Ryan Murken

Your Prep Sports

IOWA CITY – There was a moment last month when Katie Severt feared her high school career had come to an end.

Knee pain sent Severt to the doctor last month where the West High senior sprinter and long jumper got the news that her prep career had likely come to an end.

Severt, who had a top-five mark in the state in the long jump at the time, was devastated.

“Once it happened, I was really nervous,” Severt said. “I didn’t want my senior season to be over, especially like that.”

Severt went for a second opinion and got good news.

“I saw two different doctors and one said I needed crutches and I was out the rest of the season and the other said I was fine,” Severt said. “I trusted the second doctor.”

Returning from an injury once believed to be season-ending would be impressive.

What Severt pulled off on Friday was nothing short of miraculous.

In her first action in nearly a month and jumping off her opposite leg to accommodate her injury Severt won the long jump at the Class 4A state qualifying meet at City High with a leap of 17-2 ¼.

“She was able to get back to her top speed pretty quick, we could see that in a couple of practices last week but the long jump is just miraculous,” West High coach Mike Parker said. “You don’t jump off the other foot, it’s like throwing the shot with your other arm you don’t do that and then to come here where there are other top-ranked long jumpers and win the state qualifier off your wrong foot she has a lot to be proud of.”

Severt had jumped 17-10 before her injury while leaping off her right leg.

She was cleared to return to the cardio room two weeks ago and began running last week but only had two practices to learn a totally new way of long jumping.

“We had two practices to teach her how to jump off the other foot,” Parker said. “We did some drills onto our high jump mat to protect her leg as much as we could and she jumped over 17 feet tonight. I told her I’m not sure maybe this is her right foot and the other one wasn’t.”

As expected the change was a struggle for Severt at first.

She picked it up fast enough to edge City High freshman Te’Nia Ansley by nearly three inches for the title on Friday.

“It was really awkward at first,” Severt said. “My first time trying was really bad. It was really uncomfortable but after practicing it wasn’t so bad.”

Severt ran on the West High 4×200 relay team that placed fourth as the Women of Troy finished third in the team standings with 120 points.

City High won the team title with 129 and Liberty High was second with 123.

“I was just super, super excited to be back,” Severt said. “I wasn’t sure if I was even going to get back this year so I was not expecting to win long jump. I really surprised myself.”

The long jump title by Severt was one of five first-place finishes for West High which got a pair of titles from senior Peyton Steva in the 200 and 100 hurdles.

Steva won the 100 hurdles in 14.54 and the 200 in 25.66 and anchored the West High shuttle hurdle relay team to a win in 1:03.93.

West High placed first and second in the shot put as junior Salima Omari won with a toss of 42-1 and freshman Arionnah Sonii was runner-up with a mark of 40-2 ¼.  

“Arionnah was up first and she put a 40-footer out there and Salima had no choice but to respond to that and she put a 42 out there,” Parker said. “I’m happy for both those girls. We expect Salima to be great but for a freshman to throw over 40 feet that’s big-time stuff. That’s Danica Haight type stuff.”

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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