2009 State Co-Ed Track and Field Meet Preview Friday/Saturday Events

Rachel Tilley, Gehlen - Tilley was third in the region with a spin of 115-10. The throw trumped her previous season-best of 108-4 at the Sheldon Invitational in April. The junior ranks fifth in the 24-member field at state.

Nicole Rodgers, R-U - Rodgers set a school record with her regional spin of 107-9. The R-U junior has changed the record books a number of times the past two years in both the discus and the shot put. While the shot is normally her stronger event, according to coach Colin Youde, the junior recorded a 107-6 throw at the Galva-Holstein Relays in early April. Prior to the regional competition, Rodgers had not thrown the disc in a month. She ranks 15th in the 24-member field as she makes her state debut this spring.

Krista Phelps, K-P - The K-P freshman recorded her season-best spin of 120-00 at the Western Valley Conference meet on May 4. Her regional spin of 116-8 was good for second as well as a trip to state. Phelps' distance ranks her fourth in the field, behind George-Little Rock's Rachel Kruse (121-3), Turkey Valley's Hannah Lensing (126-6) and Janesville's Dana Sorensen (127-5).

Friday 9 a.m. 1A boys high jump

Anthony Miller, A-W - Miller's district leap of 5-8 was short of his season-best - he cleared 6-2 at the Blackhawk Invitational on April 23 - but was good for second place and a trip to state this week. The A-W junior has also cleared 6-0 at the Lawton-Bronson Invite on April 28. He will need to improve his best jump to compete in the stacked 24-member field at state. Pleasantville's Kris Goins cleared the top height of 6-2 in districts to qualify while Sigourney's JC Abrahamson, Woodward Academy's Charles Bellaphant, Lynnville-Sully's Josh Van Wyk and West Central's Tyler Wedemeier each cleared 6-1 at their district meets.

Friday 9:40 a.m. 1A boys 400 Meter Hurdles final

Christopher Carlson, A-W - The junior was first at the Hawarden district with a 59.62. The time was short of his season-best 58.59, which he also clocked in Hawarden at the May 7 West Sioux Relays. The district time ranks him 20th in the 24-member field, which is led by East Buchanan's Tyler Franck with a district time of 56.85.

Kyle Badgerow, K-P - Badgerow has helped the Panthers to a slew of successes in the hurdles this spring. A member of the shuttle hurdle relay squad, the Panther quartet broke the school record a handful of times in the relay. However, the freshman will face a new challenge as he runs the 400 lows at state this spring. His district time of 1:00.33 - which was good for second place in Hawarden - was well short of his season-best 59.07, clocked at the Odebolt-Arthur Trojan Co-Ed Relays in Ida Grove on April 21. His time is not the slowest in the field, but he will have to shave several seconds to compete with the rest of the field.

Friday 10 a.m. 1A girls 400 Meter Hurdles final

Kayla Hatting, Gehlen - This Gehlen senior knows what it takes to make it to state. She's done it three times - this year. Hatting returns to Drake's blue track this spring in the same three events she ran last spring - the 100 and 400 hurdles and the shuttle hurdle relay. Last spring, Hatting placed 10th overall in the 400-meter race, clocking a 1:08.58. Her best time this season came at the Warriorette Relays in Sergeant Bluff where she was second in 1:08.49. The senior claimed four golds in the race this season, including her top time of 1:10.71 at the Hawarden regional on Friday. She enters the 24-member field at state ranked 17th with Sina Stepken of Prince of Peace leading the field with a regional 1:05.43.

Lauren Blinde, A-W - Blinde clocked a 1:12.53 to place 22nd in the event at state last spring. The junior's best time this season came at the Hawarden regional where she finished second in 1:11.08. Her previous best was recorded at the West Sioux Relays in Hawarden on May 7 with a 1:11.21. Blinde is ranked 19th in the 24-person field at state this spring and will need to dip well below the 1:10.00 mark to place in the event, which is led by Sina Stepken's 1:05.43.

Friday 10:50 a.m. 1A girls 4x200 Meter Relay final

Hinton - Haley Hall, Mackenzie Small, Shelbi Derochie, Abby Hageman - Small and Hageman each compete in their individual events on Thursday before helping Hinton in the relays on Friday. Hageman will run in all three (4x100, 4x200, 4x400) while Small runs the 4x200 and 4x400. Small, Hageman and Derochie are not new to this event at state either. The trio - along with Kylie Poss - placed sixth in the 2008 state meet with a time of 1:48.35. This spring, the Blackhawk quartet - now featuring freshman Haley Hall - recorded its season-best 1:49.58 at the War Eagle Conference meet in Orange City on May 5. The team ran a 1:51.25 to place first and advance to state at Friday's regional in Hawarden. The regional time ranks the Blackhawk team eighth in the field - tied with the team from Riverside, Oakland. The North Buffalo team from Buffalo Center clocked a 1:48.08 at their regional - good for the top time in the 24-member field.

Friday 11:20 a.m. 1A boys 110 Meter Hurdle prelims

Tyler Campbell K-P - One of two hurdlers representing K-P at state this spring, Campbell ran the 110 high hurdles in 15.63 to place second at the Hawarden district on Friday. The time - his best of the season - ranks him 12th in the 24-member field as Campbell makes his state debut in the event.

Friday 11:30 a.m. 1A girls high jump

Karly Groon, A-W - The junior took the gold at the Hawarden regional after she cleared 5-2 in the high jump. The height was short of her season-best - a 5-4 leap at the Central Lyon Relays. This trip to state marks the third straight for Groon, who has placed in the top-10 as a freshman and sophomore. Last spring she advanced to state after clearing a second-place 5-3 at regionals; she went on to claim third place in the state with a jump of 5-3. She was ninth as a freshman when she jumped 4-10. Groon looks to lead the competition again this spring as she is one of six in the field to clear 5-2 at regionals.

Briana Schaeuble, K-P - Schaeuble knows a thing or two about state track and field. The K-P senior is a four-time state qualifier with a state championship under her belt. As a sophomore, Schaeuble cleared a personal-best 5-4 to win the title. Last spring, she cleared 5-3 to win the regional title and earn a top-ranking at state, where she placed seventh (5-2). As a freshman, Schaeuble was ninth with a height of 5-0. As a senior, Schaeuble has cleared 5-2 on five different occasions this spring, including Friday's regional in Hawarden where she finished second as well as the K-P Invite and the Western Valley Conference meet. Along with regional champion Karly Groon, Schaeuble is one of six girls in the 22-member field to clear 5-2 at the regional meets held last weekend.

Friday 11:40 a.m. 1A girls 100 Meter Hurdle prelims

Kayla Hatting, Gehlen - Hatting will return to state after claiming fifth place last spring with a time of 15.53. Her regional time of 15.44 this year bests that time as well as all her times this spring. The Gehlen senior has claimed the gold eight times this season in the event, placing second three times. Two of those three came to Central Lyon's Abbie Ackerman and Kingsley-Pierson's DeAndra Mahrt, both of whom Hatting defeated at the Hawarden regional. Hatting was also third in the Elite race - featuring all classes - at the Sioux City Relays. The 24-member field in Des Moines this spring is led by Cardinal's Sarah Yeager with a regional time of 14.90. Danville's Becca Nelson ranks second with a regional 15.22 while Hatting's 15.44 ranks her third in the field. Gehlen coach Betty Loutsch says the senior is running her strongest races right now. It's the perfect time for any trackster to peak and Loutsch said, "When she gets out of the blocks, she's just focused on her race. There's no stopping her."

Friday 1 p.m. 1A girls 4x100 Meter Relay prelims

Hinton - Haley Hall, Shelbi Derochie, Emily Culver, Abby Hageman - Running in their second relay of the day, Hall, Derochie and Hageman will add freshman Emily Culver to compete in the 4x100 Friday afternoon. Hageman and Derochie ran this event at state last year - along with Mackenzie Small and Kylie Poss - where they placed 11th (51.78) in preliminaries but did not advance. With new members this spring, the Blackhawk quartet ran their best time of the season (52.22) at the War Eagle Conference meet in Orange City. They nearly trumped that time at Friday's regional in Hawarden as they clocked a first-place 52.23 to advance. That time is good to rank the quartet second in the 24-team field, behind Springville's relay team (51.54).

Friday 2 p.m. 1A girls 4x400 Meter Relay prelims

Hinton - Jaci Dehner, Haley Hall, Abby Hageman, Mackenzie Small - Hageman and Small ran this event at last spring's state meet with the help of Kinsey Bak and Brandi Schindel. The relay team clocked a 4:16.22 to place 20th in preliminary action and did not advance to Saturday's finals. The 2009 version recorded a season-best 4:14.88 at the War Eagle Conference meet on May 5 and a 4:19.72 at the River Valley Invite on May 1. At Friday's regional, the team was first in 4:20.91 to advance to state. The fourth event of the state tournament for Hageman and the third for Small and Hall, the Blackhawk quartet ranks 15th in the 24-team field. Council Bluffs St. Albert recorded a 4:09.82 in the event at their regional to rank first heading into the state meet.

Friday 3:20 p.m. 3A boys 400 Meter Hurdles final

Rene Van Wyhe, Le Mars - The wind was a huge obstacle for the Le Mars junior at Friday's district meet in Orange City. But Van Wyhe's third-place time of 58.40 was just what he needed to advance to Des Moines and the Drake University track. Van Wyhe clocked a season-best 57.61 at the Lakes Conference meet in Hull on May 11 and looks to be peaking at the perfect time of the season. The state record in the event was set by Charles City's Greg Offerman in 2005 when he ran a 51.35. The all-time record goes back to 1996 where Ames' Dustin Avey clocked a 50.96.

Friday 4:30 p.m. 3A girls 4x200 Meter Relay final

Le Mars - Jess Reuter, Alyssa Louison, Jess Arnold, Emily Anderson - Reuter, Louison and Anderson have been to state before, but the experience will be both new and exciting for freshman Jess Arnold. The three veterans are new to the event, however, as all three ran on the Lady Bulldogs' 4x100 state team last spring. This year, the quartet has clocked a season-best 1:49.05 at the May 11 Lakes Conference meet in Hull. Their 1:50.40 was good for a gold medal at Friday's regional meet in Orange City. The time also ranks the girls 14th in the 24-member field which is topped by Dubuque Wahlert. Their quartet clocked the top regional time across the state as they advance with a 1:46.90.

Friday 5 p.m. 3A boys 110 Meter Hurdles prelims

Tyler Lancaster, Le Mars - Lancaster is more than familiar with the way things work at the state track meet. The junior made his state debut last spring when he ran in the 110 high hurdles as well as the shuttle hurdle relay. He returns in both events this spring. As a sophomore, Lancaster clocked a 16.61 in the 110 highs to place 22nd and end his competition in the preliminaries. This spring, the junior has clocked a season-best 15.28 at Storm Lake on May 5. He was the district champion with a state qualifying time of 15.51 on Friday in Orange City. He will run in the first of three heats on Friday afternoon, facing familiar competition in Sergeant Bluff-Luton's Ross Chettinger.

Friday 5:20 p.m. 3A girls 100 Meter Hurdles prelims

Emily TeBrink, Le Mars - TeBrink is making her third appearance at state after qualifying as a freshman and junior in the shuttle hurdle relay. This year, she will run in the relay race as well as the 100-meter hurdles. The senior is ranked fifth in the field after clocking a third-place 15.67 at Friday's regional in Orange City. Competition in Des Moines will be familiar for TeBrink, who faces regional champion Slone Masters of Storm Lake in the race. Masters owns the top time in the 24-member field after running a 15.27 Friday in Orange City. TeBrink's regional time bested her previous fast time of 16.23 at the Le Mars Co-Ed Invitational, where she placed first. TeBrink also garnered all-conference honors this spring as she was second in the event (16.33) at the Lakes Conference meet in Hull on May 11.

Friday 6:20 p.m. 3A boys 4x100 Meter Relay prelims

Le Mars - Zach Reed, Hunter Rohde, Mat Ferris, Mike Rodriguez - Reed is joined by a new team as he returns to state in the event. As a freshman, Reed along with Nate Fischer, Tim Newman and Matt Mertes clocked a 46.37 in prelims to place 23rd. The 2009 edition clocked a season-best 45.08 at the Lakes Conference meet before finishing third in 45.14 at Friday's district in Orange City. Familiar competition in the Bulldogs' heat includes Sergeant Bluff-Luton, while Storm Lake's team will run in the second heat of the event.

Friday 6:40 p.m. 3A girls 4x100 Meter Relay prelims

Le Mars - Alyssa Louison, Emily Anderson, Jess Arnold, Lindsey Wichers - In the second relay of the day for Louison, Anderson and Arnold, the Lady Bulldogs rank fourth in the field with their regional time of 51.37. The Le Mars quartet placed second at the regional to the 4x100 team from Storm Lake, which is ranked first in the field with a top time of 50.99. This Lady Bulldog quartet clocked a season-best 51.30 at the Lakes Conference meet in Hull. Both Louison and Anderson ran this relay at state last spring, along with Jess Reuter and Rachel Nilles. The 2008 team ran a 52.44 in preliminary action to place 22nd, short of the qualifying cutoff for the finals.

Saturday 10:30 a.m. boys 800 Meter Run final

Brady Schindel, Hinton - After a dry year in 2008, Hinton coach Steve Diediker was pleased to qualify a trio of events for state this spring. Schindel is the final individual event to run county-wide, save for Saturday's finals. The sophomore ran a 2:08.55 at Friday's district in Hawarden to bring home the gold and the district title while advancing to state. The time helped Schindel to a new season-best - his previous time of 2:10.68 was recorded at River Valley on May 1. With his district time, Schindel ranks 16th in the field, which is led by a 2:03.96 from Grisowld's Jared Hoffman.