Tipton’s Noelle Steines wins 2 more state track and field titles with mom’s motivational message in mind

DES MOINES — The pain pulsates. The exhaustion becomes extreme. So when the physical and mental toll of distance running begins to wear heavily on Tipton star Noelle Steines, her mom’s motivational words swiftly bring her back on track.

“Sometimes, I’m like, ‘Oh, I’ve gotta go out for a run at home,’” said Steines, who claimed gold in the 800 and 1,500 in Saturday’s Class 2A state track and field meet at Drake Stadium. “She’s like, ‘No, you get to.’

That’s because Steines — who helped the Tigers secure a third-place team finish — has overcome a lot to become one of the state’s best distance runners. She was stricken with Lyme Disease in the second grade. She dislocated her kneecap when doing a tricky maneuver in dance a couple years ago and endured a major ankle sprain before last cross-country season. All of that misery brings perspective and Steines — who also won the 3,000 and the distance medley relay this weekend at state — leans into her past misfortune. In a sense, she just runs with it, embracing the obstacles while rising above them.

“It’s not a punishment, it’s a privilege,” the junior said. “Of course, in the moment it does not feel like a privilege, but you just go for it.”

Tipton scored 47 points — a mere six behind 2A girls’ team champion Van Meter. Pella Christian finished second with 60 points, while Mid-Prairie notched a top-10 finish with 23 points.

The Golden Hawks also saw wheelchair athlete Jayden Stafford sweep the 100 and 200-meter events for the second straight year. The junior’s become so accomplished that he’s drawing interest from the U.S. Paralympics team.

“They’re looking at me and wanting me as a young athlete to compete,” Stafford said. “They’re the ones pushing me to be as good as I’ve been.”

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No other Gazette-area 2A boys’ athlete won an event Saturday, but Oelwein’s Conall Sauser earned third in the 1,600-meter run.

“It was a good weekend,” Sauser said. “I got three medals. I love medals. You run fast, you get some medals.”

Steines hauled home four gold medals from state this weekend, giving her eight overall. The junior won four state titles at Calamus-Wheatland before transferring to Tipton this season.

She’s narrowed down her list of eventual college destinations to three (Alabama, Missouri and Liberty) and has “big things planned” for her cross-country season in the fall and her final track season next spring.

“I want to go out and go as fast as I can,” she said. “I quit baton twirling, so less chance of injuries. I’m just really looking forward to my senior year and just giving it all I’ve got.”

If it’s anything like this season, expect her parents to make room for many more medals. And also expect her mom — Dawn (Huff) Steines, who won state championships for Marshalltown — to encourage her to simply enjoy the journey. Regardless of the results, not because of them.

“I got so lucky with a mom like her because she really doesn’t care (about outcomes), you know?” Steines said. “She’s never been like, ‘Come on, win this, win this.’ She’s always been like, ‘I know it’s scary, It’s gonna be OK. And if you don’t do good, you don’t do good.’ I don’t have any pressure from (my parents), which is so nice.”

State track and field: Class 2A boys

Top 10 teams —1. Mediapolis, 47; 2. Spirit Lake, 43; 3. South Hamilton 42; 4. Sheandoah, 41; 5. Des Moines Christian, 39; 6. Underwood, 36; 7. Okoboji, 35; 8. tie, Iowa Falls-Alden, Treynor, 30; 10. Grundy Center, 28.

Sprint medley relay —1. Shenandoah (Dukes, Graham, Cullin, Razee), 1:32.08; 2. South Hamilton, 1:32.81; 3. Spirit Lake, 1:33.62.

800-meter run — 1. Carson Van Sickle (Ogden), 1:55.58; 2. Caleb Ten Pas (Des Moines Christian), 1:55.81; 3. Evan Osler (Okoboji), 1:56.47; 4. Wyatt Gulla (Waukon), 1:56.61; 8. Conall Sauser (Oelwein), 1:58.20.

Shuttle hurdle relay — 1. Iowa Falls-Alden (Damiano, Barrick, Weaver, Morgan), 58.70; 2. Treynor, 59.10; 3. Underwood, 59.74; 6. West Liberty, 1:01.16.

100 — 1. Jaden Damiano (Iowa Falls-Alden), 11.06; 2. Landry Haberichter (West Burlington/Notre Dame), 11.16; 3. Ryan Leonard (Estherville-Lincoln Central), 11.18; 8. Jack Miller (Jesup), 11.44.

110 hurdles — 1. Ethan Stecker (Spirit Lake), 14.30; 2. Brady Wallace (Treynor), 14.30; 3. Cooper Winkel (Spirit Lake), 14.49; 7. Garet Kiel (Oelwein), 15.24.

200 — 1. Cameron Decker (Dike-New Hartford), 22.38; 2. Noah Schmidgall (Mediapolis), 22.58; 3. Chris Dworak (Missouri Valley), 22.63; 4. Edwin Gangba (Iowa City Regina), 22.72; 6. Jack Miller (Jesup), 22.92.

1,600 — 1. Caleb Ten Pas (Des Moines Christian), 4:19.93; 2. Solomon Zaugg (Mediapolis), 4:20.91; 3. Conall Sauser (Oelwein), 4:25.92.

400 relay — 1. Shenandoah (Dukes, Razee, Graham, Cullin), 42.75; 2. Treynor, 42.75; 3. Lawton-Bronson, 42.99; 5. Iowa City Regina, 43.19.

1,600 relay — 1. South Hamilton (Koehnk, Ricke, Severseike, Hodnefield) 3:16.35; 2. Grundy Center, 3:21.73; 3. Okoboji, 3:22.43.

State track and field: Class 2A girls

Top 10 teams — 1. Van Meter, 63; 2. Pella Christian, 60; 3. Tipton, 57; 4. Spirit Lake, 43; 5. Aplington-Parkersburg, 29, 6. tie, Eddyville EBF, Estherville-Lincoln Central, 27; 8. Forest City, 24; 9. tie, Mid-Prairie, Unity Christian, 23.

Sprint medley relay —1. Pella Christian (Agre, Kacmarynski, Van Wyk, Vos), 1:46.05; 2. Estherville-Lincoln Central, 1:49.83; 3. Roland-Story, 1:50.23; 6. Jesup, 1:51.73.

800 — 1. Noelle Steines (Tipton), 2:14.21; 2. Clare Wright (Jesup), 2:16.46; 3. Marisa Kehoe (Monticello), 2:18.50; 8. Grace Hamman (West Branch), 2:19.93.

Shuttle hurdle relay — 1. Aplington-Parkersburg (Mohwinkle, Allan, Bellows, Eddy), 1:05.39; 2. Ridge View, 1:06.23; 3. Cascade, 1:06.76; 4. Jesup, 1:07.37.

100 — 1. Rachel Kacmarynski (Pella Christian), 12.61; 2. Eden Moore (Van Meter), 12.75; 3. Jerzee Knight (Clarinda), 12.79; 5. Jovi Evans (Mid-Prairie), 12.96.

100 hurdles — 1. Morgan Karr (Monroe PCM), 15.01; 2. Miranda Neighbor (Alburnett), 15.33; 3. Bailey Boeve (Hinton), 15.52; 4. Reese Naeve (Iowa City Regina), 15.55.

200 — 1. Meredith Van Wyk (Pella Christian), 25.24; 2. Eden Moore (Van Meter), 25.53; 3. Jerzee Knight (Clarinda), 25.90; Jovi Evans (Mid-Prairie), 26.06.

1,500 — 1. Noelle Steines (Tipton), 4:38.46; 2. Hillary Trainor (Sumner-Fredericksburg), 4:43.74; 3. Laura Streck (Van Meter), 4:44.46; 4. Danielle Hostetler (Mid-Prairie), 4:48.95; 7. Clare Wright (Jesup), 4:52.07.

400 relay— 1. Okoboji (Avery, Meyer, Wells, Allen), 48.97; 2. Forest City, 49.04; 3. Roland-Story, 49.06; 8. Mid-Prairie, 50.67.

1,600 relay — 1. Pella Christian (Kacmarynski, Van Wyk, Meinders, Vos), 3:56.61; 2. Eddyville EBF, 3:58.75; 3. Tipton, 4:03.07.