Focused Iowa City West wins 15th MVC girls’ track and field title

CEDAR RAPIDS – Every season, Iowa City West girls' track and field coach Mike Parker deftly shifts the Women of Troy from the hype of the Drake Relays to the pursuit of a conference title.

For the 15th time in program history, the pursuit was rewarded.

West won eight events – including four from star junior Valerie Welch – and easily outdistanced the rest of the Mississippi Valley Conference Valley Division field with 142 points.

'I challenged them to be better on Monday than what we were before we left for the Drake Relays,” Parker said. 'I said, ‘If you do that, then we've got a great shot.'”

West claimed three of four field events, highlighted by Leah Dusterhoft's nearly 19-foot advantage with a discus throw of 130-05. Welch won the long jump by more than a foot with a leap of 18-01.50, while Chandler Haight recorded a 39-08 for victory in the shot put.

'They just did a great job all the way around,” Parker said. 'Our field events were spectacular tonight, hurdling was spectacular. We come to the track and we have a high level of expectation for our girls.”

Welch carried the momentum over to the track events, where she anchored a victory in the 400 shuttle hurdle relay with Peyton Steva, Kia Noibi and Grace Young. Welch then collected individual wins in both the 100 hurdles (14.85 seconds) and the 400 hurdles (1:04.75).

'In both the 100 and 400 hurdles it's all about the start,” Welch said. 'In 100 hurdles, it's just try to be the first one to the hurdle and after that, it will just go. In the 400 hurdles, coach is always saying, ‘Attack the first two, run out as hard as I can the first two and then that will carry me.'”

Tia Saunders edged West teammate Bailey Nock in the 800, and Gabby Skopec earned a victory in the 3,000.

Payton Wensel and Morgan Garcia both won two events for Linn-Mar, which finished second overall with 104.50 points.

Cedar Rapids Jefferson and Kennedy finished fifth and sixth, respectively.

MISSISSIPPI VALLEY CONFERENCE

VALLEY DIVISIONAL MEET

At Kingston Stadium

Teams –

1. Iowa City West 142, 2. Linn-Mar 104.50, 3. Cedar Falls 94.50, 4. Dubuque Wahlert 84, 5. Cedar Rapids Jefferson 77, 6. Cedar Rapids Kennedy 47, 7. Dubuque Senior 40.

High jump –

1. Grace Gudenkauf (DS), 5-03; 2. Katie Beer (CRK), 5-02; 3. Auriona Kimbrough (CF), 5-00.

Long jump –

1. Valerie Welch (ICW), 18-01.50; 2. Ariana Rolle (LM), 17-00; 3. Brooke Lorenz (LM), 16-08.25.

Discus –

1. Leah Dusterhoft (ICW), 130-05; 2. Brinley Milbrath (CRK), 111-08; 3. Chandler Haight (ICW), 110-00.

Shot put –

1. Haight (ICW), 39-08; 2. Katie Halterman (CF), 38-05; 3. Zainab Makky (ICW), 38-03.50.

3,000 –

1. Gabby Skopec (ICW), 10:39.61; 2. Hannah Fusselman (CRK), 10:54.71; 3. Claire Ronnebaum (ICW), 11:17.28.

3,200 relay –

1. Linn-Mar (Maddie Mann, Hanna Saville, Payton Wensel, Stephanie Jenks), 9:28.34; 2. C.R. Jefferson (Sarah Hanna, MaKayla Belew, Caileigh Meyer, Meredith Koenigsfeld), 9:32.27; 3. Dubuque Wahlert (Ellie Osterberger, Jade Romagna, Kelly Boge, Kaylee Osterberger), 9:47.57.

400 shuttle hurdle relay –

1. I.C. West (Peyton Steva, Kia Noibi, Grace Young, Welch), 1:04.96; 2. C.R. Jefferson (MiAsia Bergman, Ellie Trosky, Sam Kitterman, Meghan Prohaska), 1:07.96; 3. Cedar Falls (Lily Becker, Anna Chestnut, Taylor Lynch, Samantha Alexander), 1:10.65.

100 –

1. Alicia Harrington (CF), 12.34; 2. Jill Bennett (LM), 12.69; 3. Kira Ramsey (LM), 12.72.

Distance medley relay –

1. Linn-Mar (Rolle, Lorenz, Amber Decker, Morgan Garcia), 4:14.30; 2. I.C. West (Katherine Mukumbilwa, Katie Severt, Olivia Moore, Bailey Nock), 4:21.65; 3. Cedar Falls (Morgan Sterrett, Makenzie Nichols, Madison Hall, Paige Kvale), 4:22.11.

400 –

1. Wensel (LM), 58.19; 2. Katy Fricano (DW), 5987; 3. Emma Sass (DS), 1:01.54.

800 relay –

1. C.R. Jefferson (Abbie Ranschau, Bergmann, Autumn Anderson, Jasmine Blue), 1:42.82; 2. Dubuque Wahlert (Sabrina Smith, Alli Osterberger, Anna Sherman, Laura Sherman), 1:44.40; 3. Cedar Falls (Kimbrough, Kate Moody, Larissa Haan, Harrington), 1:45.88.

100 hurdles –

1. Welch (ICW), 14.85; 2. Ranschau (CRJ), 15.69; 3. Bailey Vance (DW), 16.10.

800 –

1. Tia Saunders (ICW), 2:22.47; 2. B. Nock (ICW), 2:22.81; 3. Amber Decker (LM), 2:23.37.

200 –

1. L. Sherman (DW), 25.06; 2. Harrington (CF), 25.49; 3. Wensel (LM), 25.54.

400 hurdles –

1. Welch (ICW), 1:04.75; 2. Grace Herber (DW), 1:09.79; 3. Kitterman (CRJ), 1:12.93.

800 sprint medley relay –

1. C.R. Jefferson (Bergmann, Anderson, Ranschau, Blue), 1:49.29; 2. Dubuque Wahlert (Bailey Hasken, A. Osterberger, Jackie Ganshirt, Fricano), 1:53.15; 3. Cedar Falls (Nichols, L. Haan, Moody, Ellie Haan), 1:55.24.

1,500 –

1. Morgan Garcia (LM), 4:54.94; 2. G. Skopec (ICW), 4:57.23; 3. Cassidy Christopher (CF), 4:59.08.

400 relay –

1. Dubuque Wahlert (Ganshirt, Ana Gall, A. Osterberger, L. Sherman), 49.43; 2. C.R. Jefferson (Bergmann, Ranschau, Anderson, Blue), 49.44; 3. Linn-Mar (Rolle, Bennett, Olivia Hubler, Ramsey), 50.30.

1,600 relay –

1. Cedar Falls (Kimbrough, M. Hall, Kvale, Harington), 4:01.35; 2. C.R. Jefferson (Anderson, Koenigsfeld, Belew, Hanna), 4:06.32; 3. Dubuque Senior (Kai Biehl, Hannah Cook, Marissa Bolyen, Stevie Lambe), 4:08.98.

l Comments: douglas.miles@thegazette.com