Panthers claw for points at H10

RED OAK — Though the meet didn’t start out the way they’d hoped, the Panthers finished strong in a tough field of competitors Thursday at the Hawkeye 10 Conference Track and Field Meet in Red Oak.

Girls

“The girls team did exactly what they needed to do and what our goals were for them which was to finish 10th place or higher and they ended up finishing 10th place tonight,” Coach Maggie Arnold said. " We knew that the girls race was going to be very tough every single time, so we had to scrape and claw for every single point that we got tonight.”

The lady Panthers had eight events contribute to their 26 team points, starting with the girls 4x800 meter relay team of Ella Turner, Payton Davis, Emma Pantini and Sydney Strunk. The relay had hopes for third, but slower times landed them fifth place.

“It’s the end of the season and we have pretty high expectations for the kids,” Arnold said. “We’re very honest with them, and when they don’t meet those expectations we work on fixing them for the next race that they have.”

Arnold said senior Pantini did a good job bouncing back for her 800 meter run where she placed seventh.

“Before tonight, we talked about just taking it one race at a time,” Arnold said. “Emma did a good job doing that after her 4x800 into the open 800.”

Pantini’s 3000m run last week made her the second Panther in history to compete in all 16 running events during her career. Her 800m time of 2:36.75 Thursday was on par with her personal best.

“I was on the first lap coming down the home stretch and I kind of just made a decision,” Pantini explained. “If I was going to medal, I had to get a couple girls. So I just worked on it the last bit.”

The team of dedicated girls has made this her favorite season of track, Pantini said. “We’re working on cutting down our times in the 4x800 and all having solid races for that,” she said. “That’s kind of a weak point for us is all of us having a good mindset for it. We’re just trying to get the biggest PR we can in that race for state qualifying.”

Another senior standout for the girls was Doryn Paup — scoring in all four of her events.

“As a senior, you’re kind of expected to be that leader,” Paup said. “I feel like I pull my weight. I’m really proud of being able to get us those points.”

Paup competed in the shuttle hurdle relay, discus, 400 meter hurdles and 4x400 meter relay.

”Doryn Paup had a 2-foot PR in the discus to pick up second place and she was actually in first place until the final couple throws there,” Arnold said. “She had an excellent night. She also ran her fastest leg ever in the shuttle hurdle and then ran a really good 400 lows race as well as a 4x400 leg.”

Her throw of 111-01 scored eight team points.

“Doryn’s just a leader and a hard worker. When it’s game time, she’s ready to go,” Arnold said. “She’s just shown so much maturity this year and come so far from her freshman year. It’s really great to see her finish so strong.”

In the 400 meter hurdles, Paup placed 7th in 1:13.54. The shuttle hurdle relay with Kadley Bailey, Grace Travis and Karter Clayton also took 7th in a time of 1:18.13. The 4x400m relay team with Braylee Pokorny, Pantini and Davis got 7th as well with their time of 4:34.20.

Pokorny jumped 4-08 in high jump to place fifth and score four points for the team.

“Another highlight for us was the girls distance medley relay,” Arnold said. “They came out of the slow heat to get 7th place which was a big deal. We knew that it was close to that last place team in the final heat. The girls did a nice job running scared and working on running for time, and that paid off for them. We had to fight for every single point on that side.”

The relay of Maylee Riley, Clayton, Pokorny and Davis ran a 4:53.71.

Thursday the girls travel to Carlisle where they will compete to qualify for the state meet.

“I’m looking forwarded to next week,” Paup said. “It’s the biggest meet of my life. I’m looking to hopefully qualify in a couple events. I’m excited to just soak in the last moments with my team.”

Boys

The boys had six events contribute to their 22 points and 11th place finish.

Brandon Briley led the boys team, scoring in all four of his events. “I know my teammates hold a big role, but I’m usually the anchor they rely on most of the time,” he said. “They count on me for a big workload, and it’s a lot of pressure to score points for the team.”

The 4x800 meter relay team of Chris Aragon, Austin Evans, Briley and Jackson Pettegrew had a fifth-place finish in a time of 8:50.63 to start the meet.

Though the distance medley relay has been one of their strongest events all year, it fell flat Thursday, placing sixth in a time of 3:51.65. Senior Payton Conley, normally a participant in the relay, is sidelined with a stress fracture.

The shuttle hurdle relay of Jaydan Pettegrew, Tyson Looney, Milo Staver and Maddix Leppla placed sixth with a time of 1:10.97.

Briley was seeded fifth in the 800 meter run, but he immediately got into the top three where he hung on throughout.

“I thought the first lap personally was a little slow — we ran a :59, me and the two other leaders,” Briley said. “That second lap we really kicked it in. The first 30 meters of the last 200, I kind of lagged behind, and I had to catch up. I couldn’t out kick them and ended up third.”

His time of 2:01.14 is his season best and was less than a second behind first place.

“It feels great honestly to have people like that in the H10 that can not only help push me, and I can help push them, but they’ll ultimately meet at state, run really good times and hopefully place,” Briley said.

Quinten Fuller made finals in discus, throwing 128-03 to place eighth and score a point for the team. “That’s a really good discus field,” Arnold said. “For him to make finals is a big deal. That was great to see as well.”

Junior thrower Max Chapman has been out with a broken bone in his foot.

The boys 4x400 meter relay team of Briley, Evans, Tyler Riley and Aragon brought it home in an exciting race with their time of 3:40.07.

“I’m super proud of that 4x400 team to finish fifth place to end the night,” Arnold said. “Those guys ran super impressive performances. Briley and Evans were right on their best splits that they’ve had for us, same as Tyler Riley. So three out of four of those guys running right at their personal bests gave us a season-best time in that relay. You always want to end on a high note with that 4x4 race.”

Thursday the boys travel to Carlisle where they will compete to qualify for the state meet.

Results

GIRLS

1. Glenwood, 133

2. Atlantic, 127

3. Clarinda, 80

4. Lewis Central, 75

5. St. Albert, 72

6. Denison-Schleswig, 64

7. Harlan, 61.5

8. Shenandoah, 40

9. Kuemper Catholic, 38

10. Creston, 26

11. Red Oak, 23.5

BOYS

1. Lewis Central, 134

2. Glenwood, 107.5

3. Clarinda, 104

4. Harlan, 85

5. Shenandoah, 76

6. Atlantic, 69

7. Denison-Schleswig, 47

8. Kuemper Catholic, 42

9. Red Oak, 37.5

10. St. Albert, 36

11. Creston, 22