DES MOINES – Two individuals and a relay from North Mahaska opened the Class 1A state track championships at the Blue Oval at Drake Stadium in Des Moines Thursday. Three more events will compete Friday and at least one on Saturday.
Sydney Andersen was the first to compete for North Mahaska in a hugely competitive shot put. State leader Audi Crooks of Bishop Garrigan lived up to expectations with a state record throw of 44-feet, 0.75 inches. Andersen, who came in as a district champion, finished 21st overall in the 24-person field. She had a put of 33-0.
Andy Knockel competed in the preliminaries of the 200 meters placing 18th overall with a time of 23.27 seconds. Only the top eight qualify for finals. Austin Kunkle of ACGC (Adair-Casey, Guthrie Center).
Lane Harmon, Nate Sampson, Ben Yang, Brayden Veiseth competed in the 3,200-meter relay. The team raced to 13th overall in 8:33.13. The squad from Earlham won the event in 8:11.05.
North Mahaska’s distance medley team will compete at 9:40 a.m. Friday. Hannah Wernli will make a run in the 100-meter hurdle preliminary at 10:20 a.m. and Gage Vande Voort will compete in the discus at 11:30 a.m.
