Comet Relays provide last chance for potential Drake Relays qualifiers

By John Burbridge

sports@charlescitypress.com

CHARLES CITY — In a meet that featured numerous state qualifiers, medalists and champions — let alone school-record holders — Tuesday’s Comet Coed Relays at Charles City’s Blaine Thorson Track featured an uber level of athleticism.

And utmost importance.

With the qualification deadline for the prestigious Drake Relays looming at the end of the week, time was running out for any potentials who haven’t made the cut.

Thus, it’s ironic that the Comet Relays were historically conceived to cater to athletes who didn’t make the Drake Relays as the two meets often overlapped on the same day — this year’s Drake Relays will be held next week (April 26-29).

Several Charles City athletes have already attained Blue Oval Standards for automatic Drake Relay berths.

Junior Keely Collins, a two-time state silver medalist in the high jump and a two-time Drake Relays qualifier in the same event, had already punched her ticket when she broke her own school HJ record last week at Osage with a clear of 5 feet, 7 inches — 5-5 is the high school female BOS.

On Tuesday, Collins placed second in the HJ as her top height of 5-4 matched Aplington-Parkersburg junior Olyvia Bellows with the latter jumper awarded first place due to fewer previous misses.

On her final attempt at 5-6 — Collins’s previous school record she set as a freshman and matched at last year’s state meet — Collins nearly cleared the bar only to have her left heel graze it as she flew by. For a split second, it looked as if the wobbling bar was going to stay in place, but gravity usually wins in these quivering situations and Collins had to settle for second place.

Charles City junior Josiah Cunnings had an outstanding meet when it came to putting points on the board for the Comets while helping Charles City’s boys place second in team-point standings to Forest City (170-162).

With a jump of 22 feet, 4 inches achieved earlier this season in the long jump, Cunnings — who was a state qualifier in the LJ and HJ last season — has already surpassed the necessary small orbit of 22 feet for an automatic berth to Drake.

At the Comet Relays, Cunnings had a first-place long jump of 21 feet, 10 inches — exactly a foot greater than junior runner-up teammate Keenan Wiley, who set a personal-record in the LJ.

In the 400-meter dash, Cunnings placed first with a time of 53.01 — the BOS is 50.70.

Cunnings placed second in the 200 dash (23.20 — nipped at the line by Forest City’s Vinton Feldman).

Cunnings, Wiley, Xander Graeser and Reed Peters won the 4-by-400 relay with a time of 3:38.30.

Graeser, a two-time cross country state qualifier, continued to show his versatility at various distances by winning the 800 run (2:09.62).

Comet sophomore Kaden Littleton won his first varsity high jump event when he cleared 5 feet, 8 inches.

Comet sophomore Nick Williams, another two-time cross country state qualifier, placed second in the 1600 run (4:59.57), 2 seconds behind Forest City senior Ryan Kelly.

Sophomore Noah Morris, who transferred to Charles City this school year, has proven to be a valuable addition for the Comets as his second-place time in the 400 low hurdles (1:02.74) is the fastest recorded thus far by a Comet.

After showing his speed during the football season as being the fastest player downfield during kickoffs, Comet junior Micah Hillhouse again displayed some fleet feet during the fourth leg of the 4-by-200 relay.

Needing to make up 10 to 15 meters on Saint Ansgar’s fourth man in a race for second place, Hillhouse caught him at the proverbial wire, capping a second-place time of 1:36.36 — .08 ahead of the Saints … Forest City was first (1:35.81) — with John Bruening, Victor Ward and Jackson Ruzicka being the other members of the Comet relay.

The BOS for the female shot put is 41 feet, even. Charles City sophomore Leah Stewart may have come close to reaching that mark on Tuesday had it not been a scratch on what would have been her longest throw. Stewart’s best throw that did count (35 feet, 3 1/2 inches) was good enough for second place.

Decorah senior Chloe Reiser came a half-inch short of the BOS while winning the event (40-0.5), but has already qualified for Drake in the shot put.

Stewart, whose best throw this season is 37 feet, 8 inches, was due to get one more “shot” at qualifying for Drake in the shot put during a last-chance meet at Nashua-Plainfield scheduled for the following Thursday, but the meet was subsequently cancelled.

Charles City senior Destiny Kolheim added third-place points for the Comet girls with times of 13.70 and 28.50 in the 100- and 200-meter dashes.

Comet junior Lauren Staudt, who has qualified for state her freshman and sophomore seasons, recorded a person-record 400 low hurdles time of 1:13.71 good enough for fourth place.

Nashua-Plainfield sophomore Kadence Huck, who was the Class 1A girls 400 dash state champion last year as well as a member on several Husky state-winning relays let alone NP’s first overall state-champion girls team, had already qualified for Drake in the 400.

In a quest to achieve another Blue Oval Standard, Huck won the 1500 run at Tuesday’s coed event with a time of 4:50 — 4 seconds shy of the standard but the N-P school record will likely be good enough to qualify for Drake as it tentatively ranks as the 16th best time in the state thus far this season.

Another Drake Relays qualifier was present at the Comet Relays — New Hampton senior Carlee Rochford, who won the long jump event with a flight of 17 feet, 4 3/4 inches.

The BOS for the girls long jump is 17-6, which Rochford has already eclipsed this season (17-9 1/4) while winning the event at the Northeast Iowa Conference Indoor Meet held March 21 at Luther College in Decorah.

The final team standings for the boys meet: Forest City (170), Charles City (162), Saint Ansgar (101), New Hampton (87), Nashua-Plainfield (66), Newman Catholic (62), North Fayette Valley (53), Riceville (23).

The final team standings for the girls meet: Decorah (191), Aplington-Parkersburg (133), Charles City (106), New Hampton (91), Jesup (77), Newman Catholic (54), Riceville (31), Nashua-Plainfield (10).