Valerie Welch, Bailey Nock stake Iowa City West to state track runner-up finish

DES MOINES — The diet was her typical raceday fare: A couple mini waffles and a bowl of cereal.

Familiarity didn't help. Valerie Welch's stomach was flipping and flopping as she prepared for the final race of her high school career.

'I didn't feel that great,' she said. 'I was kind of queasy.'

Welch kept it in check and kept it all down. Then she punctuated a brilliant state track and field meet.

A senior at Iowa City West, Welch won the Class 4A girls' 100-meter hurdles Saturday at Drake Stadium. Her 14.48-second effort was her third conquest of the weekend.

'It's the best I could have hoped for,' said Welch, a University of Colorado signee. 'Last year, I got third place a lot (at state). I knew I could beat those girls. It just all really came together with my training and the support of my coaches and teammates.'

On Friday, Welch claimed the long jump and ran the third leg on the winning distance medley relay.

For the most part, West enjoyed a tremendous weekend, tallying 89 points. Waukee won its fourth 4A title in the last six years, accumulating 116, the most ever for a 4A team and the second most by anybody in any class.

West's finish was its highest since a title run in 2010.

'It's been a roller coaster,' said Bailey Nock, who won the 1,500 Saturday to go with titles in the 3,000 and distance medley. 'We had some super exciting moments and some disappointing moments.'

A junior, Nock ran away from the 1,500 pack and finished in 4:39.48, more than 7 seconds ahead of the field.

'It's a mixture of feelings right now,' Nock said. 'It was one of those seasons in which I couldn't wait to get to state, but now I don't want to see it end and say good bye to the people I've gotten close with.'

Linn-Mar's Ariana Rolle, Olivia Hubler, Jill Bennett and Payton Wensel were second in the sprint medley relay, finishing in 1:46.03. Waukee won it in 1:45.77.

Wensel, a junior, won the 400 Thursday and finished with a pair of seconds.

Southeast Polk was third with 56 points. Linn-Mar's fourth-place tally of 44 marked the only top-15 finish for a Metro girls' team.

STATE TRACK & FIELD: 4A GIRLS

Teams — 1. Waukee 116, 2. Iowa City West 89, 3. Southeast Polk 56, 4. Linn-Mar 44, 5. Cedar Falls 41, 6. West Des Moines Dowling 37, 7. Waterloo East 36, 8. Pleasant Valley 31, 9. Council Bluffs Abraham Lincoln 26, 10. Johnston 22.

Results (top 3 and area placewinners)

Sprint medley relay — 1. Waukee (Taylor, Winger, Vojic, Campbell), 1:45.77; 2. Linn-Mar, 1:46.03; 3. Pleasant Valley, 1:46.99.

800 — 1. Mackenzie Michael (Cedar Falls), 2:11.54; 2. Lily Campbell (Waukee), 2:11.78; 3. Lauren Van Dyke (Sioux City East), 2:15.71; 4. Bailey Nock (Iowa City West), 2:16.74; 7. Deniz Ince (Iowa City West), 2:21.04.

Shuttle hurdle relay — 1. Waukee (Winger, Gray, Nelson, Schau), 1:00.61 (all-time Iowa best); 2. West Des Moines Dowling, 1:03.19; 3. Urbandale, 1:04.19.

100 — 1. Kerris Roberts (Waukee), 11.88; 2. Khenadi Jones (Sioux City West), 12.24; 3. Darby Thomas (Council Bluffs Abraham Lincoln), 12.33; 5. Jill Bennett (Linn-Mar), 12.62.

100 hurdles — 1. Valerie Welch (Iowa City West), 14.48; 2. Hannah Schau (Waukee), 14.71; 3. Sydney Winger (Waukee), 14.69; 4. Amara Taylor (Cedar Rapids Washington), 14.88; 8. Elayna Bahl (Western Dubuque), 15.23.

200 — 1. Kerris Roberts (Waterloo East), 24.21; 2. Sydney Milani (Southeast Polk), 24.66; 3. Darby Thomas (Council Bluffs Abraham Lincoln), 24.92.

1,500 — 1. Bailey Nock (Iowa City West), 4:39.48; 2. Helen Gould (West Des Moines Valley), 4:46.62; 3. Katelyn Moore (Ames), 4:47.02.

400 relay — 1. Waterloo East (Jenkins, Roberts, Dunn, Muhammad), 48.00; 2. Ankeny, 48.62; 3. Dubuque Senior, 48.62; 5. Linn-Mar, 48.96.

1,600 relay — 1. Southeast Polk (Hill, Milani, Hersom, Woodard), 3:52.26; 2. Cedar Falls, 3:53.33; 3. Waukee, 3:59.40; 5. Cedar Rapids Jefferson, 4:01.09; 6. Western Dubuque, 4:02.00.

l Comments: (319) 368-8857; jeff.linder@thegazette.com