Triple threat: 3 Panther events win H10 titles

GLENWOOD — It was a trifecta for the Panthers Thursday in Glenwood as Creston won one field event, one relay and one open race at the Hawkeye 10 Championship.

The girls ended up placing fifth and the boys eighth. The Atlantic girls and the Lewis Central boys won the team titles.

The first race to bring home a gold was the girls 4x800m relay, a team that’s familiar with success.

With two of four runners returning from the state qualifying team a year ago, the relay dominated the field, winning by nearly 15 seconds.

It was a new season-best time as the quartet of Hope Henderson, Nevaeh Adamson, Reese Strunk and Maylee Riley logged a 9:51.65.

Three of the four girls logged personal-best unofficial splits — Henderson with a 2:25.84, Adamson with a 2:30.25 and Strunk with a 2:29.65. Riley ran a 2:25.66. The girls will be looking to repeat their state appearance with a top-two performance Thursday when they return to Glenwood for the state qualifying meet.

They will face a challenge in Des Moines Christian, a team that’s ran 9:37.78 earlier this season.

Two individual events earned conference titles, Tom Mikkelsen in the shot put and Cora Smith in the 400m dash.

Mikkelsen threw a mark of 55-06.75, nearly 2 feet farther than second place. Mikkelsen is also a returning state qualifier and two-time Drake Relays qualifier.

Sprinter Cora Smith brought home the 400m dash title in a competitive field where four girls ran sub-1:00. The Creston sophomore came away with a PR of 58.51, breaking her own school record in the process.

The time is in the top 10 this season in Class 3A. Last season, Smith placed 15th at the state track meet in a time of 59.33.

In the 200m dash, Smith placed second behind Stellah Van Aernam of Atlantic. Smith’s time of 25.91 was another PR.

Other top-three performances for the Panthers included the boys 4x800m relay team of Wyatt Goodenberger, Matthew Warner, Jace Hanson and Ryder Baird. Three of the four set new PR splits — Goodenberger with a 2:05.63, Hanson with a 2:06.66 and Baird with a 2:05.84. The team ran a time of 8:31.75, a season best for the quartet. Red Oak won the event in 8:17.49.

The girls distance medley also placed second. The team, comprised of Avery Staver, Kadley Bailey, Riley and Henderson, ran 4:29.84, finishing six seconds behind Harlan.

In the shot put, senior Jaycee Hanson earned bronze with a mark of 34-03.

Goodenberger was third in the 1600m, running 4:37.4. He came in behind Kevin Coots of Lewis Central and Emmanuel Grass of Red Oak.

The final top-three event was the girls 4x100m, a relay that recently competed on the blue oval at Drake.

The team comprised of Staver, Smith, Bailey and Braylee Pokorny ran 50.56 behind Atlantic (49.85) and Clarinda (50.49).

The girls have had their eyes on state all season.While Atlantic will be a major competitor for the Panthers Thursday, they will also face ADM, the Class 3A favorite, having run a 48.04 at Drake.

Even if the Panthers fall to third, they will have a chance to qualify at-large if they run a fast enough time.

Teams competing Thursday are ADM, Atlantic, Carroll, Denison-Schleswig, Des Moines Christian, Glenwood and Harlan.

Full results can be found here.