2023 Season in Review

by Coach Vanderah @MrVDowling | May 23, 2023

State Meet

2023 State Meet Recap 

The Maroons had a strong showing at state, finishing 3rd overall and securing their first podium finish since 2014. Olivia Kramer led the Maroons with 15 points accounted for after winning the 100 meter dash and being on the winning 4x100 and Shuttle Hurdle relays. Kramer's performance in the 100 meter gave Dowling it's first individual champion since Jessica Campbell won the 200 meter dash in 2013. Ruby Leman was close behind Olivia scoring 13.5 points - she was runner-up in the long jump, 6th place in the 100 hurdles, and anchoring the champion Shuttle Hurdle team.

Resilience was a theme to the weekend. Thursday featured a couple good results (Shuttle qualifying 1st in a SB time, Audrey Ott 5th in Discus, and Lauren McCoy 6th in the 400), but those were overshadowed with some tough results. The Maroons lost out on points in two key events (High Jump we were 9th and 12th, and in the 200 we were 9th and 11th in qualifying) and a false start in the 4x800 led to a DQ. Emily Heitzman also just missed out on the 100 meter finals after finishing 9th in qualifying by 0.05. The hope was to be around 15 points at the end of day one, and with these results the Maroons were sitting at 7 points.

Friday started the change in momentum early with both Ruby Leman and Alex Gaskell qualifying for the 100 hurdle finals. The 4x200 followed that up with a solid 4th place finish. The 400 hurdles saw Reese Ervin with a bit PR finishing 6th and coming just short of the school record, and even though she didn't score Katherine Banker's 2 second PR helped bring the energy to the team. Ruby Leman then rounded out her day finishing 2nd in the Long Jump to finish the point scoring on day 2, with 16 points on Friday for a 2-day total of 23. The 4x100 relay qualified for finals 2nd overall with a time of 48.57, and the 4x400 relay missed finals finishing 9th but dropped 3 seconds from our previous SB time.

Saturday may have been one of the top single-day showings at state track in school history (at least since the late 2000s with Betsy and Katie Flood and Ashlie Decker). The Sprint Medley opened up the day with a 5th place finish in a loaded field. The Shuttle Hurdle team defended our state title running another SB time of 1:01.34 to win. Olivia Kramer had a quick turnaround before winning the 100 with a PR of 12.12. Ruby and Alex finished their solid performances finishing 6-7 in a quick 100 hurdles final. The Maroons finished the big day as 4x100 champions, smashing their school record and becoming the 2nd 4x100 state champion in school history with a time of 48.01. Dowling brought home a whopping 39 day 3 points for a weekend total of 62. 62 points is the 6th most in school history and this is the school's 5th 3rd place finish.

For a complete state track and field history, check out the State Champions page.

Season Performances

This season saw a large number of all-time performances for the Maroons. We had:

• 4 new school records

• 21 new marks on the all-time school history board

• 2 new senior records and 14 new all-time senior marks

• 1 new junior record and 10 new all-time junior marks

• 3 new sophomore records and 16 new all-time sophomore marks

• 3 new freshman records and 10 new all-time freshman marks

Here are our new record holders!

High Jump School Record: Alex Gaskell 5'4 (tied)

Long Jump School Record: Ruby Leman 18'10

4x100 Relay School Record: Ashley Hall, Emily Heitzman, Shea Johnson, Olivia Kramer 48.01

Sprint Medley School Record: Shea Johnson, Emily Heitzman, Ashley Hall, Lauren McCoy 1:47.53

100 Hurdle Senior Record: Olivia Kramer 14.79

400 Hurdle Senior Record: Reese Ervin 1:05.95

Discus Junior Record: Audrey Ott 126'10

100 Hurdle Sophomore Record: Ruby Leman 14.89

High Jump Sophomore Record: Alex Gaskell 5'4

Long Jump Sophomore Record: Ruby Leman 18'10

100 Meter Freshman Record: Lauren McCoy 12.79

200 Meter Freshman Record: Lauren McCoy 25.50

400 Meter Freshman Record: Lauren McCoy 57.72

For a full list of top performers and performances, check out 2023 All-Time Performances 

2023 Summer Workouts and Opportunities

The work for 2024 starts now! Well, it starts soon. Here is what you need to know:

Freshman Lifting Orientation

• Thursday June 1 and Friday June 2, 7-8:30 am

IATC Outdoor Championships and Pentathlon (optional)

• Saturday June 3rd and Iowa City West

• Information can be found here 

• Let Coach Parriott know ASAP if you are interested

Speed and Agility + Weightlifting (expected)

• Starts June 5th and goes through July 20th

• Mondays and Wednesdays 6-8 am

• Fridays (lifting only) 11-Noon

  • If you are in Volleyball, I believe they have a different day/time for their 3rd lift (can lift with them)

Event Specific Workouts

Talk to your events coach to make sure you are on their contact list.

• Distance/XC: Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays at 7 am. Tuesdays and Thursdays will vary (athlete led).

• Sprints: Usually after speed and agility workouts, may vary as Coach Tom also coaches basketball

• Hurdles: Usually once a week after a speed and agility workout

• Jumps: High Jump  on Tuesdays 9-10 am, Long Jump on Thursdays 9-10 am.

• Throws: Will vary - Coach Greiner also coaches basketball

AAU Regional Qualifier

• June 29-July 2 at Williams Stadium (Des Moines)

• Meet Information 

• Those who finish in the top 6 in each event qualify for the AAU Junior Olympic Games, which will be held at Drake Stadium July 26-August 5.