Nabbing the first one

CORYDON — After falling behind early in Tuesday’s meet the Creston girls track and field team found success in the types of events coach Clay Arnold knew they would need to thrive, and then some, to grab their first meet victory of the season.

The Chariton Relays were held at Wayne due to ongoing construction at Chariton, but the change in venue hardly played a difference as the Panthers rolled their way to 145 team points to best second place Centerville by 20 in the larger class.

“The individual events is where we had to score big points to win it to dig ourselves out of that hole,” Arnold said. “… We knew were going to take care of business in the relays, it was just the individual events that really came through for us.”

Ali Christensen came up big with her first first place finish of her varsity career, as she ran a time of 13:18.18 to win the Class AA portion of 3,000 meter run.

Arnold was in the corner opposite the finishing line, shouting instructions to his distance runner, imploring her to eye up the next target in the race and make her move over time, which Christensen did.

“That was awesome. She ran a heck of a strong race,” Arnold said.

Another important individual event was the 200 meter dash. Kiersten Latham and Stephanie Hemsworth nabbed finishes of third and fourth, respectively, as Latham went sub-28 seconds and Arnold noted that he hadn’t seen Hemsworth run the 200 so well in some time.

MaKenna Hudson (1:03.04) and Brittany Linch (a PR of 1:09.02) nabbed first and fifth, respectively in the 400 for more crucial team points.

“That was a the plan. Her (Linch’s) seed time got her to the slow heat, but we knew she could beat a bunch of girls in the fast heat. She really got after it tonight,” Arnold said.

Angelina Chuong and Linch’s finishes of fourth and fifth in the 400 meter hurdles were also lauded by Arnold.

Meanwhile, Abbi Hood took fourth in the shot put and Kelsey Fields exerted her strength for wins in the shot put and discus. Her best shot throw of 36 feet, 4 1/2 inches came on her third attempt, which added to what would have already been a winning throw of around 34 feet.

“We needed those 20 points,” Arnold said about Fields’ victories. “She came in with the best seed. She needs to win those and she did. Abbi getting fourth in shot, we needed that.”

Just as interesting on a winning night like Tuesday; Fields was one of three “rookies” on the winning 4x200 relay team of Ashley Reynard, Fields, Cayla Maitlen and Chuong that won in 1:56.95.

Maitlen also took sixth in the 100 meter dash for yet another strong individual performance, and Danielle Castillo added fourth in the 100 hurdles.

Creston ended the night how it often does, winning the 4x400 by a sizable margin. The Panthers grabbed relay wins in the distance medley (season best time of 4:35.38), sprint medley, 4x800, in addition to the previously mentioned 4x200 unit.

The early 4x800 relay showcased the Panthers’ young depth as Brielle Baker, who ran her best 4x800 split of the year at about 2:28, was joined by the freshmen trio of Peyton Rice, Molly Sickels and Morgan Buxton for a win by about 16 seconds.

Baker also took second in the 1,500 meter run.

With a schedule full of talented foes looming ahead, the victory came at a great time for the Panthers’ morale.

“We needed that real bad,” Arnold said. “Went after it at Clarinda and didn’t perform like we should have to win it and then at Carroll we brought it and we didn’t really even have our lineup put together to score points that night.”

UP NEXT — Thursday the Panthers will travel for a meet at Carlisle.

Class AA results

Team scores — 1. Creston 145; 2. Centerville 120; 3. Davis County 90; 4. Chariton 74; 5. Knoxville 63; 6. Clarke 49; 7. Eddyville-Blakesburg-Fremont 47.

100 meter dash — 1. Alysa Shirkey, DC, 13.17; 6. Cayla Maitlen, Creston, 13.86; 14. Payton Burg, Creston, 16.54.

200 meter dash — Abbey Jackson, Knox, 26.08; 3. Kiersten Latham, Creston, 27.83; 4. Stephanie Hemsworth, Creston, 28.24.

400 meter dash — 1. MaKenna Hudson, Creston, 1:03.04; 5. Brittany Linch, Creston, 1:09.02.

800 meter dash — 1. MaKenna Hudson, Creston, 2:34.35; 6. Peyton Rice, Creston, 2:51.11.

100 hurdles — 1. Claire Mathews, Cent, 17.25; 4. Danielle Castillo, Creston, 17.67; 10. Rachel Boyer, Creston, 18.84.

1,500 meter run — 1. Katie Keitgas, Knox, 5:12.19; 2. Brielle Baker, Creston, 5:18.70; 6. Morgan Buxton, Creston, 5:56.23.

3,000 meter run — 1. Ali Christensen, Creston, 13:18.18.

400 hurdles — 1. Luci Swartout, Char, 1:13.22; 4. Angelina Chuong, Creston, 1:17.94; 5. Brittany Linch, Creston, 1:18.06.

Discus — 1. Kelsey Fields, Creston, 95-10; 12. Abbi Hood, Creston, 63-4.5.

High jump — 1. Luci Swarthout, Char, 4-10; 7. Rachel Boyer, Creston, 4-6.

Long jump — 1. Claire Mathews, Cent, 16-3.5; 7. Peyton Rice, Creston, 14-0; 9. Danielle Castillo, Creston, 13-5.

Shot put — 1. Kelsey Fields, Creston, 36-4.5; 4. Abbi Hood, Creston, 32-2.

4x100 relay — 1. DC, 53.62; 4. Creston, (Ashley Reynard, Angelina Chuong, Cayla Maitlen, Rachel Boyer), 56.31.

4x200 relay — 1. Creston, (Ashley Reynard, Kelsey Fields, Cayla Maitlen, Angelina Chuong), 1:56.95.

4x400 relay — 1. Creston, (Kiersten Latham, Stephanie Hemsworth, Brielle Baker, MaKenna Hudson), 4:20.87.

4x800 relay — 1. Creston, (Peyton Rice, Molly Sickels, Brielle Baker, Morgan Buxton), 10:53.85.

Shuttle hurdle — 1. Cent, 1:13.34; 4. Creston, (Danielle Castillo, Angelina Chuong, Brittany Linch, Rachel Boyer), 1:16.80.

Sprint medley — 1. Creston, (Cayla Maitlen, Stephanie Hemsworth, Kiersten Latham, MaKenna Hudson), 1:58.54.

Distance medley — 1. Creston, (Ashley Reynard, Stephanie Hemsworth, Kiersten Latham, Brielle Baker), 4:35.38.

Class A results

Team results — 1. Mount Ayr 187; Wayne 122; 3. Central Decatur 88; 4. Martensdale-St. Marys 69; 5. East Union 54; 6. Southeast Warren 41; 7. Mormon Trail 20.

100 meter dash — 1. Haylee Fortune, Wayne, 13.27; 2. Alyssa Johnson, MA, 13.42; 3. Bailey Anderson, MA, 13.51; 5. Olivia Eckels, EU, 13.94.

200 meter dash — 1. Bailey Anderson, MA, 27.75; 4. Caylie Hickman, MA, 30.19; 8. Beth McKnight, EU, 30.98.

400 meter dash — 1. Bailey Anderson, MA, 1:03.06; 4. Ryann Martin, MA, 1:06.85; 8. Ansley Waigand, EU, 1:19.28; 10. Taylor Miler, EU, 1:29.34.

800 meter run — 1. Caitlyn Pruiett, Wayne, 2:39.59; 5. Olivia West, MA, 2:58.96; 7. Mattie Riemenschneider, EU, 3:10.24.

100 hurdles — 1. Emma Atwood, CD, 16.39; 2. Alyssa Johnson, MA, 16.85; 5. Jaycee Knight, MA, 19.01; 6. Maddie Hayes, EU, 19.34; 9. Emma Mobley, MA, 20.60; 10. Madison Birkenholz, MA, 21.05; 14. Callie Gossman, EU, 24.19.

1,500 meter run — 1. Elise Emmick, SEW, 5:17.15; 3. Makayla Jones, MA, 5:44; 4. Gabrielle Valencia, EU, 5:55.00; 7. Rachel Gregg, MA, 6:18.20; 10. Ansley Waigand, EU, 6:59.15.

3,000 meter run — 1. Elise Emmick, SEW, 11:27.16; 2. Gabrielle Valencia, EU, 12:45.38; 3. Elizabeth Sobotka, MA, 14:04.49; 6. Mattie Riemenschneider, EU, 14:20.75; 7. Alexa Smith, MA, 14:57.27.

400 hurdle — 1. Sam Stewart, MA, 1:16.03; 4. Molly McNeill, EU, 1:18.52; 5. Maddie Hayes, EU, 1:29.79.

Discus — 1. Gracie Mobley, MA, 93-11.5; 2. Sara Winemiller, MA, 87-3.5; 4. Rakenzy Pryor, EU, 76-2.

High jump — 1. Emma Atwood, CD, 5-4; 4. MacKenzie Shields, MA, 4-10; 6. Avery Dickerson, MA, 4-6.

Long jump — 1. Haylee Fortune, Wayne, 16-5.5; 2. Ryann Martin, MA, 15-11; 8. Alexis Main, MA, 13-1; 9. Grace Nixon, EU, 12-5.

Shot put — 1. Sara Winemiller, MA, 33-7.5; 2. Hannah Jackson, MA, 31-9; 4. Jessica Kelley, EU, 28-1; 9. Rakenzy Pryor, EU, 23-7.5.

4x100 relay — 1. MA, (Alyssa Johnson, Keirston Klommhaus, Caylie Hickman, Bailey Anderson), 53.33; 4. EU, (Callie Gossman, Olivia Eckels, Beth McKnight, Sidney McFee), 58.25.

4x200 relay — 1. MA, (Channler Henle, Sam Stewart, Caylie Hickman, Keirston Klommhaus), 1:57.48; 3. EU, (Beth McKnight, Olivia Cheers, Grace Nixon, Sidney McFee), 2:08.27.

4x400 relay — 1. MA, (Ryann Martin, MacKenzie Shields, Channler Henle, Sam Stewart), 4:41.78; 5. EU, (Grace Nixon, Olivia Cheers, Maddy Hayes, Molly McNeill), 5:14.42.

4x800 relay — 1. Wayne, 11:04.31; 2. MA, (Rachel Gregg, Channler Henle, Lindsey Jennett, Olivia West), 12:06.64; 5. EU, (Kylie Tate, Taylor Miller, Clarissa Kunkle, Ansley Waigand), 13:49.87.

Shuttle hurdle — 1. CD, 1:13.53; 2. MA, (Keirston Klommhaus, Jaycee Knight, Emma Mobley, Sam Stewart), 1:17.04; 4. EU, (Callie Gossman, Jayden Welcher, Maddy Hayes, Sidney McFee), 1:17.64.

Sprint medley — 1. MA, (Alyssa Johnson, Jaycee Knight, Keirston Klommhaus, Caylie Hickman), 2:07.02; 3. EU, (Callie Gossman, Olivia Eckels, Beth McKnight, Molly McNeill), 2:08.54.

Distance medley — 1. MSTM, 4:59.27; 3. MA, (Alexis Main, Madison Birkenholz, Avery Dickerson, MaKayla Jones), 5;11. 37.

Wheelchair

100 meter dash — 1. Marhaya Bradford, MT, 24.69.

200 meter dash — 1. Marhaya Bradford, MT, 48.08;

400 meter dash — 1. Marhaya Bradford, MT, 1:44.19.

Shot put — 1. Marhaya Bradford, MT, 21-9.5.