Decorah's Taylor Schuring ends a medal-filled career with gold

DES MOINES — The Class 3A girls' division has been Davenport Assumption's personal track and field playpen the last four years.

But quietly, Taylor Schuring assembled a very impressive resume. And she closed it out in perfect fashion.

'We crushed it,' she said.

A senior at Decorah High School, Schuring earned her 14th career state placement Saturday at Drake Stadium. She did so in golden fashion.

Katie Perez, Katie Nimrod, Kalle Solberg and Schuring claimed the 1,600-meter relay in 3:54.36.

'That's what we were going for — 3:54,' Schuring said. 'It's a goal we wanted so bad.'

Assumption claimed its fourth straight 3A girls' title in dominating fashion. The Knights won seven events, added five runner-up finishes and scored 126 points. Pella was second with 79.5 points, followed by Dubuque Wahlert (61).

Decorah was fifth with 41.

Schuring will attend Luther College in the fall; she'll play basketball and run track.

The Vikings led the 4-by-400 basically from start to finish. Solberg finished her high-school career with 11 medals.

Marion's Maddie Bach was third in the 1,500, finishing in 4:44.00. Assupmtion's Joy Ripslinger won it in 4:39.03.

'I did everything I could, gave everything I have,' Bach said. 'Four years ago, if you'd have said I'd be running at state and be up at the front, I wouldn't have believed it.'

Benton Community freshman Grace Martensen was the third-place finisher in the 100 hurdles, in 15.34.

'I didn't feel I did as good as I should have,' Martensen said. 'My warm-up wasn't very good. But if I keep working hard, I think I can win by the time I'm a senior.'

Mount Vernon was third in the shuttle hurdle relay.

STATE TRACK & FIELD: CLASS 3A GIRLS

Teams (top 10) — 1. Davenport Assumption 126, 2. Pella 79.5, 3. Dubuque Wahlert 61, 4. Boone 45, 5. Decorah 41, 6. Glenwood 36, 7. (tie) South Tama and Ballard 24, 9. Benton Community 23, 10. Solon 21.5.

Results (top 3, plus area)

Sprint medley relay — 1. Dubuque Wahlert (Ganshirt, Osterbeger, Sherman, Fricano), 1:46.46*; 2. Davenport Assumption, 1:46.51; 3. Pella, 1:47.87; 5. Decorah, 1:50.04; 8. Williamaburg, 1:51.28.

800 — 1. Joy Ripslinger (Davenport Assumption), 2:07.51*; 2. Julia Schumacher (Davenport Assumption), 2:14.57; 3. Abby Kohut-Jackson (Ballard), 2:15.42; 5. Julie Hollensbe (Williamsburg), 2:18.00; 6. Andrea Ertz (Marion), 2:18.39.

Shuttle hurdle relay — 1. Pella (Pingel, Holterhaus, Thoreson, McKinstrey), 1:03.13*; 2. Boone, 1:05.68; 3. Mount Vernon, 1:06.10; 6. Decorah, 1:06.96; 7. Benton Community, 1:07.49.

100 — 1. Carly King (Davenport Assumption), 12.26; 2. Dianna Slight (Boone), 12.40; 3. Annika Pingel (Pella), 12.97.

100 hurdles — 1. Maggi Bjustrom (Adel ADM), 14.74; 2. Emma Thoreson (Pella), 14.84; 3. Grace Martensen (Benton Community), 15.34; 6. Catherine Yeoman (Mount Vernon), 15.82; 7. Janey Saunders (Maquoketa), 15.84; 8. Alexis Sands (Solon), 16.07.

200 — 1. Laura Sherman (Dubuque Wahlert), 24.97; 2. Carly King (Davenport Assumption), 25.00; 3. Dianna Slight (Boone), 25.04; 6. Isabelle Tyynismaa (South Tama), 26.03; 8. Brianna Dellamuth (Williamsburg), 26.40.

1,500 — 1. Joy Ripslinger (Davenport Assumption), 4:39.03; 2. Abby Kohut-Jackson (Ballard), 4:41.27; 3. Maddie Bach (Marion), 4:44.00; 4. Julie Hollensbe (Williamsburg), 4:45.44; 8. Sophia Gilbert (Benton Community), 4:52.45.

400 relay — 1. Davenport Assumption (Harris, Jennings, Carroll, King), 48.72; 2. Dubuque Wahlert, 49.05; 3. Pella, 49.55; 4. South Tama, 50.01; 5. Benton Community, 50.54.

1,600 relay — 1. Decorah (Perez, Nimrod, Solberg, Schuring), 3:54.36; 2. Dubuque Wahlert, 3:57.22; 3. Pella, 3:57.35; 4. Independence, 4:03.81; 6. Mount Vernon, 4:04.94.

*3A state-meet record

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