Panthers fill State spots in six events, with eight entries

   Eight entries. Six events. Monticello athletes will be prevalent when the State Class 2A Girls Track and Field meet begins Thursday at Drake Stadium in Des Moines.

   The Panthers had numerous personal records and several outstanding performances during the State Qualifying Meet May 11 at Dean Nelson Field in Monticello.

   “I told the girls we are sitting really well to bring home some medals,” Monticello coach Vallerie Lynn said. “If we approach State like we approached state qualifying, we should be able to do that.”

   Four of the Panther events will include junior Marisa Kehoe, who anchored three qualifying relays – two of which won – and won the 800-meter run.

   “Marisa was amazing,” coach Lynn said. “She exceeded all of my expectations.”

   At state qualifying, the top two finishers in each event are automatic state meet qualifiers, along with the next-best eight from across the state.

   On Thursday, the Panthers double-qualified  in two events. Kehoe won the 800 after being tripped up and falling down shortly after the gun went off. The gun was fired again, ordering a restart, and this time a determined Kehoe sprinted right to the lead and led the race both times around the track.

   “That got her mad enough that she told herself, ‘Well now I need to go win this.’ ” Lynn said.

   Teammate Ava Capron was fourth in the event, but her time was fast enough for an at-large bid to State.

   Similarly, Leah Koehler was first and Emma Althoff was fourth in the 1,500; both advanced to State. Althoff also earned a State trip in the 3,000, finishing second.

   The Panthers won the distance medley with the team of Ava Zimmerman, Keziah McQuillen, Hailey Henderson and Kehoe; and won the 4x800 with its fastest time of the season, 9:52.43. On that team were Koehler, Capron, Halle Recker and Kehoe.

   The 4x400 team also made it to State, finishing second with the team of Henderson, Capron, McQuillen and Kehoe.

   PRs were earned by the first three runners in the 4x800, Kehoe in the distance medley, Capron in the 800, and in the 4x400, Henderson in the 4x400, and Koehler in the 1,500.

   Two others – senior Savannah Freese (400 hurdles) and freshman Koye Jaeger (100 hurdles) earned PRs, but did not qualify for State.

   “These girls put in a lot of work in the off-season and had some big goals coming into this season,” Lynn said. “They had a lot of teammates pushing them and ready to fill in for them.”

   The state meet schedule is available at ighsau.org.

May 11

Class 2A State

Qualifying Meet

(at Monticello)

TEAM SCORES

     1, Williamsburg 127; 2, Cascade 104; 3, Monticello 89.5; 4, Alburnett 80; 5, Waukon 73; 6, Northeast 72; 7, Anamosa 64.5; 8, Jesup 54; 9 (tie), Dyersville Beckman 29 and Oelwein 29; 11, MFL MarMac 6; 12, Postville 2.

MONTICELLO RESULTS

(State qualifiers in bold)

     200: 3, Ava Zimmerman, 27.99.

     400: 5, Keziah McQuillen, 1:06.06; 6, Kennedy Hermsen, 1:07.05.

     800: 1, Marisa Kehoe, 2:22.59; 4, Ava Capron, 2:29.13.

     1,500: 1, Leah Koehler, 5:06.01; 4, Emma Althoff, 5:14.06.

     3,000: 2, Emma Althoff, 11:17.36.

     Sprint medley: 8, Kaylin Noll, Ella Glawatz, Kinzi Schlarmann, Olivia Zimmerman; 2:10.38.

     Distance medley: 1, Ava Zimmerman, Keziah McQuillen, Hailey Henderson, Marisa Kehoe: 4:16.20.

     4x100: 6, Lauren Verhagen, Kaylin Noll, Ella Glawatz, Gabi Barnhart; 54.63.

     4x200: 7, Lauren Verhagen, Kinzi Schlarmann, Olivia Zimmerman, Gabi Barnhart; 1:58.79.

     4x400: 2, Hailey Henderson, Ava Capron, Keziah McQuillen, Marisa Kehoe; 4:10.10.

     4x800: 1, Leah Koehler, Ava Capron, Halle Recker, Marisa Kehoe; 9:52.43.

     Shot put: 4, Dori Paddock, 31-10.