Iowa Valley’s Marissa Ward clears mind, takes third in 1A high jump

DES MOINES - Iowa Valley's Marissa Ward builds her confidence up in her head, then wipes the slate clean.

All that runs through her mind when she approaches the high jump bar is hitting her mark. Anything else that might be going on around her is forgotten. That mentality helped secure a top-three finish in the state.

'I can't think about the approach,” Ward said. 'I need to say, ‘You can do it, Marissa. This is an easy height. You can do this, don't worry about the approach. Everything will happen if you just hit your mark. You'll be fine.' I just have to believe in myself.”

Ward finished third in the Class 1A high jump on criteria, reaching 5 feet, 3 inches. West Fork's Lexi Jones (5-03) was second with West Hancock's Maria Gonzalez winning at 5 feet, 4 inches.

Step count is a large part of the technique for high jumpers and Ward said she felt a fraction of a step off through most of the day, which is something she felt during the regular season.

'I guess I have nothing to hang my head about,” Ward said. 'It's my senior year and I went out third, which is really good. I didn't jump my best, but I still felt like I gave it my all.”

Montezuma took third in the 800-relay in 1:47.38, finishing second in heat three to champion West Hancock (1:46.26). Guthrie Center was second overall after winning heat two in 1:46.79.

Montezuma anchor Katie Maschmann burst around the final turn of her leg and surged ahead just enough to stay ahead of North Linn anchor Ashley Tull, who helped the Lynx finish fourth in 1:47.58.

'I guess I was just thinking about myself and the rest of my teammates,” Maschmann said of her final push. 'I just knew I had to get out and get going as fast as I could. I didn't really pay attention to the other girls, I just knew I had to finish as hard as I could.”

STATE TRACK & FIELD MEET: CLASS 1A GIRLS

Teams (through 10 events) - 1. West Hancock, 32; 2. Wapsie Valley, 22; 3. Bishop Garrigan, 20; 4. Elkader Central, 19; T-5. Sioux Central, 17; T-5. Maple Valley, 17; 7. East Mills, 16; 8. Sidney, 14; 9. North Linn, 13.50; 10. West Fork, 12

Results (top 3, plus area)

Discus - 1. Mackenzie Goeller (Wapsie Valley), 134-10; 2. Kirsten Leisinger (Charter Oak-Ute), 131-11; 3. Taylor Wood (Manson NW Webster), 119-07

High jump - 1. Maria Gonzalez (West Hancock), 5-04; 2. Lexi Jones (West Fork), 5-03; 3. Marissa Ward (Iowa Valley), 5-03; T-7. Mandy Rawson (North Linn), 5-01

400 hurdles - 1. Mackenzie Daffer (Sidney), 1:05.08; 2. Kenzie Keune (Sioux Central), 1:05.12; 3. Annika Wall (Jesup), 1:05.20; 6. Kaitlyn Murphy (East Buchanan), 1:06.87; 7. Summer Barthelman (Sigourney), 1:07.40

800-relay - 1. West Hancock (B. Smith, K. Leerar, M. Gonzalez, K. Hudspeth), 1:46.26; 2. Guthrie Center, 1:46.79; 3. Montezuma, 1:47.38; 4. North Linn, 1:47.58

Distance medley relay - 1. Maple Valley (J. McKibben, K. Wolf, M. Todd, E. Fundermann), 4:12.50; 2. Nodaway Valley, 4:19.33; 3. East Mills, 4:20.83; 5. North Linn, 4:23.41

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