A Blustery Field Day in Johnston

by Coach Vanderah @MrVDowling | April 2, 2023

30+ mile per hour winds make for an interesting track and field meet, and that was surely the case in Johnston for our girls quad against Johnston, Valley, and Ankeny Centennial. Most of the team was able to compete and a lot of the athletes competed for the first time this season. Our sprints were hindered the most by the wind with it in their face on the home stretch, but we were able to capitalize on it in our distance races, our relays, and especially in our field events (see: THROWS). Here are some tidbits and highlights from the meet.

Johnston Girls Quad - Johnston High School (stats here)

On the track: A lot of action and a lot of entries means we take a look at the best in each event. In the 100 meter dash Emily Heitzman finished 2nd for varsity and Abby Eischeid finished 3rd in JV, while Molli Young set a new PR. 100 hurdles saw winners at both levels with Olivia Kramer winning varsity and Alex Gaskell winning JV. Lauren McCoy and Ashley Hall went 1-2 in the varsity 200 meter dash while Marion Boot won the JV 200. Ella Anliker set a new PR in the 400 meter dash with Elise Huegerich finishing 3rd in her first open 400, with Anna Schoessler also setting a new PR by 4 seconds. In the 400 meter hurdles, Reese Ervin and Katherine Banker (5 second PR!) went 2-3. Sadie Reinhardt finished 9th in the varsity 800, while Ava Van Ee took home the title in the JV 800. The 1500 saw some solid running with new season's best times from Sally Gaskell (3rd) and Avery Muller (6th). Last but not least, Ealizabeth Marsh set a new season's best in the 3000.

In the field: Throwers had a DAY. Big PR's in the discus, including 20+ foot PRs by Audrey Ott (102'1 -> 126'10) and Amaiya Thompson (86'0 -> 107'0) to lead the charge. The Maroons went 1-3-5 in discus with the trio of Ott, Thompson, and Kenzie Dean (PR). Not to be out done, Yalitza Lovan (PR of 34'5) won the shot put with Ott (4th) and Dean (8th) having good showings as well. The Maroons also won the JV discus (Bella Benson) and shot put (Shea Berger).

The jumps also featured some strong performances on the night. Ellie Muller won the high jump clearing 5'2, in Air Maxes! Kate Nelson finished second with a clearance of 5'0. In the long jump, Ruby Leman led the way finishing 3rd with Alex Gaskell and Ashley Hall finishing 6-7. Marren Dirks finished 4th in the JV long jump in her first ever meet doing LJ!

Relays: Dowling won a total of 5 relays on the night, including 4 of the 7 varsity events. We start, however, with the JV 4x400 where our distance crew of Liv Hall, Sally Gaskell, Molly O'Halloran, and Avery Muller stormed back from the middle of the pack to win with strong legs from Gaskell and Muller. Our reigning state-champion Shuttle Hurdle team of Olivia Kramer, Alex Gaskell, Reese Ervin, and Ruby Leman were able to win with a Drake Relays Blue Oval Standard time of 1:07.85 - props to Alex and Ruby fighting that wind! The 4x100 team of Ashley Hall, Emily Heitzman, Shea Johnson, and Olivia Kramer were able to shave 0.28 off their time from ISU and set a new season's best of 49.82. Our other relay winners were our two medleys - the 800 Sprint Medley (Emily Heitzman, Shea Johnson, Ashley Hall, and Lauren McCoy) and the 1600 Distance Medley (Alex Gaskell, Marion Boot, Maddie Nagel, and Liv Hall). 

Into the record books:

• Audrey Ott's throw of 126'10 in discus is a new junior record and 4th all-time in school history.

• Ellie Muller's high jump clearance of 5'2 is tied for 8th all-time in school history and tied for 2nd by a freshman.

• Amaiya Thompson's throw of 107'0 in discus is 4th all-time for sophomores.

• Yalitza Lovan's throw of 34'5 in shot put is 8th all-time for seniors.

• Katherine Banker's time of 1:12.82 in the 400 meter hurdles is 8th all-time for sophomores.

• Ava Van Ee's high jump clearance of 4'8 is tied for 8th all-time for sophomores.

• Reese Ervin's time of 1:12.70 in the 400 meter hurdles is 10th all-time for seniors.

• Bella Benson's throw of 82'7 in discus is 10th all-time for freshmen. 

• Abby Ziegert's high jump clearance of 4'6 is tied for 10th all-time for juniors.

Where we stand in class 4A

Here is an update on which Maroons are in the top 24 in class 4A individual events and top 10 in relays (as of 7:45 pm on Sunday April 2). 

For the latest stats check here.

100: Emily Heitzman 21st

100 Hurdles: Olivia Kramer 10th, Alex Gaskell 20th, Ruby Leman 22nd

200: Lauren McCoy 5th, Olivia Kramer 12th, Ashley Hall 19th, Emily Heitzman 24th

400: Lauren McCoy 7th,  Annie Smith 21st

800: Ella Anliker 13th

1500: Sally Gaskell 18th

3000: Liv Hall 19th

High Jump: Alex Gaskell T-5th, Ellie Muller T-5th, Kate Nelson T-9th

Long Jump: Kate Nelson 7th, Ruby Leman 9th, Ashley Hall 13th

Discus: Audrey Ott 2nd, Amaiya Thompson 12th

Shot put: Yalitza Lovan 20th

4x100: 4th (Ashley Hall, Emily Heitzman, Shea Johnson, Olivia Kramer)

4x200: 5th (Shea Johnson, Lauren McCoy, Emily Heitzman, Ashley Hall)

4x800: 8th (Ella Anliker, Elise Huegerich, Avery Muller, Sally Gaskell)

Sprint Med: 3rd (Emily Heitzman, Shea Johnson, Ashley Hall, Lauren McCoy)

Distance Med: 8th (Alex Gaskell, Marion Boot, Maddie Nagel, Liv Hall)

Shuttle: 1st (Olivia Kramer, Alex Gaskell, Reese Ervin, Ruby Leman)

Next 3 Meets:

• Northwest Girls Invite - April 3 

• Ames JV Meet - April 3

• Hawkette Invite - April 6