brooke Foreman can expect stiff competition next week when she seeks to defend her Class 4A state title in the 400 meter hurdles.

The same holds true for Cedar Rapids Jefferson as the J-Hawks try to claim back-to-back state titles in the 4x200 relay.

Foreman is seeded fourth in the 400 hurdles behind Anne Leners of Pleasant Valley, Sarah Plock of Iowa City High and Jenny Roberts of Ankeny. Leners nipped Foreman for the 400 hurdles title at the Drake Relays and Plock has successfully challenged Foreman in the Mississippi Valley Conference this year despite being a freshman.

Jefferson has its entire 4x200 relay team back from last year's championship performance, but the J-Hawks are seeded only seventh for the state meet, a full 2.5 seconds behind top-ranked Davenport Central. Maliya Rattliffe, Summer Carber, Taylor Jacobson and Rachel Broghammer won the 4x200 last spring, but freshman Lucy Schneekloth has entered the picture as well this year.

The Kennedy Cougars have qualified in 13 events for the Class 4A state meet, the most qualifiers for any Metro team. The Linn-Mar Lions have qualified in 11 events.

CLASS 4A STATE QUALIFIERS

KENNEDY (13 events): Kathia Wampole (800), Megan Terukina (800), Allison Culver (1500, 3200), Alyssa Averhoff (1500, 3000), Marisa Estelle (100 hurdles), Kelsie Coates (400 hurdles), McKenzie Drahn (long jump), Ashlyn Milbrath (discus), shuttle hurdle relay, 4x200 relay, 4x400 relay, 4x800 relay, sprint medley, distance medley.

LINN-MAR (11 events): Courtney Major (200), Halley Morgan (200), Rachel Perry (400), Brooklyn Kascel (3000), Ashley Jones (100 hurdles), Sara Strauel (high jump), Lannie Nietert (shot put), shuttle hurdle relay, 4x400, 4x800, sprint medley, distance medley.

WASHINGTON (8 events): Shannon Gorman (1500, 3000), Brooke Foreman (100 hurdles, 400 hurdles), Callie Stone (long jump), Jazz Royster (shot put), 4x100, distance medley.

XAVIER (8 events): Molly Breitbach (100), Alex Bartz (high jump), 4x100, 4x200, 4x400, 4x800, sprint medley, distance medley.

PRAIRIE (8 events): Alison Speltz (100), Leslie Harder (high jump), Natalie Rumer (shot put), Rachel Griffin (shot put), shuttle hurdle relay, 4x100, 4x200, 4x400.

JEFFERSON (7 events): Maliya Rattliffe (100), Lucy Schneekloth (100), Summer Carber (100 hurdles), Madison Ranschau (100 hurdles), Emma Edelen (discus), shuttle hurdle relay, 4x100, 4x200, sprint medley.

CLASS 3A STATE QUALIFIERS

MARION (8 events): Sam Livingston (400), Allison Scott (800), Morgan Kolarik (100 hurdles), Micaela Combs (discus), 4x200, 4x800, sprint medley, distance medley.

Kennedy a strong 3rd at MVC meet

The race of the meet came down to the wire between the old guard and the new among elite Eastern Iowa female hurdlers.

And on this night, anyway, freshman phenom Sarah Plock of Iowa City High edged senior Brooke Foreman of Cedar Rapids Washington by an eyelash Friday in the 400 meter hurdles in the Mississippi Valley Conference division meet at Linn-Mar.

Foreman hates to lose, and it’s not often that she does.

“But,” she said after the showdown with Plock, “I really don’t mind getting beat by somebody that good. She’s way ahead of what I was as a freshman.”

It’s the third time the pair has squared off this season. The Little Hawk rookie won the first time out. Foreman, the defending Class 4A state champion, avenged the loss to Plock in a still disappointing second-place finish to Pleasant Valley’s Ann Leners last week at the Drake Relays.

Foreman led comfortably through the last hurdle in their grudge match, but a last-gasp surge gave Plock the victory in 1:04.49, just .04 ahead of Foreman and far removed from the rest of the pack.

The Washington senior, who will run next year at Drake University, ran in five events last weekend in Des Moines and three more events Tuesday at Prairie.

“My legs felt a little tired tonight,” she said. “I told Sarah before the race, 'Let’s not kill ourselves.'” Plock responded by running her fastest time of the year.

“Her kick was great,” said Foreman. “She definitely got me with that burst at the end. I get my speed from attacking the hurdles. My weakness has been that last 50 meters when I don’t have a hurdle in front of me.”

She and her new nemesis will compete in different regionals next week but are bound to meet again at state. “It’s nice to have someone pushing me,” Foreman said.

The hurdles victory was one of six for the City High girls Friday that propelled them to the team title with 156 points in a seven-team MVC Mississippi Division field. Dubuque Wahlert was runnerup with 120.

Despite no first-place finishes, a deep Kennedy squad came in third with 113, followed by Linn-Mar (67), Washington (61), Dubuque Senior (51) and Waterloo West (21).

Though she lost the long-distance hurdles, Foreman did take some consolation by setting a meet record Friday in the 100 meter hurdles with a time of 15.41. “That was a very good race,” she said. “But the City High girl (Caitlin Ward) almost caught me at the finish.”

Ward was a close second at 15.72.

Washington sophomore Shannon Gorman picked up a pair of firsts, easily winning both the 1500 and 3000 meter runs. She won the longer of the two races by 15 seconds over Alyssa Averhoff of Kennedy.

“It was really hot the first race, and I wasn’t used to it with the cool spring we’ve had,” Gorman said. “I knew the 3000 would start out fast. So I just tried to hold back and stay close to the leaders. When I started passing people I got a surge of energy. I didn’t feel tired at all.”

Linn-Mar owned the mid-distance sprints, with Courtney Major claiming the 200 meter dash and Rachel Perry the 400. Major said she was pleased with her race. “But I still have some improving to do before state,” she said.

Perry wasn’t happy with her 58.27, despite a convincing win. “I wanted to go into the low 57's,” she said.

She was even more displeased that the Lions' crackerjack 4x400 relay team had to settle for third place behind Wahlert and in a photo-finish with Kennedy. “The conditions were perfect tonight,” she said. “We should have run better.”

GIRLS MVC MISSISSIPPI DIVISION MEET
At Linn-Mar

Teams -- 1. Iowa City High 156, 2. Dubuque Wahlert 120, 3. Kennedy 113, 4. Linn-Mar 67, 5. CR Washington 61, 6. Dubuque Senior 51, 7. Waterloo West 21

100 Meters
1. Nicole Kuddes (ICH) 13.48, 2. Jasmine Raue (CRK) 13.54, 3. Jasmyne Jones (CRW) 13.60, 4. Blaire Thomas (WW) 13.71, 4. Shelby Ham (LM) 13.71. 6. Ieashia Moore (WW) 13.81

200 Meters
1. Courtney Major (LM) 26.65, 2. Aarionna Craig-Dothard (CRK) 27.27, 3. Jordan Sullivan (ICH) 27.36, 4. Haley Puk (WW) 27.44, 5. Claire Crew (ICH) 27.54, 6. Halley Morgan (LM) 27.65

400 Meters
1. Rachel Perry (LM) 58.27, 2. Laura Stenzel (DW) 59.03, 3. Betsy Duehr (DW) 59.69, 4. Claire Crew (ICH) 1:01.38, 5. Jordan Sullivan (ICH) 1:01.53, 6. Taylor Vogel (CRW) 1:01.57

800 Meters
1. Tessa Leytem (DW) 2:24.46, 2. Kathia Wampole (CRK) 2:25.42, 3. Morgan Sammons (ICH) 2:28.48, 4. Lauren Meyer (CRK) 2:29.85, 5. Katie Langenfeld (ICH) 2:30.41, 6. Hannah Timmerman (DS) 2:30.42

1500 Meters
1. Shannon Gorman (CRW) 4:53.69, 2. Lauren Rusch (DW) 4:58.73, 3. Meg Richardson (ICH) 5:02.61, 4. Allison Culver (CRK) 5:03.44, 5. Alyssa Averhoff (CRK) 5:03.95, 6. Anna Herber (DW) 5:13.10

3000 Meters
1. Shannon Gorman (CRW) 10:40.86, 2. Alyssa Averhoff (CRK) 10:55.87, 3. Allison Culver (CRK) 11:01.93, 4. Harper Beasley (ICH) 11:07.57, 5. Brooklyn Kascel (LM) 11:14.82, 6. Molly Shepherd (ICH) 11:21.00

100 Hurdles
1. Brooke Foreman (CRW) 15.41 (meet record), 2. Caitlin Ward (ICH) 15.72, 3. Marisa Estelle (CRK) 16.06, 4. Allie Osterberger (DS) 16.28, 5. Ashley Jones (LM) 16.86, 6. Terra Perez (ICH) 16.87

400 Hurdles
1. Sarah Plock (ICH) 1:04.49, 2. Brooke Foreman (CRW) 1:04.53, 3. Sammie Osterberger (DS) 1:06.90, 4. Maddie Heiar (DW) 1:08.30, 5. Kelsie Coates (CRK) 1:08.65, 6. Taylor Vogel (CRW) 1:08.91

4x100 Relay
1. Iowa City High 49.83, 2. CR Washington (Foreman, Jones, Muller, Vogel) 50.48, 3. Dubuque Wahlert 50.79, 4. Kennedy (Raue, Terukina, Drahn, Estelle) 52.12, 5. Waterloo West 52.34, 6. Linn-Mar (Ham, Rizor, Jones, Einck) 52.70

4x200 Relay
1. Dubuque Senior 1:45.69, 2. Kennedy (Davis, Terukina, Raue, Craig-Dothard) 1:46.72, 3. Dubuque Wahlert 1:46.91, 4. Iowa City High 1:47.29, 5. Linn-Mar (Ham, Rizor, Renner, Robertson) 1:50.84, 6. CR Washington (Muller, Jones, Tackaberry, Marner) 1:53.69

4x400 Relay
1. Dubuque Wahlert 4:02.32, 2. Kennedy (Davis, Wampole, Raue, Craig-Dothard) 4:04.80, 3. Linn-Mar (Saville, Schminke, Major, Perry) 4:04.84, 4. Iowa City High 4:08.03, 5. Dubuque Senior 4:10.26, 6. Waterloo West 4:19.07

4x800 Relay
1. Dubuque Wahlert 9:42.33, 2. Iowa City High 9:43.66, 3. Kennedy (Terukina, Meyer, Rodman, Wampole) 9:50.28, 4. Linn-Mar (Uridil, Johnston, Miller, Sublett) 10:04.86, 5. Dubuque Senior 10:06.43, 6. CR Washington (Witt, Stuer, Stuckenschneider, Kline) 10:24.95

Sprint Medley
1. Dubuque Wahlert 1:52.05, 2. Dubuque Senior 1:53.78, 3. Linn-Mar (Morgan, Dalecky, Major, Japenga) 1:55.22, 4. Iowa City High 1:56.11, 5. Kennedy (Davis, Estelle, Drahn, Terukina) 1:56.40, 6. CR Washington (Marner, Stone, Muller, Jones) 1:57.58

Distance Medley
1. Dubuque Wahlert 4:17.85, 2. Dubuque Senior 4:22.74, 3. Linn-Mar (Morgan, Dalecky, Schminke, Japenga) 4:22.97, 4. Iowa City High 4:23.74, 5. Kennedy (Coates, Drahn, Erbes, Meyer) 4:40.28, 6. CR Washington (Marner, Tackaberry, Coutentos, Stuckenschneider) 4:53.18

Shuttle Hurdle Relay
1. Dubuque Senior 1:06.69 (meet record), 2. Kennedy (Coates, Moss, Rogers, Estelle) 1:08.50, 3. Linn-Mar (Holdgrafer, Montague, Jones, Strauel) 1:09.34, 4. Dubuque Wahlert 1:09.46, 5. Iowa City High 1:09.92, 6. CR Washington (Vogel, Stone, Burke, Foreman) 1:11.78

High Jump
1. Abby Saehler (ICH) 5-2, 2. Courtney Strait (CRK) 5-0, 3. Sara Strauel (LM) 4-10, 4. Marissa Moore (CRK) 4-8, 5. Annie Hartley (ICH) 4-8, 6. Meghan Payne (WW) 4-6

Long Jump
1. Kiera Washpun (CRW) 17-5.5, 2. Caitlin Ward (ICH) 16-2.25, 3. Meghan Payne (WW) 16-0.25, 3. McKenzie Drahn (CRK) 16-0.25, 5. Callie Stone (CRW) 15-11.5, 6. Elizabeth Welu (DW) 15-9.25

Shot Put
1. Aliyah Gustafson (ICH) 40-3.5, 2. Katelyn Weimerskirch (DW) 37-7, 3. Amara Lehman (ICH) 37-2, 4. Blaire Thomas (WW) 35-11, 5. Maddie Nilles (DW) 34-9.5, 6. Lannie Neitert (LM) 33-8

Discus
1. Katelyn Weimerskirch (DW) 141-8, 2. Aliyah Gustafson (ICH) 118-4, 3. Maddie Nilles (DW) 107-0, 4. Amaa Lehman (ICH) 105-8, 5. Ashlyn Milbath (CRK) 99-4.5, 6. Lannie Neitert (LM) 97-6

Athlete of the Year -- Katelyn Weimerskirch (DW)

Coach of the Year -- Tim Berning (DW)

Academic All-Conference
Kennedy -- Emily O'Brien, Courtney Strait
Washington -- Anna Kline, Channing Tackaberry
Dubuque Wahlert -- Tessa Leytem, Rachel Olk
Dubuque Senior -- Katie Evans, Jacqueline Piper
Iowa City High -- Harper Beasley, Katie Langenfeld, Elizabeth Larsen
Linn-Mar -- Madison Esker, Meghan Holdgrafer
Waterloo West -- Alix Risse, Haley Waschkat

Kennedy, Prairie run 1-2 at Burlington

BURLINGTON - The Cedar Rapids Kennedy girls track won six events Friday and claimed top honors at the Burlington Relays.

The Prairie Hawks won four events and finished a tight second in the team standings behind the Cougars.

Alyssa Averhoff (800), Allison Culver (1500) and Marisa Estelle (100 hurdles) won individual events for Kennedy. The Cougars also captured the 4x200 relay, 4x400 relay and 4x800 relay.

Rachel Griffin (shot put), Leslie Harder (high jump) and Beth Heims (3000) claimed individual titles for Prairie. The Hawks also won the shuttle hurdle relay.

Kennedy won the team championship with 146 points. Prairie was second with 139.

BURLINGTON RELAYS

Team Standings

1. Kennedy 146, 2. Prairie 139, 3. Davenport Central 76, 4. Davenport North 73, 5. Davenport West 62, 6. Burlington 42, 7. Keokuk 41.

Winners

Shot put - Rachel Griffith, Prairie, 37-4.
Discus - Brianna Nash, Davenport Central, 113-10.
Long jump - Kelsi Conner, Burlington, 15-9.
High jump - Leslie Harder, Prairie, 5-0.
100 - Tamika Tucker, Davenport North, 12.98.
200 - Tamika Tucker, Davenport North, 26.55.
400 - Alisha Jones, Davenport North, 1:01.61.
800 - Alyssa Averhoff, Kennedy, 2:33.01.
1500 - Allison Culver, Kennedy, 5:09.36.
3000 - Beth Heims, Prairie, 11:44.11.
100 hurdles - Marisa Estelle, Kennedy, 16.22.
400 hurdles - Tadaisha Thornton, Davenport Central, 1:11.52.
4x100 relay - Davenport Central 51.81.
4x200 relay - Kennedy 1:49.59.
4x400 relay - Kenendy 4:22.87.
4x800 relay - Kennedy 10:21.47.
Sprint medley - Davenport North 1:52.69.
Distance medley - Burlington 4:33.55.
Shuttle hurdle relay - Prairie 1:12.83.

Kennedy Placewinners
(Top 3)

1st - Alyssa Averhoff, 800, 2:33.01.
1st - Allison Culver, 1500, 5:09.36.
1st - Marisa Estelle, 100 hurdles, 16.22.
1st - 4x200 relay (Jasmine Raue, Megan Terukina, Arrionna Craig-Dothard, Capria Davis) 1:49.59.
1st - 4x400 relay (McKenzie Drahn, Kelsie Coates, Lauren Meyer, Kathia Wampole) 4:22.87.
1st - 4x800 relay (Allison Culver, Alyssa Averhoff, Megan Terukina, Lauren Meyer) 1-:21.47.
2nd - Alyssa Averhoff, 1500, 5:10.48.
2nd - Sarah Manders, 3000, 12:04.68.
2nd - Emma Moss, 400 hurdles, 1:11.79.
2nd - Sprint medley.
2nd - Distance medley 4:35.15.
3rd - McKenzie Drahn, long jump, 15-2.
3rd - Lauren Meyer, 800, 2:35.71.
3rd - Carolyn Stone, 3000, 12:16.40.
3rd - 4x100 relay 52.97.

Prairie Placewinners
(Top 3)

1st - Rachel Griffin, shot put 37-4.
1st - Leslie Harder, high jump, 5-0.
1st - Beth Heims, 3000, 11:44.11.
1st - Shuttle hurdle relay 1:12.83.
2nd - Alex Malloy, discus, 104-11.
2nd - 4x100 relay 52.11.
2nd - 4x800 relay 10:48.44.
3rd - Natalie Rumer, shot put, 34-6.
3rd - Rachel Griffin, discus, 98-10.
3rd - Alison Speltz, 100, 13.25.
3rd - Hannah Kousheh, 200, 27.73.
3rd - Katie VanDooren, 400 hurdles, 1:12.25.
3rd - 4x200 relay 1:53.28.
3rd - Distance medley 4:45.15.

Linn-Mar girls sparkle in 4x400 relay

The best was saved for last at the Linn-Mar Relays Tuesday night.

All seven teams in the 4x400 relay came in thinking they had a legitimate shot to crack the 4:08 mark seen as fast enough to qualify for next week’s Drake Relays in Des Moines.

The cut-off date is Thursday, so this was their last chance.

“It will be the race of the night,” longtime Linn-Mar assistant coach Max Huffman said beforehand. “The competition will bring out their best.”

It certainly worked out that way for the Linn-Mar quartet of sophomores Kennedy Japenga, Audra Schminke, Rachel Perry and freshman Maddie Saville. They took more than eight seconds off their top time and won a close four-team finish in 4:01 in the final race on the program.

“We loaded up for this one tonight with strongest runners,” said head coach Craig Pilcher. “We wanted to make Drake.”

Dubuque Senior and Kennedy came in right on their tail. And even fourth-place Washington with a replacement runner exceeded its previous best by 12 seconds with a 4:06 clocking.

It was only the second time this year that the four Linn-Mar girls had run together.

“We knew what we had to do,” said Japenga. “So we just went out and did it. It feels great.”

For Perry, it was her second victory of the night. She earlier took almost two seconds off her best time by claiming the 400 meter dash in 58.97. Huffman said her time puts her among the elite Class 4A mid-distance sprinters in the state.

Washington’s fourth-place finish in the 4x400 kept star senior speedster Brooke Foreman from winning her fourth race of the night. She previously breezed to easy wins in the 100 meter hurdles and 400 meter hurdles and ran the opening leg of the Warriors’ sizzling victory in the 4x100 meter relay.

“I was really focused tonight,” Foreman said. “This was the best weather we’ve had this year, and I came out strong. We really want to gear up for Drake.”

Freshman Crystal “I Got Power” Watts was plugged onto the 4x400 for Washington when Jasmyne Jones re-injured her leg in an earlier race. Completing the team were Taylor Vogel and Shannon Gorman.

Gorman began the meet by out-dueling Kennedy sophomores Alyssa Averhoff and Allison Culver in the 3000 meter run. Her time of 10:33 was more than 20 seconds faster than the Kennedy duo and 13 seconds off her personal best.

Kennedy’s Kathia Wampole turned in an impressive performance with two wins and a close second. She took the 1500 run in 5:06, anchored the winning 4x800 (with Megan Terukina, Jessica Rodman and Lauren Meyer) in 9:47 and was nudged by Xavier freshman Kayla Torson in the 800 meter run.

The 800 was a wire-to-wire sprint with Torson posting a 2:20.33 to Wampole’s 2:20.46.

“It was a back and forth race,” Wampole said. “We pushed each other all the way. She had a little more at the end. But then she’s got some wheels.”

Linn-Mar won the team title with 139 points. Kennedy was second with 128, Washington fifth with 88, Marion seventh with 58 and Xavier eighth with 54.5.

LINN-MAR RELAYS

Teams
1. Linn-Mar 139, 2. Kennedy 128, 3. Davenport Central 108, 4. Dubuque Senior 89.5, 5. CR Washington 88, 6. Davenport West 67, 7. Marion 58, 8. Xavier 54.5

Long jump
1. Shalanne Thomas (DC) 17-7 1/4, 2. Allanah McCorkle (DC) 17-3 3/4, 3. Callie Stone (CRW) 16-4 3/4

Shot put
1. Brianna Nash (DC) 35-3 1/2, 2. Lannie Nietert (LM) 33-8, 3. Jazz Royster (CRW) 31-9

Discus
1. Nash (DC) 102-9 1/2, 2. Nietert (LM) 96-5, 3. Sam Ross (Mar) 92-10

High jump
1. Sara staruel (LM) 5-0, 2. (tie) Kelarey Nathan (DC), Alex Bartz (CRX) 4-10

3000
1. Shannon Gorman (CRW) 10:33.96, 2. Alyssa Averhoff (CRK) 10:55.07, 3. Allison Culver (CRK) 10:59.12

3200 relay
1. Kennedy (Terukina, Rodman, Meyer, Wampole) 9:47.82, 2. Dubuque Senior 10:04.75, 3. Linn-Mar 10:20.94

Shuttle hurdle relay
1. Dubuque Senior 1:08.02, 2. Linn-Mar 1:08.31, 3. Davenport West 1:17.85

100
1. McCorkle (DC) 12.95, 2. Kadejah Sanders (CRW) 13.23, 3. Hannah Rochford (CRX) 13.35

Distance medley relay
1. Marion (A.Kolarik, Draeger, M.Kolarik, Scott) 4:23.98, 2. Linn-Mar 4:25.77, 3. Davenport West 4:36.33

400
1. Rachel Perry (LM) 58.97, 2. Kendra Conforti (DS) 1:03.80, 3. Sam Livingston (Mar) 1:04.09

4x200 relay
1. Dubuque Senior 1:47.19, 2. Davenport Central 1:47.70, 3. Davenport West 1:49.79

100 hurdles
1. Brooke Foreman (CRW) 15.40, 2. Sammie Osterberger (DS) 16.16, 3. Tanner Werthman (DW) 16.43

800
1. Kayla Torson (CRX) 2:20.33, 2. Kathia Wampole (CRK) 2:20.46, 3. Allison Scott (Mar) 2:28.58

200
1. Thomas (DC) 26.74, 2. Capria Davis (CRK) 27.09, 3. Jasmine Butler (DC) 27.10

400 hurdles
1. Foreman (CRW) 1:05.06, 2. Kelsie Coates (CRK) 1:08.64, 3. Tadajsha Thornton (DC) 1:12.56

Sprint medley relay
1. Davenport West 1:55.64, 2. Dubuque Senior 1:58.45, 3. Marion 1:59.03

1500
1. Wampole (CRK) 5:06.79, 2. Culver (CRK) 5:09.58, 3. Morgan Uridil (LM) 5:15.24

4x100 relay
1. Washington (Foreman, Jones, Muller, Sanders) 51.34, 2. Davenport Central 51.39, 3. Xavier 51.41

4x400 relay
1. Linn-Mar (Japenga, Schminke, Saville, Perry) 4:01.82, 2. Davenport West 4:03.11, 3. Kennedy 4:04.13