The starter pistol fired. Off went the racers, sprinting hard for a first-place finish. Lone Tree’s Rylee Shield and Ava Christofferson each ran stride-for-stride, finishing first and second. Shield finished just .08 seconds faster than Christofferson, a highlight of the night as the two finished well ahead of the rest in their heat of the 200-meter dash. 

This is an exact swap from last week when Christofferson just barely took a first-place finish just .06 seconds ahead of Shield in second.

The night was one to remember for the Lone Tree girls track and field team as they made the long trip to Belle Plaine and left in first place of class B competition and second place in the overall rankings. 

It was the second week in a row with a top two finish for the Lone Tree girls as they finished first place in Columbus Junction Monday, Mar. 20.

“[It’s] very early in the season and just so many good things [are happening],” Lone Tree head coach, Chad Shield, said. “I think our girls took another step forward today. They work really hard, every day, and it’s good for them to see the results pay off.”

Senior Riley Krueger, had a good night, competing in the high jump and ranking second in class B and third overall with a four-foot-ten jump. She also worked in some hurdle events, placing second in class B 100-meter hurdles (fourth overall).

“I think Riley Krueger stood out to me, she hasn’t done [the high jump] at least three years [or potentially ever] and went out and jumped second place,” Shield said. “[Her four-foot-ten jump would] typically be good enough to qualify for state. I think she’s got more in her.” 

In the long jump, sophomore, Avery Moraie, ranked third overall with a 14-foot-6.5-inch jump. 

For discus, it was sophomore Alex Dautremont, who ranked third in class B and sixth overall for Lone Tree with a 79-07 throw.

Sophomore, Hayden Yoder, ranked fifth place in shot put for class B with a 27.08 throw, ranking tenth overall.

The races are where Lone Tree ran away in the standings. Lone Tree had a first-place finish in the 4x100 meter relay, with a 55.15 time. In the 800-medley relay, Lone Tree had a second-place finish overall, with a 2:01.84 finish. In the 4x200 meter relay, Lone Tree had a third-place finish in class B with a 2:08.55 time. 

There are always things to improve, especially so early into the track and field season. One area of improvement would be the baton handoffs in coach Shield’s eyes. Poor form can make a long distance run that much more challenging.

“Our handoffs [are] not in midseason form,” Shield said. “I know we can continue growing in those events.”

The cold weather played a factor into this invitational meet as well. According to Shield, some of the athletes were feeling under the weather and yet still competed to the best of their ability, helping aid in the big second place finish.

“We’ve still got bigger goals and bigger aspirations. So, this is only the beginning. We want to continue to push forward and get better each and every time out,” Shield said.

It was a successful night for the team. There were not many events that Lone Tree didn’t place in the top four. The Lone Tree Lions will look to continue improving for their following meet in Wayland, Iowa, at the WACO relays on Tuesday, Apr. 4.

RESULTS

1, Lone Tree, 149; 2, Don Bosco, 111; 3, English Valleys, 70; 4, Belle Plaine, 54; 5, Twin Cedars, 39.50; 6, Tri-County, 32; 7, Victor, 31; 8, Keota, 25.50. 

100m: 1, Rylee Dunkin, Twin Cedars, 13.96; 2, Kayli Mohror, English Valleys, 14.01; 3, Ava Christofferson, Lone Tree, 14.29. 

200m: 1, Rylee Shield, Lone Tree, 29.08; 2, Ava Christofferson, Lone Tree, 29.16; 3, Alyssa Steinback, Belle Plaine, 29.41.

400m: 1, Kendra Nissen, Don Bosco, 1:02.64; 2, Ema Roberts, Victor, 1:04.64; 3, Rylee Shield, Lone Tree, 1:05.41; 4, Vivian Zaruba, Lone Tree, 1:08.32.

800m: 1, Kendra Nissen, Don Bosco, 2:36.62; 2, Rylee Dunkin, Twin Cedars, 2:38.02; 3, Vivian Zaruba, Lone Tree, 2:57.99; 7, Lilly Mills, Lone Tree, 3:45.15.

100m hurdles: 1, Alyssa Steinback, Belle Plaine, 18.39; 2, Riley Krueger, Lone Tree, 18.93; 3, Kennedi McGarvey, Don Bosco, 19.91; 8, Lindsay Werbach, Lone Tree, 21.66.

1500m: 1, Rylee Dunkin, Twin Cedars, 5:45.05; 2, Kaylee Frazier, English Valleys, 6:39.01; 3, Emersyn Fort, Belle Plaine, 7:04.34; 4, Lila Bell, Lone Tree, 8:40.55.

400m hurdles: 1, Josie Hogan, Don Bosco, 1:25.66; 2, Kimberly Clarahan, Keota, 1:26.96; 3, Cate Sexton, Lone Tree, 1:27.30; 4, Lindsay Werbach, Lone Tree, 1:33.43.

Discus: 1, Kennedy Axmear, English Valleys, 117-06,50; 2, Izzy Sankot, Belle Plaine, 84-02; 3, Alex Dautremont, Lone Tree, 79-07; 8, Hayden Yoder, Lone Tree, 63-00.

High Jump: 1, Ema Roberts, Victor, 5-03; 2, Riley Krueger, Lone Tree, 4-10; 3, Ciara Huff, Don Bosco, 4-08; 4, Alyson Ford, Lone Tree, 4-04.

Long Jump: 1, Rylee Dunkin, Twin Cedars, 15-10.5; 2, Kayli Mohror, English Valleys, 14-10.75; 3, Avery Morarie, Lone Tree, 14-06.5; 8, Avery Lisk, Lone Tree, 12-01.5.

Shot Put: 1, Kennedy Axmear, English Valleys, 29-01.5; 2, Taylor Mikesell, English Valleys, 28-10.5; 3, Peyton Icenbice, Tri-County, 28-07; 5, Hayden Yoder, Lone Tree, 27-08; 6, Sami Branson, Lone Tree, 27-05.5.

4x100m Relay: 1, Lone Tree (Vivian Zaruba, Sophie Bell, Ava Christofferson, Avery Morarie, Riley Krueger, Rylee Shield), 55.15; 2, English Valleys, 57.19; 3, Don Bosco, 58.01.

4x200m Relay: 1, Don Bosco, 2:00.95; 2, Lone Tree (Cate Sexton, Alyson Ford, Bella Pourry, Alex Dautremont, Sophie Bell, Lilly Mills, Avery Morarie), 2:08.55; 3, Keota, 2:12.26. 

4x400m Relays: 1, Don Bosco, 4:48.25; 2, Lone Tree (Sophie Bell, Delanie Graap, Bella Pourry, Avery Lisk, Jazmine Nino, Lilly Mills, Sami Branson, Cate Sexton), 5:29.06.

4x800m Relays: 1, Lone Tree (Sophie Bell, Lilly Mills, Lila Bell, Avery Lisk, Jazmine Nino, Delanie Graap, Sami Branson), 13:50.91; 2, Don Bosco, 15:01.41. 

400m Shuttle Hurdle Relay: 1, Don Bosco, 1:21.02; 2, Lone Tree (Cate Sexton, Avery Morarie, Lindsay Werbach, Riley Krueger, Alyson Ford, Ella Buser), 1:22.26. 

800m Medley Relay: 1, Lone Tree (Cate Sexton, Vivian Zaruba, Ava Christofferson, Rylee Shield, Sophie Bell, Lindsay Werbach, Avery Morarie, Riley Krueger), 2:01.84; 2, Don Bosco, 2:03.68; 3, Tri-County, 2:08.48. 

1600m Medley Relays: 1, Tri-County, 5:14.92; 2, Don Bosco, 5:39.01; 3, Lone Tree (Avery Morarie, Lindsay Werbach, Avery Lisk, Delanie Graap, Sophie Bell, Sami Branson, Bella Pourry, Emma Slaughter), 5:40.54.