Class 2A qualifiers rolling in for Pekin, Mid-Prairie

EDDYVILLE — Cardinal’s Griffin Greiner won the 100, 200, 400 meter races and the long jump at Thursday’s district track meet, qualifying for the state meet next Thursday through Saturday in Des Moines.

The top two in an event automatically qualify for state with an additional eight entries from among the best times that didn’t finish in the top two from all eight Class 2A meets.

Meanwhile, Golden Hawk teammates Danielle Hostetler and Sydney Yoder struck up a conversation during the 3000, a race they finished first and second in. It is almost eight laps around the track and it can get old running in circles, but there was another reason for the conversation, to slow down.

“I was trying to save up for the other races I’m going to run,” Hostetler said. “I worked real hard on maintaining the pace that I wanted.”

Maintaining pace was important since she used a lot of energy running 800 meters in the distance medley win, taking the baton in fourth place, she helped Mid-Prairie win the event.

"I was careful not to make up too much ground on the first 400 because I didn’t want to get tired out,“ Hostetler said. ”I made it up on the second one because all that adrenaline just came up out of somewhere. I guess because all my teammates were cheering me on.“

Mid-Prairie’s Tori Boyse qualified for state with a second place in the shot while Pekin’s Kerrigan Pope must wait to see if her third place will be a qualifier.

“I want to hit 40 this year, and I was hoping for that here,” Boyse said of her 37 feet, 7¼ inch throw. She thinks state is the place for the 40-foot distance if “I can figure out my footwork.”

In her third time running the event, Sarah Eubanks ran the fastest leg of Pekin’s winning 4x800 relay with a 2 minute, 27 second split.

"I was thrown into it, and it turned out decent so I ran it again,“ she said. "We were hoping we would win, but we had a lot of nerves.”

Coach Davis Eidahl wanted a 10-second improvement on Monday’s time at Lynnville-Sully’s meet where they ran 10:12. The ran 10 flat. That is good coaching or good response by the kids or “we’ll just call it both,” Eubanks said.

Jamison Stutzman was third in the 3200 and ran the fourth leg of 4x800 for Mid-Prairie.

“I was ranked high in the 32 and the 4x8, we thought we could make it, and we did, so I guess it worked,” Stutzman said. He thinks his third-place 9:58 will qualify.

The first mile was slow in the 3200, according to Stutzman, but the final lap by Pekin’s Brady Millikin was fast. He turned on the jets with 300 meters to go and moved from third to win easily in 9:55.

"Guts and determination to make state,“ Milliken said is what powered the final lap. ”State is just such a different environment: Drake, Mike Jay announcing, the blue track, just everything is amazing about it. You put that on the line. I’m willing to do anything I need to.“

Millikin ran his best time of the year winning in 9:55. “I’m psyched, and the day is not done, we got a lot left to do.”

Mitzi Evans won the 400 for Mid-Prairie. “I knew I had a good chance to win but anything could happen. Maybe I could fall.”

Even if she had fallen she might still have qualified for state, with a 4-second advantage coming into the race. "My family is all into looking at the stats and telling me about this girl might do this. My family is really big supporters, and I’m so thankful.“

Lauren Dershied ran the anchor for Pekin’s 4x8 and medley. "I like that spot because I like to race. I love to have someone to catch. The finish is not my specialty, so I just push myself as hard as I can all the way around. I don’t save a kick.“

Sophomore Cain Brown tied Stacy Brown, his father, as the Mid-Prairie high jump record holder at 6-6. Brown got the record his junior year so the son has an edge?

“I’ll beat it at state.”

He ran the anchor on the qualifying shuttle hurdle team. “I’m glad I could help get more of us to state. I love running in the shuttle because it helps my teammates out, and I don’t want to be selfish by just working on my high jump.”

Greiner was the winner in the long jump, the 100 and the 400 and the 200 yet to go.

“It feels good to do win by a good bit and the finish is my strong point because I got a bad start in the 100,” Greiner said. "It doesn’t matter what my time it is here, it matters what my time is next week.”