Area big schools fill state list

MT. PLEASANT — It certainly wasn’t an easy district for the area’s Class 3A track and field teams, but Washington, Mt. Pleasant and Fairfield will all be well represented at next week’s state meet.

State tickets were already being punched early on in Thursday’s district meet in Mt. Pleasant, especially in the throws. Mt. Pleasant’s Jadan Brumbaugh and Washington’s Brayden Hartman swept the throwing events to earn a pair of spots each.

Brumbaugh was already the heavy favorite in the shot put, and qualified with the top throw in the state, at 48 feet, 4.25 inches. Her discus performance, however, was what was turning heads.

Brumbaugh threw the discus 134 feet, 1 inch, good enough to win the meet, break Mt. Pleasant’s school record and go into state with the third-best throw in qualifying.

“Discus is fun, honestly,” said the defending state shot put champion. “I'm just not as worried. It's pretty relaxing.”

The area also had a few names get through in the girls jumps. Fairfield’s Kelsey Pacha took first on the day and 12th overall in the long jump with a leap of 17 feet, 1 inch. Mt. Pleasant’s Josie Gilmore was just the fourth-best high-jumper, but still made it through with the 16th-best jump in Class 3A, at 5 feet even.

Hartman cruised to a pair of wins on the boys’ side. Hartman’s shot put throw of 51 feet, 5.5 inches was eighth best across the state, and he qualified 11th overall in the discus, with a hurl of 150 feet, 10 inches.

“I've been working on discus a lot, and I've been increasing my speed quite a bit,” Hartman said. “I usually favor shot, but it's hard to get both going.”

Mt. Pleasant’s Isaac Jerrel scooped up the other automatic qualifier spot in the shot put, throwing it 48 feet, 9.5 inches. Washington’s Kole Williams made it two Demons advancing in the discus throw, getting second overall with a hurl of 135 feet.

In the jumps, Mt. Pleasant’s Will Davidson took second in the long jump, leaping 20 feet, 7 inches. Washington’s Kasen Bailey and Ethan Patterson each jumped 6 feet in the high jump, getting second and third, which puts both in Des Moines.

The most anticipated race next weekend for Union area readers might be the boys’ 200-meter dash. All three area big schools will have a competitor in that one, and all three qualified in the Top-9.

Washington’s Elijah Morris won the 200, finishing in 22.43 seconds. That is the fifth-best qualifying time in Clas 3A. Davidson of Mt. Pleasant finished right behind Morris, crossing with the eighth-best qualifying time of 22.52 seconds. Fairfield’s River Patterson got in on time, earning the ninth-best time of 22.70 seconds.

Morris won the 400-meter dash. The defending state champion in that event had the fourth-best time in 3A, at 50.48 seconds. Patterson qualified as well, finishing in 51.07 seconds, and Washington’s Alec Ulin earned an at-large spot, crossing in 52.17 seconds.

In other boys sprints, Washington’s Jacob Miller was third in the 100-meter dash, but qualified with an at-large time of 11.52 seconds.

Washington’s Lance Sobaski had yet another strong day in the distance events. Sobaski won all three, qualifying with the 14th-best time in the 800 (2:02.74), the 20th-best time in the 1600 (4:39.79), and the 16th-best time in the 3200 (10:35.25).

Joining Sobaski in the 1600 and the 3200 was teammate Micah Rees. Rees finished second in both races. In the 800, Fairfield’s Kaidyn Mickels qualified 18th despite battling a groin injury.

“Considering that, I'm doing pretty good,” said Mickels. “I did what I wanted to do.”

In the boys’ hurdle events, it was Mt. Pleasant’s Davidson that once again shined. Davidson took second at the qualifier in the 110-meter hurdles with a time of 15.18 seconds, the sixth-best time in Class 3A. It was his third individual qualification.

“I was feeling pretty good about it going into tonight,” Davidson said. “We were mentally and physically prepared all week.”

Washington’s Quinn Wubbena will represent the area in the 3A 400-meter hurdles. Wubbena was third at the qualifier, but his time of 58.22 seconds was good enough for an at-large spot.

The area had a few qualifications in the boys’ relays as well. The top relay was Washington’s distance medley team of Austin Rebling, Miller, Patterson and Sobaski, which had the second-best time in Class 3A, finishing in 3:39.03.

Fairfield’s sprint medley team of Connor Lyons, Bates, Aiden Lyons and Patterson won at the qualifiers and has the fourth-best qualifying time of 1:35.11. Washington’s Patterson, Rebling, Miller and Morris qualified 11th.

Washington’s 4X400 team of Logan McDole, Ulin, Evan Miller and Morris won at the qualifiers. In the 4X800, both Fairfield (Mickels, Ben Boatright, Dallen Rippy and Gavin Van Veen) and Mt. Pleasant (Jacob Richtman, Gabe Feldmann, Isaac Ryners and Isaiah Albright) punched a ticket.

In the shuttle hurdle, it was Washington again that stood tall. The Demons’ Tayven Stuart, James Strabala, Mason Morgan and Rebling took second on the day with a time of 1:04.51.

The girls side saw plenty of qualifiers on the track as well. That included two qualifiers in the sprints, as Mt. Pleasant’s Kenna Lamm won the 100-meter dash in 13.18 seconds, and Fairfield’s Anna Dunlap won the 200-meter dash in 26.56 seconds.

Washington’s lone automatic qualifier came in the 800. Abigail Kleese will go back to state in that event after finishing second, with a time of 2:29.34. An emotional Kleese hit the ground right after crossing the tape.

“It was kind of a mix of everything,” Kleese said. “I couldn't breathe. I was happy, but I was in pain. My first thought when I crossed that finish line was to go to the floor.”

Fairfield’s Maddie Jones will also be heading to Des Moines in the 800. Jones took thrid on the day, but her time of 2:33 was good enough for an at-large berth.

The area saw two qualifiers in the 3000. Mt. Pleasant’s Abby Blint won the race and was 10th overall in qualifying with a time of 11:40.25. Washington’s Quincy Griffis finished third, but advanced to state on time, with a final mark of 11:51.53.

Three area runners advanced to state in the 100-meter hurdles. Pacha took second with a time of 15.54 seconds, the fifth-best qualifying time in Class 3A. Dunlap earned an at-large bid with an eighth-best time of 15.98 seconds to give the Trojans two qualifiers, and Mt. Pleasant’s Lamm snuck in with a 22nd-best time of 16.87 seconds.

Pacha will also compete in the 400-meter hurdles after winning that event in 1:08.79. She has the ninth-best qualifying time in Class 3A. It was her third individual qualification of the day.

“I think the warm weather helped us all get our times down,” Pacha said. “It’s kind of a confidence booster heading in to state.”

Pacha will be a four-event participant at state. The Trojans’ shutle hurdle team of Dunlap, Maya Lane, Mallory Lyon and Pacha qualified third overall with a time of 1:06.65. Mt. Pleasant qualified seventh, finishing in 1:08.60.

Fairfield’s 4X100 team of Kiya Robertson, Danielle Breen, Cody Engle and Dunlap had an at-large advancement after running the race in 50.88 seconds. Mt. Pleasant was right behind the Trojans in that one, as the Panther squad of Courtney Raub, Lamm, Tristian Shull and Andi Scot qualified with a time of 50.90 seconds.

The Fairfield girls will also compete in the 4X200. The Trojan squad of Robertson, Lyon, Lilly Bergren and Lane finished in 1:49.49 to earn an at-large berth.

Mt. Pleasant earned an automatic berth in the distance medley. The team of Shull, Scott, Elsie Lange and Blint qualified 16th overall with a time of 4:28.59.

The big night at qualifying set up for a highly-anticipated three-day stretch in Des Moines. The 2022 state track and field meet begins on Thursday morning.