Monticello runs, watches, wins distance medley

DES MOINES — The anchors ran by, the seconds ticked away, and the Monticello Panthers waited to see how that intersection would turn out.

In the end, quite favorably.

Monticello won the second heat of the Class 2A distance medley relay with ease, in 4 minutes, 11.70 seconds, then watched as the fast-heat competitors failed to eclipse it. As a result, the Panthers earned the state title in that event Friday morning at Drake Stadium.

'I got a little nervous,' Maddi Miles said. 'I was counting down the seconds there at the end.'

And when the clock struck zero (or in fact, 4:12.63 for Davis County in the last heat), the Panthers celebrated.

Rachel Gadient and Miles ran the 200-meter legs, then it was Jasmine Reynolds in the 400 before freshman Paige Holub finished it off with a 2:15 800-meter anchor.

'It's overwhelming,' said Holub, who jetted onto the running scene last fall by winning a state cross country title. 'We were screaming and crying after the last heat, we were so happy.'

Gadient said, 'Even though we weren't in the last heat, we thought we could finish in the top five. We didn't know if we could win.'

Cascade and Mount Vernon were third and fourth.

The 2A girls' race remains wide open and crowded heading into the final day. Davis County leads it with 26 points, followed by Osage with 23. Five teams — Northeast, Kingsley-Pierson/Woodbury Central, Mount Vernon, Cascade and Western Christian, have 20.

The final nine events are Saturday.

Clayton Ridge got a big boost with a second-place finish in the 800 relay. Elayna Simon, Jaderial Staebler, Haley Heitman and Hope Heitman finished in 1:45.27. Western Christian won it in 1:44.52.

'We wanted some good handoffs and a good run,' Hope Heitman said.

Staebler added, 'We couldn't be more excited.'

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