Click here for more photos from Iowa City West at the state track meet. 

Ryan Murken

Your Prep Sports

DES MOINES – The final trip around the famed Blue Oval inside Drake Stadium as a prep for Bailey Nock turned out to be a victory lap.

Nock capped a brilliant prep career by winning the Class 4A 1,500 for the second consecutive season on Saturday at Drake Relays in Des Moines.

The win was the fifth career state title for Nock and second of the weekend helping West High to its second consecutive 4A runner-up team finish.

“It’s kind of sad to be honest because I don’t want to end but also I’m happy with it. It’s really bittersweet because this is my last time running for West and I’ve been training with these girls for eight seasons including cross country and I’m going to miss it a lot.”

Nock won the 3,000 on Thursday and completed a sweep of the 4A distance events with a win in a season-best time of 4:38.09 on Saturday.

Teammate Deniz Ince was second in 4:42.28, her third runner-up finish of the meet, as West High finished with 76 points to place second behind three-time champion Waukee for the second year in a row.

“Last year we got a trophy and this year we knew what it took to get there,” Ince said. “It’s a good feeling.”

Nock the last event of her prep career a memorable one.

She pulled away from the field early and cruised to the title to secure the fourth individual title of her career.

“I got sad before the race began and then I had to snap out of it,” Nock said. “I thought about how this is it for me. My coach said no matter how hard you try or how many classes you fail you can’t come back and it kind of hit me hard realizing this is my last event.”

Nock added a seventh-place finish in the 800 on Saturday and finishes her career with 15 state medals that include seven first or second place finishes.

“It’s kind of a relief,” Nock said. “You never want to go out like I did in cross country so it’s a relief to end on a win.”

While Nock stole the show on Saturday her teammate Ince showed she could compete with the best in the state.

The junior finished third in the 800 in a career-best time of 2:12.78.

Southeast Polk senior Sydney Milani won the 800 in 2:10.38 while Lily Campbell of Waukee was third in 2:12.11.  

“I knew that I could be up there with them and I had to run a smart race,” Ince said of the 800. “Comparing it to Drake I had to get out better than I did there so this week that is what I was really working on. I knew I had to push it out of the start because there would be some girls that had a faster kick than me at the end.”

The time of 2:12.11 was nearly five seconds better than her previous best time set last month at the Drake Relays and her time of 4:42.28 in the 1,500 was six seconds better than her previous best.

“I feel so grateful that I could do this,” Ince said. “Last year I ran three events and only got a medal in one and this year I made so much improvement.”

West High got a fourth-place finish from the shuttle hurdle relay team of Peyton Steva, Matayia Tellis, Leah Elliott, Kitra Bell in a season-best time of 1:04.75.

Bell added a sixth-place finish in the 100 hurdles in 15.03.

Class 4A State Track and Field Meet

At Drake Stadium in Des Moines

Team scores – 1. Waukee 122; 2. West High 76; 3. Southeast Polk 70; 4. Linn-Mar 55; 5. Ames 38; 6. Cedar Falls 37; 7. Pleasant Valley 36.5; 8. West Des Moines Dowling 33; 9. City High 27; Council Bluffs Abraham Lincoln 27

Individual results

(Champion; Area Participants)

100 – 1. Sydney Milani (Southeast Polk) 11.49

200 – 1. Sydney Milani (Southeast Polk) 23.68

800 – 1. Sydney Milani (Southeast Polk) 2:10.38; 3. Deniz Ince (West High) 2:12.78; 7. Bailey Nock (West High) 2:15.39

1,500 – 1. Bailey Nock (West High) 4:38.09; 2. Deniz Ince (West High) 4:42.28

100 Hurdles – 1. Sydney Winger (Waukee) 14.12; 6. Kitra Bell (West High) 15.03

Sprint Medley Relay – 1. Linn-Mar 1:43.64; 4. City High (Emma Clark, Azzura Sartini-Rideout, Emma Cooper, Ayana Lindsey) 1:49.64

Shuttle Hurdle Relay – 1. Waukee 1:01.09; 4. West High (Peyton Steva, Matayia Tellis, Leah Elliott, Kitra Bell) 1:04.75

4×100 – 1. Linn-Mar 48.0

4×400 – 1. Waukee 3:57.68; 5. City High (Ayana Lindsey, Tiara Green, Caroline Schaeckenbach, CeCe Kelly-Harvey) 3:59.61