Demons take 4th at Invite

Getting two key athletes back from injury buoyed the Demons Thursday at Case Field during the Washington Invite high school girls track meet.

Senior Jenah Greiner returned from a hamstring injury and freshman Kelsey Pacha came back from a sore ankle.

'It was great to have them back,” Washington head coach Stefanie Haworth said. 'They have missed some practice but they are getting quicker and stronger. Isabel Bailey had a strong night too. She ran a good 100 because she got out of the blocks well and edged a couple people at the finish.”

Bailey was fourth in the 100 in 13.68.

A highlight was Pacha's long jump of 16 feet, 0.5 inches, which was second by .5 inches. Bailey was fourth at 15-0.5.

'It was a great meet for us jump-wise,” Haworth said. 'Isabel scratched on three jumps and still got fourth after she adjusted her steps.”

Greiner and Pacha helped the sprint medley relay team to a season best, placing second in 1 minute, 59.77 seconds. Ashley Telleen and Leah Marek also ran in that relay.

'For them to run a season-best time in the wind and cold says a lot about them because of the conditions,” Haworth said. 'We have been changing the people in that race so it was good to see.”

Bailey, Marek, Olivia Marek and Telleen placed second in the 4x200 meter relay with a time of 1:55.11.

'The 4x2 had a nice solid run with good handoffs,” Haworth said. 'It was not our best time but we ended up second.”

Leah Marek, Bailey, Greiner and Telleen ran the 4x1 in 52.66 to place third.

Telleen took second in the 400 hurdles with a time of 1:15.19.

Elyse Hunt was fourth in the 400, finishing in 1:11.4.

Pacha placed second in the 100 hurdles in 17.17.

'Kelsey had a good time,” Haworth said. 'It was a great race for her because she beat a couple kids who had beat her earlier this season.”

Greiner took fourth in the 200.

'That was in a season-best time,” Haworth said. 'It was a good race for her for not doing anything for two weeks.”

Thursday was the last day to qualify for the Drake relays.

'Unofficially, it looks like our 4x1 is going to the Drake Relays,” Haworth said. 'Overall we had a lot of good performances because the kids really stepped up in conditions that were not ideal.”

Drake Relays qualifiers will be official today after noon for both boys and girls.

Mt. Pleasant's Abby Ryon set a new meet record in the 3000 with a time of 10:34.48. The old record was by Camille Mac of Iowa City Liberty, set last year at 10:40.5.

Keokuk's Miracle Ailes tied the high jump record of 5-4 set by Central Lee's Lynn Dressler in 1978. It is the oldest record at the meet. The next oldest is Ft. Madison's Julie Bigler's 1998 time in the 1500 of 4:49.35.

TEAM SCORES - 1. Solon 132, 2. Mt. Pleasant 121, 3. Benton 77, 4. Washington 65, 5. Tipton 63, 6. Clear Creek-Amana 54, 7. Keokuk 49, 8. Ft. Madison 15, 9. Albia 10