Golden Hawk sprint relays post 1-2 finishes, Danielle Hostetler wins 3rd straight 3000m

By Paul D. Bowker
Posted 5/23/23

Danielle Hostetler’s final pushes created a roar among the spectators at a packed Drake Stadium.

Twice.

The drama began last Thursday, the first day of the Iowa High School Track …

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Golden Hawk sprint relays post 1-2 finishes, Danielle Hostetler wins 3rd straight 3000m

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Danielle Hostetler’s final pushes created a roar among the spectators at a packed Drake Stadium.

Twice.

The drama began last Thursday, the first day of the Iowa High School Track & Field Championships, when Hostetler blasted through the final lap of the Class 2A girls 3000-meter run and blew past Hillary Trainor of Sumner-Fredericksburg and Mayson Hartley of Clarinda for her third consecutive state title in that event.

Two days later, in the 1500 final, Hostetler battled Madison Brouwer of Sibley-Ocheyedan and Clare Kelly of Van Meter down the final stretch. Hostetler finished third.

Those performances by Hostetler, coming in front of a record crowd that included her two older sisters, and one-two finishes by Mid-Prairie’s 4x200 and 4x100 relay team helped send the Golden Hawks to a historic second-place team finish.

After it was over, the Golden Hawks gathered for team photos in the infield and in one corner of Drake Stadium, celebrating a five-year run that consisted of four state championships and a runner-up finish.

“It means everything,” said Madelyn Schrader, a senior who ran in the 4x100 and 4x200 relays the last two years. “It’s been an amazing experience with these girls.”

Van Meter won three relay races, capturing the 2A girls team title with 71 points in a dramatic showdown with Mid-Prairie that fired up last year when the Golden Hawks topped Van Meter by 10 points for its fourth consecutive state championship to tie a state record. One of Van Meter’s wins, in the distance medley, produced a state record.

“If it wasn’t for each other,” Mid-Prairie head coach Mark Hostetler said, “we wouldn’t run as fast as we do.”

Danielle Hostetler won two individual medals and added a silver medal by anchoring the Golden Hawks’ second-place finish in the distance medley. In three years, Hostetler has won four individual state titles, two distance medley titles and finished no lower than eighth in any race.

All of that success has put a target on Hostetler’s back, and she knows it.

“So many people are gunning for you,” Hostetler said.

A three-time cross country champion, Hostetler hung in a group of leaders in the 3000, then turned up her speed in the final lap while the others could only watch Hostetler sail by them. She won the race with a time of 10:20.73.

“That was really the plan,” she said, smiling.

“Strategy wise,” Mark Hostetler said, “it was perfect.”

In the 1500 final Saturday, Danielle Hostetler burst around a pack and into the lead halfway through the race.

“I just decided I would give it all with whatever energy I had left,” she said.

It wasn’t until the final stretch that Brouwer and Kelly were able to get past Hostetler, who was visibly attempting to grab every piece of her energy to hold on.

Afterward, Hostetler and Brouwer embraced.

“I love Madison. I’m so proud of her,” Hostetler said.

Brouwer won the race in 4:36.75; Hostetler finished in 4:40.80.

The Golden Hawks 4x200 and 4x100 relay teams tied a school record with its first- and second-place finishes in the sprints. Joining seniors Amara Jones, Schrader and Tabitha Evans in those races was Jovi Evans, who became one of the few Golden Hawks to run in four state relay races as a freshman.

“Running the 400 (in the distance medley) just the fourth time in her life,” Mark Hostetler said of Jovi Evans. “Jovi’s got some talent.”

The 4x200 win came in a time of 1:44.49, a season best for the Golden Hawks.

In addition to the 4x200 and 4x100, Tabitha Evans ran in the 200 and also joined with Schraeder, Nevaeh Decker and Jovi Evans for a third-place finish in the sprint medley. Tabitha Evans missed a spot in the 200 finals by just one-fifth of a second.

Danielle Hostetler finished eighth in the 800 with a personal-best time of 2:19.13, a race that was won by Brouwer. Ella Groenewold, another Mid-Prairie senior, scored a top-10 finish in the high jump, leaping 5 foot, 2 inches for 10th place.

Abby Fleming, a junior, made the finals in two events, the 1500 and 3000, finishing 21st and 17th, respectively.

State Stats

100: Nevaeh Decker, prelims, 23rd, :13.37.

200: Tabitha Evans, prelims, 9th, :26.20.

400: Greta Sieren, 16th, 1:01.30.

800: Danielle Hostetler, 8th, 2:59.13; Greta Sieren, 24th, 2:28.60.

1500: Danielle Hostetler, 3rd, 4:40.80; Abby Fleming, 21st, 5:09.69.

3000: Danielle Hostetler, 1st, 10:20.73; Abby Fleming, 17th, 11:25.82.

4x100: 2, Madeline Schrader-Amara Jones-Jovi Evans-Tabitha Evans, :49.90.

4x200: 1, Madeline Schrader-Amara Jones-Jovi Evans-Tabitha Evans, 1:44.49.

4x800: 23, Annika Poll-Rebekah Wallington, Kali Miller-Phoebe Shetler, 10:40.04.

4x100 Shuttle Hurdles: prelims, 12th, Amara Jones-Olivia Schlabach-Behla Schmidt-Sophie Miller, 1:08.83.

Sprint Medley: 3, Madeline Schrader-Nevaeh Decker-Jovi Evans-Tabitha Evans, 1:49.89.

Distance Medley: 2, Madeline Schrader-Amara Jones-Jovi Evans-Danielle Hostetler, 4:12.16.

High Jump: Ella Groenewold, 10th, 5-2.

Long Jump: Emma Lueck, 20th, 15-3.5.