Schaeckenbach Shines in Hurdles at Forwald/Coleman Relays
Ryan Murken
Your Prep Sports
IOWA CITY – When Caroline Schaeckenbach steps onto the famed blue oval at Drake Stadium in Des Moines at the Drake Relays next week it will all be brand new for the City High sophomore.
That’s because everything has been new for Schaeckenbach this season.
In her first season of track at any level Schaeckenbach has quickly become one of the top 400 hurdlers in the state.
She continued her impressive ascent in her debut season on Thursday winning the 400 hurdle title at the 46th annual Forwald/Coleman Relays at Raffensperger Track at City High.
“I had never done track, never done hurdles before and I just thought it would be fun so I went to the beginning of the year stuff,” Schaeckenbach said. “I just started with hurdles in the season and it went well and I stuck with it.”Schaeckenbach hasn’t just stuck with the hurdles in her first ever track season, she has excelled in them.
Her winning time of 1:05.59 in the 400 hurdles on Thursday is the third fastest in the state this spring.
Schaeckenbach added a third-place finish in the 100 hurdles in 15.56 to secure a Drake Relays trip in the event.
“She just gets better and better and better,” City High coach Terry Coleman said. “Her two open hurdle races were just outstanding and she is still learning.”
At the urging of a few friends Schaeckenbach, who is home schooled, gave track and field a try for the first time this spring.
She started showing up at preseason training in February and enjoyed the experience.
It only took one attempt at the hurdles for Coleman to see there was potential.
“There are a couple of her friends that are in gymnastics that are hurdlers and they convinced her to come and she tried it,” Coleman said. “She three-stepped the very first time she tried it and we thought ‘that’s a good thing’.”
It hasn’t taken Schaeckenbach long to catch on.
She clocked a 1.11.6 in the 400 hurdles in her first ever meet last month and in less than a month she has shaved more than six seconds off that time.
Schaeckenbach credits her coaches and teammates for her rapid improvement.
“It’s a little tough having to learn everything when everyone already knows it because you feel like you are behind,” Schaeckenbach. “But the girls and coaches are really helpful and that is nice.”
No one has been more surprised by the rapid rise than Schaeckenbach.
After she posted a career-best time of 1:08 last week Schaeckenbach figured she was approaching her ceiling.
On Thursday she took more than two seconds off that time when she held off Pleasant Valley freshman Clare Basala in the final 100 meters for the win.
“I had run a 1:08 at the last meet we were at and I was hurting so bad so I thought ‘I can’t go any faster’ and then today I went 1:05,” Schaeckenbach said. “It was really good to have the Pleasant Valley girls pushing me because she was really fast.”
The question now becomes just how good can Schaeckenbach become in her first year.
Coleman isn’t sure but he likes the progress his young hurdler is making.
“I don’t know what her upper limit is exactly,” Coleman said. “She is just so brand new to things but it’s just really fun to watch her improve.”
Schaeckenbach also ran a leg on the Little Hawks’ runner-up 4×400 relay team as City High placed fourth in the team standings with 93 points.
The sprint medley team of Emma Clark, Emma Cooper, CeCe Kelly-Harvey and Ayana Lindsey won a title in 1:51.9.
“We had a pr in every event but one today,” Coleman said. “Ayana Lindsey ran two sub-60 quarters, we had a couple 16-foot long jumpers, just everywhere I thought we were really good.”
Forward/Coleman Relays
At City High
Team scores – 1. Waukee 184; 2. West High 130.5; 3. Pleasant Valley 114; 4. City High 93; 5. West Des Moines Valley 70; 6. Linn-Mar 68; 7. Cedar Rapids Kennedy 51.5; 8. Muscatine 27.
Individual Results
(Winners; Area Placewinners)
100 – 1. Elma Vojic (WAU) 12.41; 6. Emma Clark (ICH) 12.95
200 – 1. Elma Vojic (WAU) 26.05; 4. Tiara Green (ICH) 27.26; 5. Isyss Shaw (ICW) 27.44
400 – 1. Delaney Taylor (WAU) 1:00.82; 7. Saye Traore (ICH) 1:06.9; 8. Jordan DuBrava (ICH) 1:07.42
800 – 1. Payton Wensel (LM) 2:11.08; 5. Kiara Malloy-Salgado (ICW) 2:26.67; 7. CeCe Kelly-Harvey (ICH) 2:27.61;
1,500 – 1. Bailey Nock (ICW) 4:50.28; 2. Deniz Ince (ICW) 4:52.21
3,000 – 1. Bailey Nock (ICW) 10:18.92; 6. Esti Brady (ICH) 11:19.35; 8. Annalise Rummelhart (ICH) 11:42.39.
100 hurdles – 1. Kitra Bell (ICW) 15.41; 3. Caroline Schaeckenbach (ICH) 15.56; 5. Peyton Steva (ICW) 15.84.
400 hurdles – 1. Caroline Schaeckenbach (ICH) 1:05.59; 4. Kitra Bell (ICW) 1:08.37; 8. Jae Dancer (ICH) 1:11.9.
Sprint medley relay – 1. City High (Emma Clark, Emma Cooper, CeCe Kelly-Harvey, Ayana Lindsey) 1:51.9; 4. West High (Katie Severt, Favour Alarape, Isyss Shaw, Kiara Malloy-Salgado) 1:56.1.
Distance medley relay – 1. West High (Katie Severt, Matayia Tellis, Isyss Shaw, Deniz Ince) 4:19.56; 3. City High (Sydney DePrenger, Ella Cook, Tiara Green, Jae Dancer) 4:30.8.
Shuttle hurdle relay – 1. Waukee 1:05.61; 4. West High (Kia Noibi, Amy Liao, Peyton Steva, Kitra Bell) 1:07.91; 6. City High (Kate Swenning, Jordan Sekafetz, Jae Dancer, Caroline Schaeckenbach) 1:09.12.
4×100 – 1. Pleasant Valley 48.99; 5. West High (Peyton Steva, Katie Severt, Isyss Shaw, Matayia Tellis) 51.85; 7. City High (Emma Clark, Azzura Sartini-Rideout, Tiara Green, Emma Cooper) 52.28.
4×200 – 1. Pleasant Valley 1:44.5; 4. City High (Emma Clark, Emma Cooper, CeCe Kelly-Harvey, Ayana Lindsey) 1:48.07; 7. West High (Kia Noibi, Amy Liao, Mia Dillingham, Favour Alarape) 1:55.14.
4×400 – 1. Waukee 4:01.01; 2. City High (Sydney DePrenger, CeCe Kelly-Harvey, Caroline Schaeckenbach, Ayana Lindsey) 4:04.06; 8. West High (Amy Liao, Claire Ronnebaum, Kaisa Whittaker, Catherine Hoefer) 4:35.53.
4×800 – 1. Waukee 9:48.54; 4. City High (Anna Lindower, Amelia Morrow, Kinsee Brands, Lillian Reynold) 10:05.42; 6. West High (Catherine Hoefer, Anna Moore, Emma Kearney, Claire Ronnebaum) 10:35.51.
Long jump – 1. Kitra Bell (ICW) 17-9; 2. Katie Severt (ICW) 17-8 ¼; 4. Ayana Lindsey (ICH) 16-5; 5. Ella Cook (ICH) 16-1
High jump – 1. Skyler Presler (LM) 5-6; 3. Alia Vanderhoef (ICH) 5-0; 3. Kate Swenning (ICH) 5-0.
Shot put – 1. Kat Moody (WAU) 47-3; 2. Chandler Haight (ICW) 43-7; 3. Salima Omari (ICW) 37-5.
Discus – 1. Madison Green (WDV) 123-9; 2. Alexie Little (ICW) 119-0 ½; 3. Chandler Haight (ICW) 111-0.