Evelyn Moeller, Cali Whitaker push Mount Vernon girls to 2nd in 3A

DES MOINES — It all depends on perspective.

Six area representatives — three individuals, three relays — earned second-place finishes in Class 3A girls’ races at the state track and field meet Saturday at Drake Stadium.

None were sorely disappointed.

“Super, super happy,” Mount Vernon’s Cali Whitaker said after earning silver in the 200-meter dash. “To finish second is a pleasant surprise. It feels really good, especially for my last race (of the weekend).”

Teammate Evelyn Moeller had a similar feeling.

“I did everything I wanted to do,” Moeller said after running second to Gilbert’s Keira Anderson in the 800-meter run (she later was second in the 1,500). “It’s a personal best. I think it’s a school record. My stride got a little messed up, but I didn’t give up.”

Moeller and Whitaker helped lead Mount Vernon to the area’s best girls’ finish. Second, of course.

Adel-DeSoto-Minburn won the 3A title with 67 points. Mount Vernon and Gilbert shared runner-up status with 58.

Marion (50) was fourth.

Moeller, sophomore, ran 2:13.94 in the 800, 4:38.20 in the 1,500.

“I was trying to run so fast,” she said after the 800. “I thought I was going to die.”

As for Whitaker, who finished the 200 in 24.81 seconds:

“I had a really good start,” she said. “It was better than the prelims. I was just thinking, ‘Push, push, push, push’ out of the blocks.”

Three different area schools earned second place in a 3A girls’ relay.

In the first event of the day, Williamsburg’s Graceyn Uhlmann, Makenna Hughes, Ailea Wetjen and Ava Hocker ran 1:47.00 in the sprint medley relay, behind Clear Lake’s 1:45.39.

“With 200 meters to go, there were three girls ahead of me, and two of them were close,” Hocker said. “I thought I still had a lot to give.”

West Delaware’s Norah Peyton, Josie McMahon, Sofia Schulte and Avery Schmitz finished the shuttle hurdle relay in 1:05.10. ADM won it in 1:01.15.

“ADM is so good,” Peyton said. “We came out and ran our race.”

Schulte added: “We controlled what we could control.”

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And in the 4x400 finale, Marion’s Jayda Carnes, Avery Case, Addison Dabroski and Hayden Dietz (3:54.11) were second to Dubuque Wahlert (3:53.33).

“This weekend has been amazing,” Dabroski said. “I didn’t expect us to do this much damage. I’m not used to this.”

Marion also finished third in the 4x100.

STATE TRACK & FIELD

Class 3A Girls

Top 10 teams (final) — 1. Adel ADM 67, 2. (tie) Mount Vernon and Gilbert 58, 4. Marion 50, 5. Clear Lake 40, 6. Decorah 39, 7. Sioux Center 37, 8. (tie) Pella and Dubuque Wahlert 30, 10. Davenport Assumption 28.

Sprint medley relay — 1. Clear Lake (Leisure, Brattrud, Englin, Brownlee), 1:45.39; 2. Williamsburg, 1:47.00; 3. Dubuque Wahlert, 1:47.64; 4. Western Dubuque, 1:47.82; 5. Marion, 1:48.66; 6. Decorah, 1:48.91; 7. Mount Vernon, 1:48.92.

800 — 1. Keira Andersen (Gilbert), 2:13.88; 2. Evelyn Moeller (Mount Vernon), 2:13.94; 3. Kolby Oldenkamp (Sioux Center), 2:14.85.

Shuttle hurdle relay — 1. Adel ADM (Nelson, Smyth, Coghlan, Dufoe), 1:01.15; 2. West Delaware, 1:05.10; 3. Sioux Center, 1:06.18; 6. Western Dubuque, 1:07.73; 8. Clear Creek Amana, 1:08.16.

100 — 1. Kelly Grobstich (Davenport Assumption), 11.83; 2. Kaleigh Tooker (MOC-Floyd Valley), 12.18; 3. Aiden Gosselink (Grinnell), 12.20; 5. Abby Cave (Marion), 12.37; 7. Ailea Wetjen (Williamsburg), 12.45; 8. Kenzie Lovell (Marion), 12.54.

100 hurdles — 1. Josi Dufoe (Adel ADM), 14.50; 2. Elise Coghlan (Adel ADM), 14.55; 3. Renae Wilson (Decorah), 14.90; 4. Avery Schmitz (West Delaware), 15.11; 5. Olivia Neal (Cedar Rapids Xavier), 15.17; 6. Macy Kalb (Western Dubuque), 15.24.

200 — 1. Kelly Grobstich (Davenport Assumption), 24.32; 2. Cali Whitaker (Mount Vernon), 24.81; 3. Mackenzie Harder (Storm Lake), 25.14; 4. Abby Cave (Marion), 25.16.

1,500 — 1. Sarah Feddersen (Gilbert), 4:36.73; 2. Evelyn Moeller (Mount Vernon), 4:38.20; 3. Lindsey Sonderman (Harlan), 4:38.60; 6. Izzy Hardin (Maquoketa), 4:44.02.

400 relay — 1. Gilbert (Rash, Hanson, Mizerak, Mizerak), 48.49; 2. Adel ADM, 48.50; 3. Marion, 48.57; 4. Western Dubuque, 48.57; 7. Decorah, 49.28; 8. Maquoketa, 49.33.

1,600 relay — 1. Dubuque Wahlert (Roling, Brosius, Sieverding, Donovan), 3:53.33; 2. Marion, 3:54.11; 3. Pella, 3:54.26; 5. West Delaware, 3:55.25.

Comments: jeff.linder@thegazette.com