It's show time

State track & field meet returns to Drake Stadium on Thursday

By Paul D. Bowker
Posted 5/19/21

Show time begins Thursday at Drake Stadium in Des Moines.

We missed you last year, track and field championships.

And in a surprise announcement revealed Tuesday by the Iowa High School …

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It's show time

State track & field meet returns to Drake Stadium on Thursday

Posted

Show time begins Thursday at Drake Stadium in Des Moines.

We missed you last year, track and field championships.

And in a surprise announcement revealed Tuesday by the Iowa High School Athletic Association and Iowa Girls High School Athletic Union, this year’s three-day championship meet returns us to normal. Spectator restrictions have been lifted for double sessions that will be held Thursday through Friday.

The drama won’t be lacking.

The Mid-Prairie girls track & field team is seeking its third straight state championship in Class 2A.

Freshman Danielle Hostetler, who was unbeaten in every cross country race in the fall including the state championship, was a triple individual winner in the 2A track qualifier. Her qualifying times ranked No. 2 in the 1500-meter run, No. 3 in the 800 and No. 8 in the 3000.

Teammate Sydney Yoder, who was also a member of the cross country state championship squad, finished runner-up to Hostetler in the 1500 and 3000 at the 2A qualifier, and is ranked No. 7 in the 1500 and No. 10 in the 3000.

Mitzi Evans, another cross country state champion, is ranked No. 4 in both the 400 and 800, and No. 11 in the 200.

Mid-Prairie senior Tori Boyse finished runner-up in the shot put and the discus at the 2A qualifier, and made the state championship as the No. 7-ranked athlete in the girls discus and No. 8 in the shot put.

On the boys side, the Golden Hawks’ title contenders include sophomore high jumper Cain Brown, who won the 2A qualifier with a leap of 6 feet, 6 inches to automatically qualify for the state championship meet. He is ranked No. 3 behind Southeast Valley’s Kaleb Scott and Clarinda’s Isaac Jones, who each reached 6-7 in their qualifier meets.

Jamison Stutzman, who led Mid-Prairie’s boys cross country squad to the state championship meet, is ranked No. 5 in the 3200 and No. 15 in the 800. Teammate Thaddeus Shetler is No. 11 in the 1600.

The Golden Hawks won’t be alone among area teams in Des Moines. Highland has stacked up eight entries for this weekend, Hillcrest’s Aaron Hershberger qualified in two hurdle events and Lone Tree qualified in the boys 4x110 shuttle hurdle.

Highland long jumper Sarah Burton, who is just a freshmen, is ranked 16th in the long jump. She won the SEISC North title. Mackenzie McFarland, a sophomore, is ranked No. 7 in the girls 100 and Connor Grinstead made the field in the boys 200.

In addition, the Huskies qualified in three girls relay events and two boys relay races.

Hershberger is a title contender in the hurdles, ranking No. 10 in the 400 hurdles and No. 19 in the 110 hurdles.

Yes, it’s show time in Des Moines.

Most of the finals will be held Saturday (Class 2A, early session at 9 a.m.; Class 1A, late session at 2 p.m.). But some finals begin as early as Thursday morning, including Hostetler and Yoder of Mid-Prairie running in the Class 2A girls 3000 and Evans in the girls 400.

If you’re not lucky enough to be in Drake Stadium this weekend, keep an eye on The News website and Twitter accounts for the latest results.

Paul Bowker can be reached at bowkerpaul1@gmail.com. Follow him on Twitter: @bowkerpaul.