Ryan Murken

Your Prep Sports

IOWA CITY – There was something about running an individual event that Emma Cooper always found a little uncomfortable.

Cooper quickly realized she wasn’t the only member of the City High squad that was uneasy alone in the starting blocks.

“I really think I can speak for a lot of people on our team when I say the individual events are a lot more stressful,” Cooper said. “Being on a relay team you can kind of lean on each other.”

Cooper and her City High relay teammates leaned on each other on Friday night all the way to a district title.

City High won three relay titles and added runner-up and automatic state-qualifying finishes in three others on its way to the team title at the Class 4A state qualifying meet at Raffensperger Track at City High.

City High got an individual title from Caroline Schaeckenbach in the 400 hurdles and a runner-up finish from Te’Nia Ansley in the long jump while finishing with 129 points to edge runner-up Liberty High by six for the team title.

It was the relays that provided the difference for City High as the Little Hawks scored 59 points in relay events.

“The team atmosphere is great and I think the relays help with that,” City High sophomore Ayana Lindsey said. “We all believe in each other and work well together.”

City High entered with top-two times in four relays and had the top time in two, the shuttle hurdle and the 4×200.

The Little Hawks exceeded those numbers on Friday winning titles in the 4×100, 4×200 and 4×400 relays and runner-up performances in the shuttle hurdle, distance medley and sprint medley.

Neither City High medley relay team had a top-three qualifying time coming into the district meet.

“We loaded up our relays and our goal was just to go out and do our thing and not worry about where everyone else is in the rankings just go out and run like we know we can,” Cooper said. “That was the big emphasis don’t worry about the people around you just run your own race.”

A senior, Cooper was a part of four state-qualifying relay teams on Friday helping the 4×200 and 4×100 teams to wins and running on the runner-up sprint medley and distance medley squads.

Cooper joined Ansley, fellow freshman Mia DePrenger and Azzura Sartini-Rideout on the 4×200 tea that won in 1:47.04 and anchored the 4×100 to a win in a season-best time of 50.33.

She was a part of the distance medley team that featured Emma Clark, Lindsey and CeCe Kelleh-Harvey that chopped more than 20 seconds off its top time while finishing runner-up in 4:14.87.

“One of our strengths is our depth in a lot of the events,” Cooper said. “We have created a lot of different variations of the relays and they have all run good times. It helps that we can spread people out more and not rely on the same four people in each event.

City High fittingly secured the district title with back-to-back wins in the 4×100 and 4×400 to end the fitting.

The foursome of Ansley, Clark, Lindsey and Cooper won the 4×100 in 50.33 by half a second over Cedar Rapids Prairie.

City High then sealed the deal with a win in the 4×400 in 4:02.38.

Kelley-Harvey, DePrenger and Lindsey built a lead for Schaeckenbach who held off a late charge from Ottumwa’s Allison Bookin-Nosbisch down the stretch.

“It was amazing to finish that way,” Lindsey said. “I had just come off the 4×100 and I got thrown in it and I was super excited. I love the 4×400. It’s the best race out here.”

Class 4A, District 5 Meet

At City High

Team scores – 1. City High 129; 2. Liberty High 123; 3. West High 120; 4. Cedar Rapids Prairie 117; 5. Cedar Rapids Kennedy 93; 6. Ottumwa 88; 7. Cedar Rapids Jefferson 34; 8. Cedar Rapids Washington 33

Individual results (Automatic Qualifiers; Area placewinners)

100 – 1. Madie Andorf (CRP) 12.67; 2. Hannah Stuelke (CRW) 12.77; 5. Katie Severt (ICW) 13.25; 6. Azzura Sartini-Rideout (ICH) 13.29

200 – 1. Peyton Steva (ICW) 25.66; 2. Cheyenne Mitchell (CRK) 25.92; 4. Azzura Sartini-Rideout (ICH) 27.43; 4. Pamela Wawaka (ICH) 27.9; 8. Favour Alarape (ICW) 28.85

400 – 1. Allison Bookin-Nosbisch (OTT) 57.5; 2. Gabby Cortez (CRP) 58.31; 5. Devon Dunson (ICL) 1:01.3; 6. Peyton Naeve (ICH) 1:04.04; 8. Isabel Jones (ICH) 1:05.7

800 – 1. Ashlyn Keeney (ICL) 2:15.39; 2. Allison Bookin-Nosbish (OTT) 2:15.85; 4. Kiara Malloy-Salgado (ICW) 2:22.9; 6. McKenzie Logan (ICL) 2:26.76; 8. Erica Buttner (ICW) 2:27.86

1,500 – 1. Ashlyn Keeney (ICL) 4:50.57; 2. Camille Mac (ICL) 4:52.89; 4. Erica Buettner (ICW) 5:05.54; 6. Rowan Boulter (ICH) 5:07.48; 7. Janie Perril (ICH) 5:09.46

3,000 – 1. Ashlyn Keeney (ICL) 10:25.61; 2. Ella Popenhagen (CRK) 10:30.72; 3. Cami Mac (ICL) 10:41.96; 4. Rowan Boulter (ICH) 10:42.56; 8. Camden Zirker (ICW) 11:29.64

100 hurdles – 1. Peyton Steva (ICW) 14.54; 2. Taylor Cannon (ICL) 14.59; 4. Carolina Schaeckenbach (ICH) 15.06; 5. Ella Woods (ICW) 16.04; 6. Jordan Sekafetz (ICH) 16.07; 7. Jada Murphy (ICL) 16.64

400 hurdles – 1. Caroline Schaeckenbach (ICH) 1:04.12; 2. Kajsa Gerkens (CRK) 1:06.66; 3. Amy Liao (ICW) 1:09.11; 4. Kiara Malloy-Salgado (ICW) 1:09.75; 5. Lillian Reynolds (ICH) 1:09.75; 6. Isabelle Woody (ICL) 1:10.16

Shot put – 1. Salima Omari (ICW) 42-1; 2. Arionnah Sonii (ICW) 40-2 ¼; 7. Anna Spellman (ICH) 32-4 ¼; 8. Neshy Byrd (ICL) 30-11 ¼

Discus – 1. Miranda Jones (ICL) 119-10; 2. Hannah Stuelke (CRW) 110-9; 5. Darya Acas (ICL) 102-6; 6. Salima Omari (OCW) 101-10

High jump – 1. Anne Guest (OTT) 5-2; 2. Taylor Peterson (CRP) 5-1; 3. Alia Vanderhoef (ICH) 4-10; 5. Elizabeth Jaeger (ICL) 4-8;

Long jump – 1. Katie Severt (ICW) 17-2 ¼; 2. Te’Nia Ansley (ICH) 16-11 ½; 3. Ella Cook (ICH) 16-6 ½; 7. Tremeice Carter (ICW) 14-10 ¾;

4×100 – 1. City High (Te’Nia Ansley, Emma Clark, Ayana Lindsey, Emma Cooper) 50.33; 2. Cedar Rapids Prairie 50.83; 3. Liberty High (Jada Murphy, Tayshauna McGee, Elizabeth Davis, Taylor Cannon) 51.34

4×200 – 1. City High (Te’Nia Ansley, Emma Cooper, Azzura Sartini-Rideout, Mia DePrenger) 1:47.04; 2. Cedar Rapids Prairie 1:47.18; 4. West High (Amy Liao, Katie Severt, Mia Dillingham, Matayia Tellis) 1:48.04; 6. Liberty High (Christella Luyeye, Elizabeth Davis, Gabbie Schroeder, Dazzia Caston-Gonzalez) 1:53.75

4×400 – 1. City High (CeCe Kelly-Harvey, Mia DePrenger, Ayana Lindsey, Caroline Schaeckenbach) 4:02.38; 2. Ottumwa 4:03.14; 4. Liberty High (Devon Dunson, Chaise Lange, Christella Luyeye, Carlie Schroeder) 4:13.98; 6. West High (Tionna Slater, Laisa Whittaker, Clare Loussaert, Emma Kearney) 4:26.25

4×800 – 1. Ottumwa 9:36.65; 2. West High (Erica Buettner, Kate Hoefer, Emma Kearney, Kiara Malloy-Salgado) 9:47.61; 4. City High (Lillian Reynolds, Tatum Frazier, Janie Perril, Lucy Corbin) 9:55.35; 5. Liberty High (Anna Reese, Isabelle Woody, McKenzie Logan, Cami Mac) 10:08.08

Shuttle hurdle relay – 1. West High (Ella Woods, Amy Liao, Matayia Tellis, Peyton Steva) 1:03.93; 2. City High (Jordan Sekafetz, Te’Nia Ansley, Mia DePrenger, Caroline Schaeckenbach) 1:04.87; 3. Liberty High (Elizabeth Davis, Gabbie Schroeder, Jada Murphy, Taylor Cannon) 1:06.66

Sprint medley relay – 1. Cedar Rapids Prairie 1:50.37; 2. City High (Emma Clark, Emma Cooper, Ayana Lindsey, CeCe Kelly-Harvey) 1:51.22; 3. Liberty High (Chaise Lange, Tayshauna McGee, Taylor Cannon, Devon Dunson) 1:52.11; 6. West High (Matayia Tellis, Mia Dillingham, Celestine Nuro-Gyina, Kaisa Whittaker) 1:59.97

Distance medley relay – 1. Liberty High (Chaise Lange, Tayshauna McGee, Carlie Schroeder, Ashlyn Keeney) 4:13.11; 2. City High (Emma Cooper, Emma Clark, Ayana Lindsey, CeCe Kelly-Harvey) 4:14.87; 6. West High (Mia Dillingham, Doroteya Kiza, Kiara Malloy-Salgado, Emma Kearney) 4:39.61

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