Maroon Start the Season Strong

by Coach Vanderah @MrVDowling | March 12, 2023

The Dowling Catholic girls track and field team had a solid start to the season with well-rounded showings at both the A.D. Dickinson Relays and the IATC Indoor Championships. The Maroons secured a number of top ten finishes and have a number of athletes currently in the top ten in class 4A as we head into spring break.

A.D. Dickinson Relays - University of Northern Iowa (stats here)

Our trip to Cedar Falls included 6 personal records, 10 individuals in the top 10, and all three relays finishing in the top 5. We also added an impressive 6 all-time marks to our record books!

On the track: Senior Olivia Kramer finished the meet with 2nd place finishers in the 60 meter dash (PR) and 60 meter hurdles (tied PR). Her teammates, senior Reese Ervin and sophomore Alex Gaskell, also qualified for the 60 meter hurdle finals with Reese finishing in 7th place with a new PR. Sophomore Emily Heitzman made the finals in the 60 meter dash qualifying 6th and finishing 9th, and added a 10th place finish in the 200 meter dash. Senior Ashley Hall finished 7th overall in the 200 meter dash. Freshman Lauren McCoy was second overall in the 400 meter dash, along with sophomore Annie Smith with a new PR. In 800 meter run, junior Ella Anliker led the way with a 5th place finish while freshmen Elise Huegerich and Sadie Reinhardt set new PRs. 

In the field: Our top-ten performances in the field both came from the long jump, with sophomore Kate Nelson finishing 6th overall and senior Ashley Hall finishing 10th. 

Relays: Our 4x200 relay team of Shea Johnson, Lauren McCoy, Emily Heitzman, and Ashley Hall finished 3rd in a time of 1:49.52. The 4x800 team of Ella Anliker, Elise Huegerich, Avery Muller, and Sally Gaskell finished 4th with a time of 10:04.10. Last but not least, our 4x400 relay with Annie Smith, Amaiya Thompson, Reese Ervin, and Lauren McCoy finished 5th overall in 4:18.98.

Into the record books:

• Kate Nelson's long jump of 16'5.5 puts her 2nd all-time for sophomores

• Lauren McCoy's 400 meter dash of 60.30 puts her 3rd all-time for freshmen

• Alex Gaskell's high jump of 4'10 puts her tied for 3rd all-time for sophomores

• Ashley Hall's long jump of 16'2.25 puts her 7th all-time for seniors

• Berit Kallemeier's high jump of 4'8 puts her tied for 7th all-time for sophomores

• Ashley Hall's 200 meter dash of 27.26 puts her tied for 9th all-time for seniors

• Annie Smith's 400 meter dash of 63.85 puts her 10th all-time for sophomores

IATC Indoor Championships - Iowa State University (stats here)

We braved the snow and made it to Ames for the IATC championships, where we collected 8 more personal records, 7 individual top ten finishes, and all five relays finished 7th or better. These marks were even more challenging this year as the meet changed from being separated by classes to everyone combined together due to the weather. We also had another 6 individuals either join the all-time lists or improve their position.

On the track: Senior Olivia Kramer continued her strong start to the season being named 4A Most Outstanding Performer in the indoor championships. She set new PRs in both the 60 meter dash (7.78 for 2nd) and the 60 meter hurdles (8.99 for 1st). Sophomore Ruby Leman started out her year stong in the 60 meter hurdles, qualifying 5th for finals and finishing 6th with a PR of 9.46. In the 400 meter dash, freshman Lauren McCoy (5th with a 59.61) and sophomore Annie Smith (62.68) both improve their PRs in the event. Freshman Elise Huegerich has a big improvement in the 800 meter run, improving her time from UNI by 6.5 seconds. Sophomore Elizabeth Marsh improved her 1500 meter run PR by 4 seconds.

In the field: Another strong showing by our jumps crew. In the high jump, sophomores Alex Gaskell (4th - SB) and Kate Nelson (8th - PR) jump 5'1 and finish in the top ten. In the long jump, sophomore Ruby Leman gets her high school PR of 16'5 to finish 7th overall.

Relays: Our relays started the meet strong with our Sprint Medley of Shea Johnson, Emily Heitzman, Ashley Hall, and Lauren McCoy finishing 2nd overall and running 1.5 seconds faster than our best mark in 2022. The 60 meter shuttle hurdle team of Olivia Kramer, Alex Gaskell, Reese Ervin, and Ruby Leman also finished 2nd overall despite a slow exchange. Our 4x100 relay of Ashley Hall, Emily Heitzman, Shea Johnson, and Olivia Kramer finished 4th overall and achieved our first Drake Relays Blue Oval Standard of the season. The 4x400 team of Annie Smith, Reese Ervin, Ella Anliker, and Elise Huegerich set a new SB finishing 6th in a time of 4:12.83. Last but not least, our 4x800 relay of Anna Huss, Sadie Reinhardt, Molly O'Halloran, and Elise Huegerich finished 7th overall with a 10:19.61.

Into the record books:

• Lauren McCoy's 400 meter dash of 59.61 is 9th all-time in school history and moves her up to 2nd all-time for freshmen

• Kate Nelson's high jump of 5'1 ties her for 12th all-time in school history and tied for 2nd all-time for sophomores

• Alex Gaskell's high jump of 5'1 ties her for 2nd all-time for sophomores

• Ruby Leman's long jump of 16'5 puts her 3rd all-time for sophomores

• Annie Smith's 400 meter dash of 62.68 moves her up to 8th all-time for sophomores

• Liv Hall's 3000 meter run of 11:00.51 puts her 9th all-time for juniors

Where we stand in class 4A

There have been 4 indoor meets so far this season in the state - UNI, Wartburg #1, St. Ambrose, and ISU. Throughout the season, these articles will include who we have in the top 24 in the state since 24 is the number of athletes who qualify for the state meet in each event (we will ignore the fact that only 2 individuals from each team can qualify for now). This was a bit of a challenge, as this early in the season Bound has not transitioned to spring sports which means I cannot sort by class yet. I was able to compile the results from all 4 meets to see where everything is at right now.

The following are our individuals who are ranked in the top 24 in class 4A:

200: Ashley Hall 4th, Emily Heitzman 7th

400: Lauren McCoy 4th, Annie Smith 16th

800: Ella Anliker 7th, Elise Huegerich 23rd

1500: Sally Gaskell 17th, Avery Muller 20th

3000: Liv Hall 12th

High Jump: Alex Gaskell and Kate Nelson T-4th, Berit Kallemeier T-20th

Long Jump: Kate Nelson 4th, Ruby Leman 5th, Ashley Hall 7th

Shot put: Yalayzah Lovan 20th

Next 3 Meets:

• Wartburg High School Invitaional #3 - March 21

• Simpson High School Classic - March 21

• Johnston Girls Quad - March 30