DES MOINES — The IAHSAA and IGHSAU released the at-large advancers to the upcoming state track meet, with the news almost — but not quite — positive for the Perry, Panorama and Woodward-Granger thinclads.
Perry had hoped four relays might earn at-large bids and had three of those wishes granted, while the Panorama boys had a second discus thrower advance while narrowly missing out in two hurdle races. W-G did not have any boys events qualify.
The Perry girls were, as expected, out of contention for at-large bids, while Panorama’s 4×100 relay missed a slot by .35 seconds, the same margin by which freshman Payton Douglass missed a 400 spot after placing third Thursday in Panora.
The news was much better for W-G’s Emma Drake, who finished third in the 800 in 2 minutes, 26.48 seconds, an effort that secured the Hawk freshman the 11-seed at state.
Perry’s 3A Region 1 Qualifying Meet was, the numbers prove, far and away the most difficult in the class. The format, for both 3A and 2A (Panorama and W-G are 2A), granted automatic bids to the winner and runner-up of each event, with the eight next-best statewide earning at-large spots.
A perfect example of the talent-depth in Denison was the boys 400, where Bluejay junior Reece Dunlap placed fourth, in 50.4 seconds, with senior Adan Medina fifth, in 50.95. Those times, however, were the sixth and seventh fastest in 3A, as they easily advanced. The Denison meet’s top seven runners in the 400 moved on, seizing five of the eight at-large bids in the event.
Perry was fourth, in 3 minutes, 24.93 seconds, in the 4×400. Sergeant Bluff-Luton was first in 3:22.89, with Glenwood (3:24.35) second and Atlantic (3:24.91) third, with the top four separated by just 2.04 ticks. Those four clockings were 1-2-3-4 in the state in 3A and will be seeded accordingly at Drake Stadium.
Dunlap, Medina, Brandon Kenyon and Rashon Ivory ran the 4×400, with Alexis Garrido and Kaleb Olejniczak serving as possible reserves.
Also moving on is the 4×800 (8:24.87) team of Kenyon, Ivory, Olejniczak and Zachary Thompson, who will be the 12th seed, while Kenyon, Dunlap, Medina and Mana Martinez are the 17-seed in the sprint medley (1:37.28), with Zach Stewart and Nic Fellom alternates.
The Bluejay distance medley unit of Martinez, Fellom, Garrido and Thompson were third in 3:50.85, a time which would have been earned the final spot, but Perry was bumped from the state meet because final qualifier Gilbert, who ran a 3:53.69, was second in their qualifier and thus was assured a spot, even though they were the slower of the two.
Dunlap had already sealed a spot as the third-seed in the 200 (22.56) and Kenyon a slot at the 10-seed in the 800 (2:03.08).
The Jayette distance medley of Rachel Kinney, Breanna Penenger, Haley Vaughn and Sid Vancil were second, in 4:27.5, and will be seeded 23rd at state, with Grace Stewart seeded 22nd in the 3000 (11:45.6). Joselyn Carrillo will be on stand-by as a relay alternate for Perry.
Douglass may have missed a spot in the 400 for Panorama but will still be on the blue oval, as she will join Maggie Woodvine, Maddie Knapp and Morgan Johnk for the shuttle hurdle, rated 13th at 1:10.02.
Devyn Kemble is the seven-seed in the 800 (2:23.12) and 14-seed in the 400 (1:01.29), with Johnk seventh (16.01) in the 100 hurdles.
Johnk, Kemble, Brianna Hoffman and Bailey Beckman was seeded 13th (4:13.17) in the 4×400, with Hoffman, Brooklyn Behrends, Emily Smith and Lydia Lindstrom the 21st-seed in the 4×800 (10:28.88) while Beckman, Kemble, Brooke Halterman and Carson Fisher will be the 15-seed in the sprint medley (1:53.57). Kassidy Bremer, Lydia Knapp, Abigail Brown and Taylor Rishel will serve as relay alternates.
Johnk won the high jump at 5 feet, 4 inches and is seeded second, one inch behind Cori DeJong of Western Christian, whose 5’5 (a height Johnk has cleared this season) led the state.
Beckman will be seeded seventh in the long jump at 16’8-1/4, with the lead distance of 17’5-1/2 within her proven range.
Also competing for the Panther girls will be Lydia Knapp, who enters state seeded fifth in the shot put with a heave of 123’9.
Spencer Hunt sped to second place in the 200 (23.83) and 400 (52.08) for the Panorama boys, earning a 24 and 16-seed, respectively.
The discus will feature both Panther throwers, with Matthew Webner the seventh-seed at 163 feet and Dan Jensen the 14-seed at 150’11.
W-G will have two events compete at state, led by the 11th seed in the 800, freshman Emma Drake, who crossed third in Panora Thursday in 2:26.48.
Drake will run with Kaitlyn Peters, Anna Tague and Natalie Helbling in the 4×800. The foursome was second Thursday in 10:35.41 will be seeded 23rd on the blue oval.
Class 2A and 3A compete together at the state meet and will begin action both Thursday and Friday at 2:40 p.m. Some events listed above will run Saturday morning, with those advancing for races with preliminary heats competing Saturday afternoon.
ThePerryNews.com will publish complete time/heat/lane assignments when they are released by state officials.
