Taylor keys Decorah’s Saturday surge

DES MOINES - Amanda Taylor will stay in Decorah for college. She'll compete for Luther College as a distance runner in track and cross country.

But only as a distance runner.

'I'm going to try the pole vault,” Taylor said after completing a standout weekend at the state track meet Saturday at Drake Stadium. 'I saw the women doing that at the Drake Relays, and I thought to myself, ‘I can do that.'”

Taylor was a major factor in Decorah's frantic charge on Saturday as the Vikings climbed to second in the final Class 3A team standings.

Davenport Assumption garnered its third straight title with 79 points; Decorah matched its second-place finish of 1986, scoring 67 points.

Dubuque Wahlert was third with 55 points, followed by Boone (54) and Pella (53).

Taylor surprised herself with a 1,500-meter win, running in 4:40.53.

'I saw I was seventh coming in, and I thought that seemed reasonable,” she said. 'No, I didn't go into the race thinking I could win it. I thought about setting a PR.

'But as the race went along, I was thinking, ‘I can go faster.' I decided to go all out and see what I could do.”

Taylor had finished second in the 800, earlier Saturday, and the Vikings added second-place finishes in the sprint medley relay and the 1,600 relay.

Clear Creek Amana claimed the 3A shuttle hurdle relay title in dramatic fashion. Mia Smith, Corrine Schwarting, Megan Lukas and Natalie Brimeyer were clocked in 1:03.89; Pella finished in 1:03.92.

'I had no idea if we'd won or not,” Brimeyer said. 'The last hurdle, we cleared at the same time.

'At the end, I ran like my life depended on it. I've wanted this since my freshman year.”

West Delaware's Emily Thole was the 200 runner-up. Megan Hudson of Union was second in the 100 hurdles.

l Comments: (319) 368-8857; jeff.linder@thegazette.com