CARLISLE — Faith Wilson and Abbi Hood didn’t have to follow the tough act that was Drake Relays qualifier and top thrower Hannah Hood in the shot put at Thursday’s girls track and field meet in Carlisle.
Instead, they became the one of the main attractions, as both shattered personal records in the shot put and earned team points for Creston. Wilson finished third with a throw of 34 feet and .25 inches and Abbi Hood took fifth with her heave of 32-5.5.
Wilson’s last throw of the night resonated strongly with Creston coach Clay Arnold. Just based on her footwork and approach, he knew the throw would be good.
“That’s the smoothest and best technique I’ve ever seen from her,” Arnold said.
Creston, with 131 team points, finished second to Carlisle’s 158.
Thursday represented another respectable performance for the Panthers as a whole, though they did not quite rack up personal records and season-bests in running events.
Creston grabbed first-place finishes in the 4x200, where Cayla Maitlen came from behind in the last leg, and 4x400. The Panthers earned number two spots in the distance medley, sprint medley and the 4x800.
Though the Panthers had to do some last-minute juggling, the group of Jesse Vicker, Saige Rice, Brielle Baker and MaKenna Hudson sprinted their way to a 4:25.12, three-plus seconds better than runner-up Winterset.
Hudson’s 1:03.24 in the 400 meter dash put her ahead of all but ADM’s Elle Hook, who ran a 1:03.22.
Brielle Baker continued a strong week with a ‘huge night’ in Arnold’s words.
Her 800 meters time of 2:26.97 left the rest of the field in the dust as she easily took first.
Baker was on the 4x400 unit, the 4x800 unit and also took second in the 1,500.
Others, like Allivea Skarda, impressed for their improvements. Skarda’s 1,500 time of 5:49.49 placed her fourth. That time shaved off 17 seconds from her previous best.
Rachel Shepherd led by example in her relays, and nearly reached a personal mark by crossing under 72 seconds in the 400 hurdles. Her time of 1:12.03 was her best of the year.
As for Friday, Hannah Hood, who possesses the third-best shot put throw in the state of Iowa this year at 44-2, rested and did not throw shot.
Hannah Hood still threw the discus and put up one of her best performances of the season with a second-place throw of 114 feet.
“Glad the day is here,” Arnold said. “Told Hannah that Faith and Abbi put on a show for her tonight. She’s got to have to one-up them tomorrow.”
She is set to throw Friday morning, with a cast of Panther athletes and fans in support, with the finals set for 8:30 a.m.
UP NEXT — The Panthers are in action as a team next at Atlantic on Monday starting at 4:15 p.m.
Team results girls varsity — 1. Carlisle 158, Creston 131, Norwalk 79.5, 4. Grinnell 73, 5. Winterset 64, 6. Knoxville 57.5, 7. Nevada 46, 8. Saydel 40, 9. Bondurant-Farrar 2, 10. ADM 24.
Discus — 1. Agatha Beier, Carl, 114-2; 2. Hannah Hood, Crest 114; 9. Faith Wilson, Crest, 95-3.
High Jump — 1. Kamryn Juni, Grin, 5-2; 6. Saige Rice, Crest, 4-8; 6. Breanna Wallace, 4-8.
Long Jump — 1. Adelynn Ahartz, Carl, 16-8; 7. Danielle Castillo, 14-2.5; 8. MaKenna Hudson, Crest, 13-8.
Shot put — 1. Brooke Kruse, Carl, 39-2; 3. Faith Wilson, Crest, 34-0.25; 5. Abbi Hood, Crest, 32-5.5.
800 sprint medley — 1. Knoxville, 1:56.26; 2. Creston, (Rachel Shepherd, Kesia Stewart, Cayla Maitlen, MaKenna Hudson), 1:58.03.
3000 meter run — 1. Megan Sievers, Carl, 11:40.44.
4x800 — 1. Winterset, 1. 10:20.52; 2. Creston, (Jesse Vicker, Emma Hanson, Breanna Wallace, Brielle Baker), 10:36.08.
Shuttle hurdle relay — 1. Saydel, 1:10.36, 8. Creston, (Danielle Castillo, Brittany Linch, Allivea Skarda, Aubrianna Woody), 1:21.84.
100 meter dash — 1. Taylor DuBois, Carl, 12.86; 5. Kiersten Latham, Crest, 13.88; 6. Keisa Stewart, Crest, 13.90.
1600 distance medley —1. Carlisle, 4:37.71; 2. Creston, (Caylka Maitlen, Rachel Shepherd, Stephanie Hemsworth, Emma Hanson), 4:42.29.
400 meter dash — 1. Elle Hook, ADM, 1:03.22; 2. MaKenna Hudson, Crest, 1:03.24; 4. Saige Rice, Crest, 1:06.47.
4x200 meter relay — 1. Creston, (Kiersten Latham, Jesse Vicker, Kesia Stewart, Cayla Maitlen), 1:52.84.
100 meter hurdles — 1. Jocelyn Haack, Carl, 15.32; 9. Danielle Castillo, Crest, 17.74; 17. Aubrianna Woody, 23.04.
800 meter run — 1. Brielle Baker, Crest, 2:26.97.
200 meter dash — 1. Taylor Vanderholt, Nor, 26.20.
400 meter hurdles — 1. Abbie Bunch, Nor, 1:10.78; 2. Rachel Shepherd, Crest, 1:12.03; 6. Brittany Linch, Crest, 1:18.56.
1500 meter run — 1. Megan Sievers, Carl, 5:12.58; 2. Brielle Baker, Crest, 5:18.03; 4. Allivea Skarda, Crest, 5:49.49.
4x100 relay — 1. Carlisle, 51.63; 3. Creston, (Rachel Shepherd, Stephanie Hemsworth, Kiersten Latham, Cayla Maitlen), 53.46.
4x400 relay — 1. Creston, (Jesse Vicker, Saige Rice, Brielle Baker, MaKenna Hudson), 4:25.12.