Demons prepare for Districts

Area athletes will be in competition for a berth in the state track meet on Thursday night.

When the district track meets get underway, anything can happen, allowing many surprises into the field, as well as seniors attempting to make it to the Blue Oval in Des Moines in their final season.

Washington will be in Mt. Pleasant on Thursday, competing against all the other Southeast Conference schools, along with Clear Creek-Amana, Centerville and Davenport Assumption.

To qualify for the state meet, the Demons will have to finish in the top two in their events. If they can?t grab those top spots, they will have to rely on their marks, as the top 8 performances left over from across the state will earn berths into the meet.

Girls? track

Headlining the Washington girls? track team is its pair of conference title-winning relays in the sprint medley and the 4x100-meter relay.

Both of those relays are composed of the same team in seniors Amber Salow and Kelly Wheeler, junior Makenzi Marek and freshman Jenah Greiner, and that consistency has helped them build throughout the year.

?We have really good chemistry,? Salow said. ?At the beginning of the year, we had a freshman on the team (Greiner), so we didn?t know her as well, but with our time we?ve built on running together.?

The team proved its mettle in the 4x100 relay, qualifying for Drake this season; however, in that event they currently rank third behind Davenport Assumption and Mt. Pleasant, who also earned Drake qualification.

With strong competition ahead of them, the team isn?t backing down.

?When we have good competition, we use them as motivation to keep going,? Salow said. ?We always try to get first, and good competition pushes us to run faster.?

Washington also sits third in their sprint medley relay, behind the Panthers and Knights, merely a second or two behind in each event.

Wheeler is also in contention for an individual berth at Thursday?s meet, currently ranking fourth in the 100-meter dash, after claiming a conference title in the event last week.

The senior, who didn?t run last season, started her season a little later than most, having to complete her CNA exams before being able to commit to track the rest of the year. Now that she?s back in full track mode, she said she?s ?very confident? in what she can do on Thursday.

?I was anxious to start running again since I didn?t run last year,? Wheeler said. ?I was excited to get back on the track because I love competing.?

The Demons have one relay that is currently seeded as an automatic qualifier, with its shuttle hurdle relay team of Carolan Hoffman, Emma Wood, Mackenzie Knutson and Jessie Buchholz ranked second in the district behind Mt. Pleasant.

Clear Creek-Amana figures to be hot on their heels, with their best time posted at .02 seconds behind the Demons.

Buchholz is currently seeded fourth in both the 100-meter and 400-meter hurdles, while Knutson, a senior, is seeded third in the 400-meter hurdles.

In the other running events, Washington?s girls are currently seeded third in the 4x200-meter relay, fourth in the 4x800-meter relay and fifth in the 4x400-meter relay.

In the field events, senior McKayla Miller will be looking to cap off her strong season with a state qualification in the shot put, where she is currently ranked fourth in the district.

?This year, I?ve done a lot better in shot, and this is my first year for discus,? Miller said. ?My form is a lot better and that?s helping things go further.?

Miller?s long mark of the season is 34 feet ? 1/2 inch, about a foot behind the second place Bailey Johnson from Mt. Pleasant.

Looking at the meet, Miller said she isn?t nervous, and is hoping to show what she can do at the state-qualification meet.

?I?m excited to go and compete and see how it goes,? Miller said. ?(A state berth) would be pretty cool. I have to stay calm and not worry about anyone else, and just do the best I can.?

In the other field events, Marek is currently seeded third in the high jump, while freshman Isabel Bailey ranks fifth in the long jump.

Boys? track

As of late, Washington?s strengths have come in their relays, led by its conference-title winning 4x200-meter relay.

The Demons, with the team of Jack Giardino, Kyle Schindler, Bryce Rickey and Ethan Hansen, claimed the title and currently sit in third in their district, two seconds behind Fairfield?s best posted time.

?It was pretty nice (to win the conference title),? Rickey said. ?Fairfield and Mt. Pleasant had been beating us all year. We got a good team together and it felt good.?

The Demons are also currently third in the district in the 4x100-meter relay, with Giardino, Rickey, Schindler and Jose Tapia, whose time of 45.04 is currently just behind Mt. Pleasant.

?We are very confident in the 4x100, and we are looking forward to see what happens in the 4x200. We are ready, and Jose said the other night he couldn?t sleep because he was so nervous.?

In the 110-meter hurdles, Demon junior Caleb Bex will look to qualify for the state meet, entering with the third best seed-time in the district.

Bex?s fastest time of the season came in the conference meet, posting a 15.87 in the event, and sits behind a pair of Mt. Pleasant hurdlers.

?I think I can get down to a 15.5 if I run my best race,? Bex said. ?I?m shooting for a 15.7 at the very least, and then if I get third place, I should make it by times, I think.?

Bex was a state qualifier a year ago with the shuttle hurdle relay team, and that has motivated him to advancing back to Des Moines.

?It?s just a great experience making it there,? Bex said. ?It shows you have the capability of making it there. Last year, I only made it in the shuttle, so I want to prove to myself I can make it in an individual event as well.?

Bex and the shuttle hurdle team of Cade Hennigan, Jack Giardino and Mario Tapio posted a time of 1:05.59 in the conference meet, which would be good for third in the district.

Mt. Pleasant and Clear Creek-Amana are the top two spots in the district with times below 1:02.

In the high jump, the Demons will try to have a senior advance in Michael Ellingson, who ranks second in the district with a clearance of 5 feet-8 inches under his belt this season.

Mt. Pleasant?s Jonathan Ita leads the district with a height of 5 feet ? 11 inches, while Fairfield?s Caden Jones has the next best posted height with a mark of 5 feet ? 6 inches.

The meet in Mt. Pleasant starts at 4 p.m.