First Meet at Drake Has Beautiful Weather and Big Results

By Coach Vanderah | April 14, 2024

The Jim Duncan Invitaional may have been the second weekend of April, but it felt like late May with the temperatures in the 80s. This meet has the feel of a miniature state meet with teams from four conferences (our CIML, the Iowa Alliance, the Raccoon River, and the Little Hawkeye Conference), and we had the weather to enhance that feeling. The only downside to the weather was the headwind that runners contended with on the home stretch, making it a challenge to get many PRs or SBs in the sprints.

There was no team scoring at this meet. Each field event was limited to the top 32 entries, each running event was limited to the top 48 entries, and each team was guaranteed an entry in each relay. Since this was a varsity meet, here is how every Maroon fared at Duncan.

• 100 meters: Emily Heitzman finished 2nd in a stacked field with a time of 12.85. Ellie Mead ran a 13.47 and finished 23rd.

• 200 meters: Annie Smith came away with the win running a 26.02. Shea Johnson finished 17th with a 27.88.

• 400 meters: Maddie Nagel ran a SB 1:01.64 finishing 7th, and Sadie Reinhardt set a new PR of 1:06.24 finishing 24th.

• 800 meters: Molly O'Halloran set a new PR by about 5.5 seconds, finishing 16th with a 2:29.74. Elise Huegerich ran a SB 2:31.37 to finish 19th.

• 1500 meters: Avery Muller finished 21st with a 5:13.39. Cora Volp ran a PR of 5:20.84 finishing 28th. 

• 3000 meters: Braelyn Gifford runs a 13 second PR, running a 10:55.16 to finish 12th. Liv Hall ran a SB 11:01.72 finishing 16th.

• 100 hurdles: Franny Brooks runs a huge PR of 15.30 (previous was 16.43) to finish 3rd and earn a Drake Relays Blue Oval Standard. Ruby Leman finished 24th with a 17.54.

• 400 hurdles: Katherine Banker finished 2nd overall in 1:07.09. Matilda Vizcarra PRs by almost 2 seconds, running a 1:12.04 to finish  16th.

• High jump: Kate Nelson has a huge day, finishing 3rd with a PR of 5'4. Alex Gaskell has a solid day also clearing 5'4 and finishing 4th on tie breakers.

• Long jump: Ruby Leman finished 6th in a stacked field jumping 16'7.25. Adalyn Jones finished 20th with a best of 14'10.5.

• Discus: Audrey Ott throws a 122'4 finishing 3rd. Amaiya Thompson throws a PR of 109'8 to finish 9th.

• Shot put: Kenzie Dean throws her SB of 34'6.75 to finish 6th. Alma Drazi has a solid day throwing 32'5.5 to finish in 17th.

• 4x100: Leman, Heitzman, Johnson, and Mead finished 8th with a time of 50.34.

• 4x200: Gaskell, Smith, Heitzman, and Lauren McCoy run a SB and Drake Relays Blue Oval Standard time of 1:43.73 to finish 2nd.

• 4x400: Our team did not finish due to a fumbled hand-off.

• 4x800: Huegerich, A Muller, Reinhardt, and O'Halloran sun a SB time of 9:50.90 to finish 11th.

• Sprint medley: Johnson, Heitzman, Smith, and McCoy run a 1:47.61 to finish 3rd, which is a SB time and a Drake Relays Blue Oval Standard.

• Distance medley: Abby Eischeid, Amaya Colon-Campos, Vizcarra, and Ava Van Ee finish 17th with a time of 4:40.28.

• Shuttle hurdle: The team was DQ'd for a runner having their finger on the line when in the blocks. The team of Smith, Brooks, Gaskell, and Leman would have run a SB time of 1:02.74.

• Franny Brooks - 100 Hurdles (15.30): 8th in school history, 5th all-time for sophomores

• Kenzie Dean - Shot Put (34'6.75): 9th all-time for seniors

• Braelyn Gifford - 3000 meters (10:55.16): 9th all-time for juniors

• Liv Hall - 3000 meters (11:01.72): 8th all-time for seniors

• Maddie Nagel - 400 meters (1:01.64): 9th all-time for sophomores

• Kate Nelson - High Jump (5'4): tied for 2nd in school history, tied for 2nd all-time for juniors

• Amaiya Thompson - Discus (109'8): 9th in school history, 3rd all-time for juniors

• Matilda Vizcarra - 400 hurdles (1:12.04): 5th all-time for freshmen

• Franny Brooks: 100 hurdles 15.30

• Braelyn Gifford: 3000 meters 10:55.16

• Kate Nelson: High jump 5'4

• Molly O'Halloran: 800 meters 2:29.74

• Sadie Reinhardt: 400 meters 1:06.24

• Amaiya Thompson: Discus 109'8

• Matilda Vizcarra: 400 hurdles 1:12.04

• Cora Volp: 1500 meters 5:20.84

Here is a running list of the Blue Oval Standards the team has met to automatically qualify for the Drake Relays:

• 100 Hurdles: Franny Brooks 15.30

• Long Jump: Ruby Leman 18'1

• 4x100: 49.68 - Ruby Leman, Emily Heitzman, Shea Johnson, and Ellie Mead

• 4x200: 1:43.73 - Alex Gaskell, Annie Smith, Emily Heitzman, Lauren McCoy

• Sprint Medley: 1:47.61 - Shea Johnson, Emily Heitzman, Annie Smith, Lauren McCoy

• Shuttle Hurdle: 1:04.51 - Annie Smith, Franny Brooks, Alex Gaskell, and Ruby Leman

April 16 - Jim Duea Invitational at Ames High School

April 18 - Centennial Jaguar Invitational at Ankeny Stadium (Northview Middle School) Last Chance to Qualify for Drake Relays

April 22 - Larry Weier Invitational at Dowling Catholic High School