Decorah climbs into the 3A state track race for second place

DES MOINES — The race is for second place in the Class 3A girls' division at the state track and field meet, and the Decorah Vikings have risen into contention for next-best honors.

Katie Nimrod anchored the Vikings to second place in the distance medley relay, then earned another silver in the 400-meter hurdles, helping lift the team into third place in the 3A girls' race Friday at Drake Stadium.

'I did the hurdles last year, and I didn't get very far,' Nimrod said. 'This year, I was determined to do something with it.'

Nimrod overcame a slow start and ran down the majority of the field in the 400 hurdles, finishing in 1:04.09. Molly Dean of Glenwood won it in 1:03.58.

'I've been working on my start, because the first 100 in my slowest part,' she said. 'I came out where I wanted to.'

Davenport Assumption continued to pull away from the pack on a pace that is sure to produce a fourth consecutive championship. The Knights have 56 points in the bank with many more coming Saturday.

Glenwood is second with 30 points, then it's Decorah with 24.

Decorah's Taylor Schuring earned a top-eight finish for the 12th time in her career, running the third leg on the Vikings' distance medley. Kayla Quandahl, Kalle Solberg, Schuring and Nimrod ran in 4:08.88, behind Assumption's 4:03.25.

'(Assumption anchor Joy Ripslinger, who closed in 2:10.2) is an incredible runner. We knew what she was capable of doing,' Schuring said. 'We came out here and did our best. That's all you can ask for.'

Decorah also picked up a third-place finish in the 800 relay.

South Tama's Allison Yuska was third in the 400 hurdles.

STATE TRACK & FIELD: CLASS 3A GIRLS

Teams (top 10) — 1. Davenport Assumption 56, 2. Glenwood 30, 3. Decorah 24, 4. Pella 23.5, 5. Boone 23, 6. Solon 20.5, 7. Dubuque Wahlert 20, 8. South Tama 16, 9. Spencer 15, 10. Gilbert 14.

Results (top 3, plus area)

Shot put — 1. Brandi Botcher (Spencer), 41-4 3/4; 2. Linnaea Konfrst (Glenwood), 40-8; 3. LaVon Davis (Gilbert), 40-2; 4. Katy Misel (Solon), 39-7 3/4.

Long jump — 1. Dianna Slight (Boone), 17-6 3/4; 2. Ellie Cropley (Sioux City Heelan), 17-5; 3. Paighton Malek (Pella), 17-5; 6. Amber Rohlena (Benton Community), 16-5 3/4.

Distance medley relay — 1. Davenport Assumption (Carroll, Jennings, Adams, Ripslinger), 4:03.25; 2. Decorah, 4:08.88; 3. Williamsburg, 4:11.20.

800 relay — 1. Davenport Assumption (King, Jennings, Harris, Carroll), 1:41.50*; 2. Dubuque Wahlert, 1:41.51; 3. Decorah, 1:44.66; 6. Benton Community, 1:46.28.

400 hurdles — 1. Molly Dean (Glenwood), 1:03.58; 2. Katie Nimrod (Decorah), 1:04.09; 3. Allison Yuska (South Tama), 1:06.28; 7. Libby Ryan (Mount Vernon), 1:07.48.

*3A state-meet record

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