Tipton track transformation: After a scoreless state meet in 2023, the Tigers look like 2A contenders

TIPTON — Noelle Steines is a distance runner. And a distance driver.

Five mornings a week, she is up at 6:30, out of the house and 7:45. It’s a 26-mile drive to school.

Ariana Grande makes a good travel companion.

“I turn up my Bluetooth and drive,” Steines said.

Her destination, from her Calamus residence, is Tipton High School. She has made friends here since her transfer late last fall from Calamus-Wheatland.

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“There’s an actual track I can run on,” she said.

Tipton is a running community, a track town. And when the stars align, the high school teams — either girls, boys or both — rise up.

Now, for the Tipton girls, is one of those times.

“Alivia (Edens) and me, we’ve dropped time,” senior Addie Nerem said. “Ella (Hein) has come in and helped. She’s a good freshman.”

Of course, that’s not all. As Coach Jill Engels said:

“Noelle fell out of the sky.”

The Tigers “didn’t live up to our potential” at the state meet last year, according to Engels, and didn’t score a point.

With the improvement of Nerem and Edens and the arrival of Steines and Hein, Tipton is projected to score upwards of 60 points, which would put the Tigers in the Class 2A title hunt, along with Spirit Lake, Pella Christian and Van Meter.

The state meet begins Thursday at Drake Stadium in Des Moines, and runs through Saturday.

“We’re going for a (top-three) trophy,” Engels said. “We’re there for business.”

As Jill Latham, Engels was a middle-distance runner at Oelwein High School (she graduated there in 2001), then at Iowa State University.

Her time at ISU intersected with both Tait Steines and Dawn (Huff) Steines, now Noelle’s parents.

Despite massive success — three individual state titles in cross country, four state gold medals in track, plus a 1A team title last year — Noelle became unhappy at Calamus-Wheatland.

A change was needed, and Tipton was the best option.

“I knew some of the girls from cross country; I usually warmed up with them before meets,” Steines said.

“They’ve been very welcoming. I feel like I belong here, and it’s uplifting.”

Engels called Steines “a great teammate. When she’s done running, she’ll circle back to the others. Everything that’s been asked of her, she has done.”

Steines is expended to contend in the 800, 1,500 and 3,000, and will anchor the Tigers’ top-seeded distance medley relay.

Nerem and Edens have qualified in four events apiece in each of their four years. They’ve hit a new level this spring.

Edens is seeded second in the 800. Nerem is No. 4 in the 400 hurdles.

“I love the hurdles,” Nerem said. “I think they’re a lot of fun. People think I’m crazy, but I like a challenge.”

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Hein is likely to go sub-60 in the 400 and pick up some points. And the Edens-Nerem-Hein trio will run with Steines in the distance medley (seeded No. 1), with junior Laura Owen in the 4x800 (No. 1) and with sophomore Zoe Holstein in the 4x400 (No. 3).

If those seeds pan out, the Tigers will be in the mix Saturday afternoon.

“We’ve had a lot of accomplishments. We’ve won a lot of meets. We’ve had a lot of fun,” Nerem said. “Now we want to finish strong.”

Comments: jeff.linder@thegazette.com