Week 5 Iowa high school track and field notebook
By Dana Becker
The word dynasty gets thrown around a lot in sports these days, but in Decorah, they can really lay claim to being just that when it comes to girls track and the Northeast Iowa Conference.
The Vikings captured 11 events and racked up almost 200 points to win their 18th consecutive team league title recently. That means the majority of those that helped Decorah finish on top were not even born the last time another team won gold
The Vikings won five relays and had five others claim individual titles. They dominated the sprint events, as Haley Stowe won the 100-meter dash, Lani Hubka the 200 and McKenzie Riley the 400. Throwers Chloe Reiser and Julia Alberts were also crowned champions of the shot put and discus.
New Hampton was a distant second followed by Waverly-Shell Rock, Crestwood, Waukon and Charles City.
Crestwood’s Kinze Shea dominated the distance races, sweeping the 1,500 and 3,000 titles. New Hampton’s Carlee Rochford picked up golds in the 100 hurdles and long jump, but was denied the high jump title by Keely Collins of Charles City.
Waverly-Shell Rock held off Decorah for the boys NEIC title by six points, followed by Waukon, Charles City, Crestwood and New Hampton.
Built Ford fast
Iowa City High’s Ford Washburn is fast. You might not expect that from a distance runner, but after seeing what he did during the Mississippi Valley Conference divisional meet, it is undeniable.
Washburn set a new school-record with a time of 8:54.04 to win the 3,200-meter race. The previous mark was set 47 years ago by Randy Jackson at 8:56.80. And Washburn did it in style, breaking the record on John Raffensperger track, where he has won so many races over the years.
While he focuses on the state meet and adding to his collection of medals, Washburn also knows where he is going next, having committed to run at Northern Arizona University next year.
Iowa City West claimed top honors, scoring the boys title by 12 points over rival City High with Linn-Mar third and Cedar Rapids Kennedy fourth.
What is next?
With Drake Relays and conference meets in the rear-view mirror, the focus now turns entirely to the upcoming slate of state-qualifying meets. Action will take place from all parts of Iowa in all four classes, as boys and girls look to punch their ticket to the state meet.
Qualifiers differ in the classes, but winners and second place finishers of each district race at each district site in 4A, 3A and 2A guarantee themselves a spot with at-large selections filling out the races. For 1A, just the district winners of each event automatically qualify with at-large selections rounding things out.
The state track and field championships are set for May 18-20 in Des Moines from Drake Stadium.
