Comet throwers take top 2 in 2 NEIC events

Martin, Loeckle exceed personal-bests while winning conference titles

By John Burbridge sports@charlescitypress.com

WAVERLY — Sara Martin prefers not to live in the past.

So when you try to suggest to her what a bummer it was that she ended up an inch short of making the 39 feet cut-off mark in the shot put to qualify for the Drake Relays and then after the fact obliterate her former personal-best with a throw of 39 feet, 8 ½ inches to win the event at Thursday’s Northeast Iowa Conference Meet at Waverly-Shell Rock, the Charles City senior just shrugs it off.

“I would have liked to have made it to the Drake Relays and to have thrown that earlier in the season, but I’m beyond that now,” Martin said. “Setting a personal-best is great whenever you set it, so happy with that.”

Junior teammate Sydney Loeckle also threw a personal-best in the shot put as her throw of 35 feet, 10 ½ inches was good enough for second place.

The Comet 1-2 finish was flipped in the discus where Loeckle bettered her previous PB by three-and-a-half feet with a first-place throw of 116 feet, 1 ½ inches.

Martin was second with a throw of 114 feet, 5 inches.

“I believe it came from the extra work we put in in the weight room,” Loeckle said. “We’re best friends, and we always train together and give each other advice when needed.”

Loeckle and Martin were both members of Charles City’s volleyball team that advanced to the state tournament this past fall.

“But after that, we had a whole offseason to prepare for this,” said Martin, who was a state qualifier in the shot put last year.

In overall team standings, the Comet girls tied for second with Crestwood. The hosting Go-Hawks, paced by Katie Nimrod who won 400 hurdles — an event she recently placed third in at the Drake Relays — and the 400, won the meet with 180 team points.

Rounding out the girls team scores were Waverly-Shell Rock (84), New Hampton (78), Waukon (58) and Oelwein (7).

Charles City senior Sarah Turpen placed second in the 3,000 run behind Crestwood’s Ellie Friesen, who also won the 1,500 and 800.

Comet freshman Olyvia Zuspan placed second in the high jump with a clear of 4 feet, 10 inches. That was also the top height Waukon’s Ellec Armstead cleared, but due to achieving it in less attempts, was awarded first place.

Charles City’s 4-by-100 shuttle hurdle relay team of Brianna Carey, Tayler Schmidt, Lynn Hoeft and Sadie Ruzicka placed second (1 minute, 8.04 seconds) behind Waverly-Shell Rock (1:07.95)

In the boys meet, Charles City won two relays — the 4-by-200 with Hakeem Sharief, Zion Jordan, Adam Stewart and Arjay David (1:34.74); and the 1600 distance medley with David, Sharief, Stewart and Gavin Connell (3:50.29).

“It feels great to finally win a conference title for this team,” said junior David, who has been involved in track since middle school, but wasn’t on CC’s varsity squad as a freshman and was away in the Philippines during last track season.

“I just hope I can get some more,” said David, who also teamed up with Jordan, John Sibuma and Dylan Koresh to place third in the 4-by-100.

Earlier, Jordan placed second in the 200 as — despite posting a personal-best — he was nipped by Decorah’s Jackson Varney at the finish (23.07 to 23.11).

Connell placed third in the 3,200 and fourth in the 1,600 for the Comets.

In team standings, the Comets placed fifth with 65 points. Decorah won the meet with 154 points ahead of New Hampton (107), Waverly-Shell Rock (97) and Waukon (46).

Crestwood (64) and Oelwein (39) were sixth and seventh.

Boys Track

Northeast Iowa Conference Meet

May 4

At Waverly-Shell Rock

TEAM PLACINGS

1. Decorah 154, 2. New Hampton 107, 3. Waverly-Shell Rock 97, 4. Waukon 81, 5. Charles City 65, 6. Crestwood 46, 7. Oelwein 39.

TOP EVENT PLACERS

100 — 1. Rodrigue Sagbo (WSR) 11.34, 2. Josh Fenske (NH) 11.50, 3. Mitchell Snitker (W) 11.64, 4. Ben Hemer (WSR) 11.83, 5. Dawson Baures (W) 11.90, 6. Devan Euans (O) 11.91.

200 — 1. Jackson Varney (D) 23.07, 2. Zion Jordan (CC) 23.11, 3. Josh Fenske (NH) 23.40, 4. Hakeem Sharief (CC) 23.87, 5. Shane Burke (NH) 23.97, 6. Blain Swenson (W) 24.00.

400 — 1. Dawson Holkesvik (D) 51.74, 2. Keagan John (NH) 51.77, 3. Jackson Varney (D) 52.44, 4. Keaton Hughes (WSR) 52.54, 5. Jacob Downing (WSR) 54.96, 6. Dayton Swateck (C) 55.83.

800 — 1. Keagan John (NH) 2:03.44, 2. Sam Kepford (WSR) 2:04.71, 3. Nolan Usher (NH) 2:08.09, 4. Andrew Kephart (D) 2:08.19, 5. Blake Schmelzer (D) 2:09.50, 6. Hunter Jensen (W) 2:09.97.

1600 — 1. Andrew Kephart (D) 4:36.82, 2. Sam Kepford (WSR) 4:39.45, 3. Tayler O’Neill (W) 4:45.53, 4. Gavin Connell (CC) 4:51.72, 5. Mason Deeter (CC) 4:52.86, 6. Micheal Bruening (D) 4:54.66.

3200 — 1. Andrew Kephart (D) 10:08.13, 2. Tyler O’Neill (W) 10:14.89, 3. Gavin Connell (CC) 10:24.33, 4. Austin Day (W) 10:33.53, 5. Eamonn McCullough (WSR) 10:50.09, 6. Micheal Mashek (C) 10:53.43.

110 HUR — 1. Sayer Woodson (O) 15.55, 2. Chris Guest (C) 16.12, 3. Braydon Fisher (NH) 16.26, 4. Andrew Magner (D) 16.62, 5. Cameren Sims (O) 16.95, 6. Dylan Koresh (CC) 17.05.

400 HUR — 1. Mitchell Snitker (W) 56.05, 2. Saver Woodson (O) 56.89, 3. Braydon Fisher (NH) 57.72, 4. Chris Guest (C) 58.93, 5. Zach DeVore (D) 59.36, 6. Jack Seward (WSR) 59.80.

4-by-100 RELAY — 1. New Hampton (Braydon Fisher, Keagan John, Shane Burke, Josh Fenske) 45.64, 2. Waverly-Shell Rock 45.99, 3. Charles City 46.53, 4. Oelwein 46.88, 5. Crestwood 47.07, 6. Decorah 48.28.

4-by-200 RELAY — 1. Charles City (Hakeem Sharief, Zion Jordan, Adam Stewart, Arjay David) 1:35.74, 2. Decorah 1:36.54, 3. Waukon 1:36.83, 4. Waverly-Shell Rock 1:38.25, 5. Crestwood 1:38.74, 6. New Hampton 1:43.02.

4-by-400 RELAY — 1. Waverly-Shell Rock (Damor Hughes, Jacob Downing, Ryan Cherry, Keaton Hughes) 3:33.93, 2. Waukon 3:34.64, 3. Decorah 3:40.14, 4. New Hampton 3:52.89, 5. Crestwood 3:53.17, 6. Charles City 4:04.02.

4-by-800 RELAY — 1. New Hampton (Nolan Usher, Jake Usher, Alex Schumacher, Keagan John) 8:41.61, 2. Decorah 8:55.01, 3. Waverly-Shell Rock 9:01.63, 4. Crestwood 9:26.82, 5. Waukon 9:29.08, 6. Charles City 9:58.77.

800 SPRINT MEDLEY RELAY — 1. Decorah (Jacob Roher, Cade Klimesh, Zach DeVore, Jackson Varney) 1:37.78, 2. Waukon 1:39.59, 3. Charles City 1:41.42, 4. New Hampton 1:43.55, 5. Crestwood 1:45.12, 6. Oelwein 1:45.26.

1600 DISTANCE MEDLEY RELAY — 1. Charles City (Arjay David, Hakeem Sharief, Adam Stewart, Gavin Connell) 3:50.29, 2. Waverly-Shell Rock 3:54.33, 3. Decorah 3:57.45, 4. New Hampton 4:00.87, 5. Waukon 4:08.83, 6. Crestwood 4:10.97.

4-by-110 SHUTTLE HURDLE RELAY — 1. Decorah (Andrew Magner, Zach DeVore, Cade Klimesh, Jacob Roher) 1:01.02, 2. Waukon 1:02.64, 3. Oelwein 1:03.11, 4. Charles City 1:05.22, 5. Waverly-Shell Rock 1:11.12, 6. Crestwood 1:14.07.

HJ — 1. Shawn Shindelar (D) 6-00, 2. Jack Seward (WSR) 5-10, 3. Dawson Baures (W) 5-10, 4. Logan Albert (C) 5-08, 5. Keaton Solberg (D) 5-06, 6. Cameren Sims (O) 5-06.

LJ — 1. Dawson Meyer (D) 20-11, 2. Josh Fenske (NH) 20-09, 3. Devan Euans (O) 20-07, 4. Austin McAllister (C)  20-01, 6. Ryan Zuspan (CC) 19-04.

SP — 1. Andy Lillegraven (D) 48-11.50, 2. Noah Fenske (NH) 47-04.25, 3. Mosai Newsom (WSR) 46-00.5, 4. Dillon Roberson (NH) 45-05.5, 5. Alex Brink (W) 44-04, 6. Brady Sullivan (W) 42-09.

DIS — 1. Spencer Cuvelier (C) 171-10, 2. Adam Hovden (D) 156-11.5, 3. Mosai Newsom (WSR) 144-01, 4. Andy Lillegraven (D) 131-04, 5. Shelby Schriever (NH) 117-06, 6. Mason Meyer (CC) 116-05.

Girls Track

Northeast Iowa Conference Meet

May 5

At Waverly-Shell Rock

TEAM PLACINGS

1. Decorah 180, 2. Charles City 91, 3. Crestwood 91, 4. Waverly-Shell Rock 84, 5. New Hampton 78, 6. Waverly-Shell Rock 84, 7. Oelwein 7.

TOP EVENT PLACERS

100 — 1. Katie Saner (C) 12.60, 2. Katie Nimrod (D) 12.89, 3. Rose Gullekson (D) 12.96, 4. Karlie Wosepka (WSR) 13.41, 5. Grace Hoins (WSR) 13.54, 6. Lanci Bulman (W) 13.66.

200 — 1. Katie Sander (C) 26.24, 2. Brooke Berns (D) 26.41, 3. Darian Wegner (NH) 26.54, 4. Krissa Larson (WSR) 27.27, 5. Rylea Ranum (D) 27.42, 6. Ellec Waukon (W) 28.02.

400 — 1. Katie Nimrod (D) 1:00.18, 2. Kayla Quandahl (D) 1:01.87, 3. Darian Wegner (NH) 1:02.31, 4. Grace Hoines (WSR) 1:03.20, 5. Jayme Willemssen (WSR) 1:04.17, 6. Sami Heyer (CC) 1:06.00.

800 — 1. Ellie Friesen (C) 2:22.82, 2. Sarah Mikkelson (D) 2:26.37, 3. Lauren Elliott (W) 2:28.17, 4. Jenna Galligan (D) 2:31.18, 5. Ann Hoins (WSR) 2:34.93, 6. Mackenzy Bilharz (CC) 2:35.89.

1500 — 1. Ellie Friesen (C) 4:57.57, 2. Josephine Berlage (D) 5:11.67, 3. Shayla Betts (D) 5:12.22, 4. Whitney Martin (CC) 5:14.08, 5. Hope Dohlman (C) 5:17.48, 6. Maddi Moorman (NH) 5:20.28.

3000 — 1. Ellie Friesen (C) 10:52.43, 2. Sarah Turpen (CC) 11:18.51, 3. Josephine Berlage (D) 11:26.60, 4. Mackenzy Bilharz (CC) 11:49.64, 5. Kaitlyn Rooney (CC) 11:49.64, 6. Olivia Burke (NH) 11:58.57.

100 HUR — 1. Haley Beckert (WSR) 16.00, 2. Madison Sexton (D) 16.56, 3. Drew Becker (O) 16.64, 4. Sadie Ruzicka (CC) 16.67, 5. Karlie Wosepka (WSR) 16.68, 6. Brianna Carey (CC) 16.80.

400 HUR — 1. Katie Nimrod (D) 1:04.81, 2. Madison Sexton (D) 1:10.53, 3. Haley Beckert (WSR) 1:12.14, 5. Hannah Heit (NH) 1:15.73, 6. Lauren Frerichs (NH) 1:16.33.

4-by-100 RELAY — 1. Decorah (Rose Gullekson, Kayla Quandahl, Kyle Kerndt, Brynne Valkosky) 50.75, 2. New Hampton 51.44, 3. Waverly-Shell Rock 54.53, 4. Charles City 54.98, 5. Waukon 55.86, 6. Crestwood 55.96.

4-by-200 — 1. Decorah (Sarah Mikkelson, Brooke Berns, Brynne Valkosky, Rose Gullekson) 1:48.23, 2. New Hampton 1:52.86, 3. Waukon 1:53,05, 4. Waverly-Shell Rock 1:53.31, 5. Crestwood 1:57.33, 6. Charles City 1:57.57.

4-by-400 — 1. Decorah (Brooke Berns, Rylea Ranum, Brenna Betts, Katie Nimrod) 4:10.45, 2. Waverly-Shell Rock 4:18.32, 3. Waukon 4:24.04, 4. New Hampton 4:25.21, 5. Charles City 4:28.14, 6. Waukon 11:08.49.

800 SPRINT MEDLEY RELAY — 1. Decorah (Katie Dehning, Brynne Valkosky, Kayla Quandahl, Brooke Berns) 1:52.72, 2. New Hampton 1:56.78, 3. Waukon 1:59.23, 4. Waverly-Shell Rock 1:59.91, 5. Crestwood 2:01.35, 6. Charles City 2:06.43.

1600 DISTANCE MEDLEY RELAY — 1. Crestwood (Brynn Bodermann, Annie Mast, Katie Saner, Ellie Friesen) 4:23.25, 2. Decorah 4:29.73, 3. New Hampton 4:42.86, 4. Waverly-Shell Rock 4:52.13, 5. Charles City 4:57.41, 6. Waukon 4:57.65.

4-by-100 SHUTTLE HUR RELAY — 1. Decorah (Grace Syverson, Madison Sexton, Ambria Pipho, Kylie Kerndt) 1:07.95, 2. Charles City 1:08.04, 3. Waverly-Shell Rock 1:08.28, 4. New Hampton 1:11.71, 5. Waukon 1:13.74, 6. Oelwein 1:15.33.

HJ — 1. Ellec Armstead (W) 4-10, 2. Olyvia Zuspan (CC) 4-10, 3. Marcy Uglum (NH) 4-08, 3. Sharon Goodman (C) 4-08, 5. Ambria Pipho (D) 4-08, 6. Savannah Anderson (NH) 4-08.

LJ — 1. Katie Saner (C) 17-03.25, 2. Erika Johnson (W) 17-00, 3. Darian Wegner (NH) 17-00, 4. Rachel Rinken (NH) 16-11, 5. Avery Buseman (WSR) 15-10, 6. Katie Dehning (D) 15-09.75.

SP — 1. Sara Martin (CC) 39-08.5, 2. Sydney Loeckle (CC) 35-10.5, 3. Hailey Nierling (D) 35-02, 4. Meredith Lensing (W) 34-00, 5. Lydia Kleckner (D) 33-10.5, 6. Savannah Anderson (NH) 33-09.5.

DIS — 1. Sydney Loeckle (CC) 116-01.5, 2. Sara Martin (CC) 114-05, 3. Sharon goodman (C) 109-04.5, 4. Meredith Lensing (W) 101.04, 5. Serina Hovden (NH) 101-01, 6. McKinley Lillegraven (D) 99-11.5