Who to watch in Siouxland girls track
Posted: Wednesday, May 14, 2008
Class 4A
Ellen Dougherty, Sioux City East: The state runner-up as a freshman last year in the 400 and the third-place finisher in the 800, has a best of :56.28, a Sioux City all-time metro best, in the 400 this spring. She'll run the 400, the 800 and anchor the sprint medley and 4x400 relays.
Shelby Houlihan, Sioux City East: The freshman phenom is slated to run the 800 and 1,500 and lead off the 4x400 relay. The Drake Relays 1,500-meter runner-up in 4:39.46, the 11th all-time time in Iowa, has a best of 2:15.20 in the 800 and was third in the event at Drake in 2:15.34.
Gabriel Williams, Sioux City West: The Wolverine junior, fourth last year in the open 100, ran :12.13 in regional qualifying, equaling a time by defending state champ Faith Burt of Cedar Falls. Williams will also run on 4x100 (:49.47) and 4x200 (1:44.40) relays that paced regional qualifying.
Others to watch: East junior Emily McCarthy and West sophomore Rae Twohig could finish in the top six in the 400 and 200 meters, respectively. McCarthy has a season best of :58.71 in the 400 and Twohig, also a member of the swift sprint relays, was fourth last year in the 200 ... North's Nicole Benzoni, 20th in the 1,500 as a junior, has qualified 12th in 4:57.12. She'll also anchor 4x800 and distance medley relays ... North senior Steph Robinson, 10th in the long jump last year, has qualified with a best of 16-3.25.
Class 3A
Michaela Brungardt, Storm Lake: A key contributor to Storm Lake's fifth-place team finish last year, the multi-talented senior has qualified second in the 400 meters (:57.87) and 13th in the discus. Last year she was seeded 23rd in the discus and finished third in the state meet. She'll also anchor sprint medley and 4x100 relays.
Megan Glisar, Sergeant Bluff-Luton: The Class 2A state high jump champ as a freshman and the Class 3A gold medalist in the event last year has a qualifying best of 5-4 out of regional competition. She was fourth (fewer misses) at Drake with a 5-7 jump that equaled that of third-place Kendra DeJong of Orange City Unity Christian, last year's 2A state champ.
Michelle Lund, Sioux City Bishop Heelan: The Division I Bradley University basketball signee leads long jump qualifying with a regional best of 16-9.5. She'll also run on distance medley and 4x200 relays that qualified with top five regional efforts.
Others to watch: Storm Lake sophomore Slone Masters has qualified in both hurdle races and the long jump and sophomore teammate Katie Blum is seeded fourth in the 200 (:26.15) and fourth in the long jump (16-3.75) ... Spirit Lake Park's Jen Kirschbaum may contend in the discus and shot put and Sergeant Bluff-Luton's Leah Nielsen is among the qualifying leaders in the 800 and 1,500 ... Bishop Heelan's Jessica Bennett, eighth in the 100 last year, qualified in 12.88 seconds and she'll also lead off a 4x200 relay that qualified fifth.
Class 2A
Kendra DeJong, Unity Christian: The defending state high jump champion, also a first-team all-stater in basketball, qualified with a regional best of 5-5, but was third earlier this spring in the prep event at the Drake Relays, clearing 5-7. The junior won last year as sophomore at 5-6 and she's also qualified third in the 400 hurdles in 1:06.98
Becca Fischer, Sheldon: The junior, second in the prep discus event at the Drake Relays, finished fifth in the shot put and eighth in the discus as a sophomore in the state meet last spring. She has qualified third in the discus (123-2) and fifth in the shot with a regional best of 38-4.25, but has season bests of 39 feet in the shot and 128-11 in the discus.
Mallory Mork, East Sac County: The junior finished fifth in the 400-meter hurdles as a sophomore and has qualified fifth in 1:07.72. She'll also run the 100-meter hurdles, anchor a 4x100 relay that earned the No. 7 seed with a :51.90 regional clocking and run third on a sprint medley that qualified eighth.
Others to watch: East Sac County's Abby Hesnard will contend in the 400 hurdles and Kayla Herbers of Emmetsburg has a top eight regional time in the 100 hurdles ... Laura Van Gaalswyk of Boyden-Hull/Rock Valley has a season best of 40-1.75 in the shot put and Lynn Carlson of Cherokee qualified eighth with a regional heave of 37-6 ... Orange City Unity Christian's Sarah Kroese eighth in the long jump last year, qualified with a 15-6 jump.
Class 1A
Kinsey Bak, Hinton: The senior multi-sport athlete who plans to compete in volleyball and track at Simpson College in Indianola, is seeded second in the long jump (16-9) behind three-time state champ Jennifer Jorgensen of Southeast Webster. Bak finished fourth in the long jump last year and she'll also run the 100 hurdles as well as the 4x400 and distance medley relays.
Kayla Hatting, Le Mars Gehlen Catholic: One of the premier hurdlers in 1A, the junior has qualified second in the 100 hurdles in 15.27 seconds and she'll also vye for a medal in the 400 hurdles. She'll also lead off a shuttle hurdle relay quartet that owns the No. 3 seed (1:06.89).
Brianna Schaeuble, Kingsley-Pierson: The reigning state champion in the high jump won her title unexpectedly last year as a sophomore, winning with a leap of 5-3 after qualifying eighth with a 5-1 regional performance. The junior shares the qualifying lead with Akron-Westfield sophomore Karly Groon and Preston's Tiffany Bormann, each at 5-3.
Others to watch: Central Lyon's Steph Wibben, the Class 2A state cross country champ, will run the 1,500, where she was fourth last year, and contribute to strong 4x800 and distance medley relays ... Akron-Westfield's Groon tied for 13th in the high jump as a freshman, clearing 4-10 ... Elizabeth Ageson of West Lyon, Molly Sippel of Schaller-Crestland and Camilla Hansen of West Monona are among the top nine qualifiers in the 100 ... Rachel Kruse of George-Little Rock and Shelby Johnson of Akron-Westfield are seeded third and fourth in the discus.
-- Compiled by Steven Allspach
Ellen Dougherty, Sioux City East: The state runner-up as a freshman last year in the 400 and the third-place finisher in the 800, has a best of :56.28, a Sioux City all-time metro best, in the 400 this spring. She'll run the 400, the 800 and anchor the sprint medley and 4x400 relays.
Shelby Houlihan, Sioux City East: The freshman phenom is slated to run the 800 and 1,500 and lead off the 4x400 relay. The Drake Relays 1,500-meter runner-up in 4:39.46, the 11th all-time time in Iowa, has a best of 2:15.20 in the 800 and was third in the event at Drake in 2:15.34.
Gabriel Williams, Sioux City West: The Wolverine junior, fourth last year in the open 100, ran :12.13 in regional qualifying, equaling a time by defending state champ Faith Burt of Cedar Falls. Williams will also run on 4x100 (:49.47) and 4x200 (1:44.40) relays that paced regional qualifying.
Others to watch: East junior Emily McCarthy and West sophomore Rae Twohig could finish in the top six in the 400 and 200 meters, respectively. McCarthy has a season best of :58.71 in the 400 and Twohig, also a member of the swift sprint relays, was fourth last year in the 200 ... North's Nicole Benzoni, 20th in the 1,500 as a junior, has qualified 12th in 4:57.12. She'll also anchor 4x800 and distance medley relays ... North senior Steph Robinson, 10th in the long jump last year, has qualified with a best of 16-3.25.
Class 3A
Michaela Brungardt, Storm Lake: A key contributor to Storm Lake's fifth-place team finish last year, the multi-talented senior has qualified second in the 400 meters (:57.87) and 13th in the discus. Last year she was seeded 23rd in the discus and finished third in the state meet. She'll also anchor sprint medley and 4x100 relays.
Megan Glisar, Sergeant Bluff-Luton: The Class 2A state high jump champ as a freshman and the Class 3A gold medalist in the event last year has a qualifying best of 5-4 out of regional competition. She was fourth (fewer misses) at Drake with a 5-7 jump that equaled that of third-place Kendra DeJong of Orange City Unity Christian, last year's 2A state champ.
Michelle Lund, Sioux City Bishop Heelan: The Division I Bradley University basketball signee leads long jump qualifying with a regional best of 16-9.5. She'll also run on distance medley and 4x200 relays that qualified with top five regional efforts.
Others to watch: Storm Lake sophomore Slone Masters has qualified in both hurdle races and the long jump and sophomore teammate Katie Blum is seeded fourth in the 200 (:26.15) and fourth in the long jump (16-3.75) ... Spirit Lake Park's Jen Kirschbaum may contend in the discus and shot put and Sergeant Bluff-Luton's Leah Nielsen is among the qualifying leaders in the 800 and 1,500 ... Bishop Heelan's Jessica Bennett, eighth in the 100 last year, qualified in 12.88 seconds and she'll also lead off a 4x200 relay that qualified fifth.
Class 2A
Kendra DeJong, Unity Christian: The defending state high jump champion, also a first-team all-stater in basketball, qualified with a regional best of 5-5, but was third earlier this spring in the prep event at the Drake Relays, clearing 5-7. The junior won last year as sophomore at 5-6 and she's also qualified third in the 400 hurdles in 1:06.98
Becca Fischer, Sheldon: The junior, second in the prep discus event at the Drake Relays, finished fifth in the shot put and eighth in the discus as a sophomore in the state meet last spring. She has qualified third in the discus (123-2) and fifth in the shot with a regional best of 38-4.25, but has season bests of 39 feet in the shot and 128-11 in the discus.
Mallory Mork, East Sac County: The junior finished fifth in the 400-meter hurdles as a sophomore and has qualified fifth in 1:07.72. She'll also run the 100-meter hurdles, anchor a 4x100 relay that earned the No. 7 seed with a :51.90 regional clocking and run third on a sprint medley that qualified eighth.
Others to watch: East Sac County's Abby Hesnard will contend in the 400 hurdles and Kayla Herbers of Emmetsburg has a top eight regional time in the 100 hurdles ... Laura Van Gaalswyk of Boyden-Hull/Rock Valley has a season best of 40-1.75 in the shot put and Lynn Carlson of Cherokee qualified eighth with a regional heave of 37-6 ... Orange City Unity Christian's Sarah Kroese eighth in the long jump last year, qualified with a 15-6 jump.
Class 1A
Kinsey Bak, Hinton: The senior multi-sport athlete who plans to compete in volleyball and track at Simpson College in Indianola, is seeded second in the long jump (16-9) behind three-time state champ Jennifer Jorgensen of Southeast Webster. Bak finished fourth in the long jump last year and she'll also run the 100 hurdles as well as the 4x400 and distance medley relays.
Kayla Hatting, Le Mars Gehlen Catholic: One of the premier hurdlers in 1A, the junior has qualified second in the 100 hurdles in 15.27 seconds and she'll also vye for a medal in the 400 hurdles. She'll also lead off a shuttle hurdle relay quartet that owns the No. 3 seed (1:06.89).
Brianna Schaeuble, Kingsley-Pierson: The reigning state champion in the high jump won her title unexpectedly last year as a sophomore, winning with a leap of 5-3 after qualifying eighth with a 5-1 regional performance. The junior shares the qualifying lead with Akron-Westfield sophomore Karly Groon and Preston's Tiffany Bormann, each at 5-3.
Others to watch: Central Lyon's Steph Wibben, the Class 2A state cross country champ, will run the 1,500, where she was fourth last year, and contribute to strong 4x800 and distance medley relays ... Akron-Westfield's Groon tied for 13th in the high jump as a freshman, clearing 4-10 ... Elizabeth Ageson of West Lyon, Molly Sippel of Schaller-Crestland and Camilla Hansen of West Monona are among the top nine qualifiers in the 100 ... Rachel Kruse of George-Little Rock and Shelby Johnson of Akron-Westfield are seeded third and fourth in the discus.
-- Compiled by Steven Allspach
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