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DES MOINES — The 2026 Iowa high school track and field state championships concluded on May 23, and it was a successful three days for Ames-area schools at Drake Stadium.
Ames-area competitors did combine for 13 medals, including one gold medal, and they totaled 52 top-eight performances from May 21-23.
The Ames girls and Gilbert boys placed fourth in the team standings in their respective classes. The Little Cyclone girls scored 48 points in 4A, and the Tiger boys ended up with 49 points in 3A.
"Incredible," said Ames coach Erica Lynn-Douglas. "We've risen to the moment and had our best performances when it's mattered most."
The Ames girls totaled six medals and 12 top-eight finishes.
Sophia Hatcher took second in the 4A girls long jump with a school-record jump of 18 feet, 11.5 inches. She also placed third in the 100-meter hurdles with a PR time of 14.17 seconds.
Ayak Akol, Elodie Biggs, Angelica Attinger and Emma Stanley each earned one bronze medal apiece. Akol and Biggs tied for third in the high jump with a 5-4 effort; Attinger ran a season-best 1:01.89 to earn bronze in the 400 hurdles and Stanley placed third in the 3,000 with a 9:48.39 showing.
More: Ames girls seniors have tearful final sendoff at Iowa state track meet
Stanley also placed seventh in the 1,500 after running a 4:36.29.
In relay competition, the Ames girls placed fifth in both the shuttle hurdle and 4x800 relays.
Attinger, Elia Varghese, Van Cleave and Hatcher ran the shuttle hurdle finals in 1:03.22 and Leah Kincaid, Van Cleave, Naya Nakama and Stanley combined to run a 9:18.34 in the 4x800.
The Little Cyclone girls distance medley team of Alaina Johnson, Edyn Cowles, Natalya Deardorff placed seventh in 4:08.09 and Stanley and 4x400 team of Attinger, Hatcher, Deardorff and Van Cleave came in eighth at 3:57.31.
The Ames boys tied for 24th in 4A with nine points.
"Most qualifiers we've had since I've been coaching," Lynn-Douglas said. "Our goal was to get on the scoreboard, and we finished every event higher than we qualified."
Brandon Johnson had the highlight performance for the Little Cyclone boys when finished third in the 4A boys shot put with a toss of 57-8.25.
The Ames boys 4x400 team of Drew Vander Wilt, Peyton Johnson, T.J. Douglas and Hezekiah Johnson also scored points. The Little Cyclone quartet came in sixth with a time of 3:21.79.
Vander Wilt just missed placing in the open 400 after he took ninth in the prelims at 49.42.
The Gilbert boys performed well even without top sprinter Tanner Twedt, who missed the meet with a hamstring injury. That was thanks in large part to an exceptional showing by the Tiger distance runners.
The Tiger boys 4x800 team of Emrick Ryan, Preston Stensland, Carson Squiers and Logan Bleich briefly set a 3A state record in the opening section before it was broken in the second section by Pella. The Tigers ended up second in 7:47.21, with Pella running a winning time of 7:45.53.
More: Gilbert boys 4x800, Ames' Emma Stanley shine at Iowa state track meet
Bleich also placed third in both the 3A boys 3,200 and 1,600 and fourth in the 800 with respective times of 9:10.98, 4:14.05 and 1:53.09. Jacob Tallman took fourth in the 3,200 with a 9:16.54 showing and Squiers placed fifth in the 1,600 and seventh in the 800 with respective times of 4:15.97 and 1:55.57.
Gabe Fierce, Ethan Rash, Preston Stensland and Squiers joined forces to earn Gilbert a fifth-place finish in the distance medley relay with a time of 3:31.46.
In sprinting events, even without Twedt the Tiger boys placed fifth in the 4x200 and eighth in the 4x100.
Aidan Rash, Ean Eldred, Fierce and Paul Marpe ran the 4x200 in 1:27.73. Rash, Marpe, Fierce and Reggie Chittenden finished the 4x100 in 43.23.
Aidan Rash, Cael O'Brien, Chittenden and Aidan's twin brother Ethan took sixth in the 3A boys shuttle hurdle after running a 59.32. Rash finished eighth in the 110 high hurdles with a time of 15.04.
The Gilbert girls totaled 13 points in placing 17th in 3A.
Freshman Aubrey Johnson was a standout performer for the Gilbert girls.
Johnson placed second in the 3A girls long jump with a distance of 18-1.25, and she placed fourth in the 100 hurdles with a 14.86 showing.
The Gilbert girls 4x100 team just missed the finals after Kayla Rash, Keaton Hanson, Madeline Olswing and Johnson took ninth in the prelims with a time of 48.99.
The Ballard boys earned one medal and tallied two more top-eight performances in 3A.
The Bomber boys shuttle hurdle team of Chase Ihle, Aidan Wilson, Curtis Hinzman and Stetson Kane earned a bronze medal with season-best a time of 58.48. Tate Leland, Axton Campbell, Graden Hermann and Jace Ortner took eighth in the 4x400 with a 3:22.08 effort.
Ortner also placed eighth individually in the open 400 with a 49.63 showing.
The Ballard boys tied for 22nd as a team in 3A with eight points.
The Ballard girls competed in eight events. The Bombers' top showing was 14th place in the 3A 100 hurdles, 4x800 and 4x400 prelims.
Makiya Culbertson ran a 15.83 in the 100 hurdles; Raya Miller, Brooklyn Shoen Kya Hermann and Avilee Miller clocked in at 9:49.52 in the 4x800 and Kaitlyn Dunn, Alea Kinzenbaw, Honor Jorgensen and Shoen clocked in at 4:04.57 in the 4x400.
The Nevada boys ran in two 3A events. The Cub distance medley team of Peter Ludwig, Simon Mills, Bourne Hanson and Caleb Biensen and the 4x800 team of Henry Little, Gavin Egeland, John Nelson and Dawson Lemke both placed 21st with respective times of 3:40.96 and 8:18.14.
The Roland-Story girls earned the lone gold medal from the Ames area.
The Norse girls shuttle hurdle team of Taylor Rechkemmer, Maddi Lucas, Brookelyn Jondle and Selah Helgeson followed up last year's runner-up effort by winning the 2026 2A title with a time of 1:05.88.
More: Roland-Story girls win shuttle hurdle relay title at Iowa state track
The Roland-Story boys placed in the top eight on five occasions.
Jayden Strum took fifth in the 2A boys 110 high hurdles with a time of 14.67, which was an impressive drop off his prelim time of 15.08. The Norse boys 4x100 team of Brody Kilstofte, Cooper Triggs, Cody Long and Tristen Crabbs also finished fifth with a time of 43.37.
Crabbs added a seventh-place finish in the 200 after crossing the finish line in 22.11. Brayden Byersdorfer was seventh in the 100 para wheelchair event with a time of 44.11.
Crabbs and Long both just missed the top eight in individual events. Crabbs was ninth in the 100 (11.18) and Long ninth in the long jump (20-8.5).
As a team, the Roland-Story boys tied for 21st in 2A with 10 points and the Norse girls also scored 10 points in tying for 25th.
Colo-NESCO recorded four top-eight finishes in 1A.
Elizabeth Erickson finished fourth in the girls 1,500, sixth in the 3,000 and the 800. She ran a 4:49.60 in the 1,500, 10:15.20 in the 3,000 and 2:16.66 in the 800.
Jack Angell provided the Royal boys with a seventh-place finish in the 1A boys 400 hurdles. He completed the race in 55.17.
Collins-Maxwell competed in six events.
Jayden Peters ran in the girls 800, 1,500 and 3,000, and her best effort was 15th in the 3,000 with a time of 11:02.99. Reed Oswalt ran in the 1A boys open 100 and 400, and his top effort was 19th in the 100 prelims at 11.61.
Malcom Toonstra placed 24th in the 1A boys 3,200 after crossing the finish line in 10:42.84.
Joe Randleman covers high school sports for the Ames Tribune. Contact him at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter at @JoeRandleman
This article originally appeared on Ames Tribune: Ames area schools bring home 13 medals at state track and field meet
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Ames-area competitors did combine for 13 medals, including one gold medal, and they totaled 52 top-eight performances from May 21-23.
The Ames girls and Gilbert boys placed fourth in the team standings in their respective classes. The Little Cyclone girls scored 48 points in 4A, and the Tiger boys ended up with 49 points in 3A.
"Incredible," said Ames coach Erica Lynn-Douglas. "We've risen to the moment and had our best performances when it's mattered most."
The Ames girls totaled six medals and 12 top-eight finishes.
Sophia Hatcher took second in the 4A girls long jump with a school-record jump of 18 feet, 11.5 inches. She also placed third in the 100-meter hurdles with a PR time of 14.17 seconds.
Ayak Akol, Elodie Biggs, Angelica Attinger and Emma Stanley each earned one bronze medal apiece. Akol and Biggs tied for third in the high jump with a 5-4 effort; Attinger ran a season-best 1:01.89 to earn bronze in the 400 hurdles and Stanley placed third in the 3,000 with a 9:48.39 showing.
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More: Ames girls seniors have tearful final sendoff at Iowa state track meet
Stanley also placed seventh in the 1,500 after running a 4:36.29.
In relay competition, the Ames girls placed fifth in both the shuttle hurdle and 4x800 relays.
Attinger, Elia Varghese, Van Cleave and Hatcher ran the shuttle hurdle finals in 1:03.22 and Leah Kincaid, Van Cleave, Naya Nakama and Stanley combined to run a 9:18.34 in the 4x800.
The Little Cyclone girls distance medley team of Alaina Johnson, Edyn Cowles, Natalya Deardorff placed seventh in 4:08.09 and Stanley and 4x400 team of Attinger, Hatcher, Deardorff and Van Cleave came in eighth at 3:57.31.
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The Ames boys tied for 24th in 4A with nine points.
"Most qualifiers we've had since I've been coaching," Lynn-Douglas said. "Our goal was to get on the scoreboard, and we finished every event higher than we qualified."
Brandon Johnson had the highlight performance for the Little Cyclone boys when finished third in the 4A boys shot put with a toss of 57-8.25.
The Ames boys 4x400 team of Drew Vander Wilt, Peyton Johnson, T.J. Douglas and Hezekiah Johnson also scored points. The Little Cyclone quartet came in sixth with a time of 3:21.79.
Vander Wilt just missed placing in the open 400 after he took ninth in the prelims at 49.42.
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Gilbert boys place in 12 events
The Gilbert boys performed well even without top sprinter Tanner Twedt, who missed the meet with a hamstring injury. That was thanks in large part to an exceptional showing by the Tiger distance runners.
The Tiger boys 4x800 team of Emrick Ryan, Preston Stensland, Carson Squiers and Logan Bleich briefly set a 3A state record in the opening section before it was broken in the second section by Pella. The Tigers ended up second in 7:47.21, with Pella running a winning time of 7:45.53.
More: Gilbert boys 4x800, Ames' Emma Stanley shine at Iowa state track meet
Bleich also placed third in both the 3A boys 3,200 and 1,600 and fourth in the 800 with respective times of 9:10.98, 4:14.05 and 1:53.09. Jacob Tallman took fourth in the 3,200 with a 9:16.54 showing and Squiers placed fifth in the 1,600 and seventh in the 800 with respective times of 4:15.97 and 1:55.57.
Gabe Fierce, Ethan Rash, Preston Stensland and Squiers joined forces to earn Gilbert a fifth-place finish in the distance medley relay with a time of 3:31.46.
In sprinting events, even without Twedt the Tiger boys placed fifth in the 4x200 and eighth in the 4x100.
Aidan Rash, Ean Eldred, Fierce and Paul Marpe ran the 4x200 in 1:27.73. Rash, Marpe, Fierce and Reggie Chittenden finished the 4x100 in 43.23.
Aidan Rash, Cael O'Brien, Chittenden and Aidan's twin brother Ethan took sixth in the 3A boys shuttle hurdle after running a 59.32. Rash finished eighth in the 110 high hurdles with a time of 15.04.
The Gilbert girls totaled 13 points in placing 17th in 3A.
Freshman Aubrey Johnson was a standout performer for the Gilbert girls.
Johnson placed second in the 3A girls long jump with a distance of 18-1.25, and she placed fourth in the 100 hurdles with a 14.86 showing.
The Gilbert girls 4x100 team just missed the finals after Kayla Rash, Keaton Hanson, Madeline Olswing and Johnson took ninth in the prelims with a time of 48.99.
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Ballard boys place in the 3A top eight three times
The Ballard boys earned one medal and tallied two more top-eight performances in 3A.
The Bomber boys shuttle hurdle team of Chase Ihle, Aidan Wilson, Curtis Hinzman and Stetson Kane earned a bronze medal with season-best a time of 58.48. Tate Leland, Axton Campbell, Graden Hermann and Jace Ortner took eighth in the 4x400 with a 3:22.08 effort.
Ortner also placed eighth individually in the open 400 with a 49.63 showing.
The Ballard boys tied for 22nd as a team in 3A with eight points.
The Ballard girls competed in eight events. The Bombers' top showing was 14th place in the 3A 100 hurdles, 4x800 and 4x400 prelims.
Makiya Culbertson ran a 15.83 in the 100 hurdles; Raya Miller, Brooklyn Shoen Kya Hermann and Avilee Miller clocked in at 9:49.52 in the 4x800 and Kaitlyn Dunn, Alea Kinzenbaw, Honor Jorgensen and Shoen clocked in at 4:04.57 in the 4x400.
The Nevada boys ran in two 3A events. The Cub distance medley team of Peter Ludwig, Simon Mills, Bourne Hanson and Caleb Biensen and the 4x800 team of Henry Little, Gavin Egeland, John Nelson and Dawson Lemke both placed 21st with respective times of 3:40.96 and 8:18.14.
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Roland-Story girls claim gold
The Roland-Story girls earned the lone gold medal from the Ames area.
The Norse girls shuttle hurdle team of Taylor Rechkemmer, Maddi Lucas, Brookelyn Jondle and Selah Helgeson followed up last year's runner-up effort by winning the 2026 2A title with a time of 1:05.88.
More: Roland-Story girls win shuttle hurdle relay title at Iowa state track
The Roland-Story boys placed in the top eight on five occasions.
Jayden Strum took fifth in the 2A boys 110 high hurdles with a time of 14.67, which was an impressive drop off his prelim time of 15.08. The Norse boys 4x100 team of Brody Kilstofte, Cooper Triggs, Cody Long and Tristen Crabbs also finished fifth with a time of 43.37.
Crabbs added a seventh-place finish in the 200 after crossing the finish line in 22.11. Brayden Byersdorfer was seventh in the 100 para wheelchair event with a time of 44.11.
Crabbs and Long both just missed the top eight in individual events. Crabbs was ninth in the 100 (11.18) and Long ninth in the long jump (20-8.5).
As a team, the Roland-Story boys tied for 21st in 2A with 10 points and the Norse girls also scored 10 points in tying for 25th.
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Colo-NESCO's Elizabeth Erickson places in three events
Colo-NESCO recorded four top-eight finishes in 1A.
Elizabeth Erickson finished fourth in the girls 1,500, sixth in the 3,000 and the 800. She ran a 4:49.60 in the 1,500, 10:15.20 in the 3,000 and 2:16.66 in the 800.
Jack Angell provided the Royal boys with a seventh-place finish in the 1A boys 400 hurdles. He completed the race in 55.17.
Collins-Maxwell competed in six events.
Jayden Peters ran in the girls 800, 1,500 and 3,000, and her best effort was 15th in the 3,000 with a time of 11:02.99. Reed Oswalt ran in the 1A boys open 100 and 400, and his top effort was 19th in the 100 prelims at 11.61.
Malcom Toonstra placed 24th in the 1A boys 3,200 after crossing the finish line in 10:42.84.
Joe Randleman covers high school sports for the Ames Tribune. Contact him at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter at @JoeRandleman
This article originally appeared on Ames Tribune: Ames area schools bring home 13 medals at state track and field meet
Continue reading...
