Ryan Murken

Your Prep Sports

DES MOINES – In her first race of the final day of the Class 4A state track and field meet Ashlyn Keeney was nipped at the finish line in the 800 by a late surge from Ottumwa junior Allison Bookin-Nosbisch.

No one was going to catch Keeney in her final race of the day the Liberty High freshman distance ace made sure of that.

Keeney sprinted away from the field early and raced to her second gold medal performance of the week winning the 4A 1,500 in 4:34.04.

“I was trying to get out ahead,” Keeney said. “The past couple of meets I have been sitting and kicking the last part of it but today it’s my last event I might as well try to go for a best time.”

Keeney narrowly missed a career-best but her winning time of 4:34.04 was more than enough to outdistance the rest of the 4A field to complete a sweep of the two longest running events.

The second career title for Keeney capped a state meet debut that included a title in the 3,000 and runner-up finish in the 800 and distance medley relay.

Next up for Keeney is some well-deserved time off.

“I’m going to take two weeks off and then we will start up cross country,” Keeney said. “I’m just going to relax.”
Before Keeney could relax she put in a week of work that helped Liberty High to a fourth-place team finish in its first season in Class 4A.

Thanks to a pair of titles from Keeney the Lightning rolled up 48 team points to finish behind three-time champion Waukee with 81.3 points, runner-up Cedar Falls with 64 and Southeast Polk with 51.

“It was a lot of fun,” Keeney said. “I will definitely remember all the friends I made and everyone working hard at all the practices we have put in together with our team.”

Keeney started Saturday with a runner-up finish the 800 in a time of 2:11.57.

She led down the stretch but Bookin-Nosbisch closed quickly over the final 50 meters to win in a time of 2:11.45.

“I was happy with it but I was obviously a little disappointed with the end of it,” Keeney said. “I was coming to the finish and I knew there might be people coming but I was so close to the finish line that I thought maybe I was going to do it. As soon as she passed me I thought I could have been sprinting faster so it’s something to learn from. The runners all did really good especially Alli.”

Keeney got her redemption in the 1,500 breaking away from the pack in the opening 300 and never letting anyone close the gap.

The first high school season for Keeney ends with a Drake Relays title in the 3,000, a pair of state crowns and top 11 all-time performances in both the 1,500 and 3,000.

Now a break.

“I’m sad that its over especially because of all the fun that we had and I Love running on this track,” Keeney said. “But I am ready for my break.”

Class 4A

Team scores (Top 10; area teams) – 1. Waukee 81.33; 2. Cedar Falls 64; 3. Southeast Polk 51; 4. Liberty High 48; 5. Linn-Mar 41; 6. Ottumwa 39; 7. Council Bluffs Abraham Lincoln 36; 7. Pleasant Valley 36; 9. West Des Moines Dowling 33; 10. Ames 27; 11. West High 25; 15. City High 20

Individual results (Event winners; area participants)

100 – 1. Kerris Roberts (Waterloo East) 11.88

200 – 1. Kerris Roberts (Waterloo East) 24.74

800 – 1. Allison Bookin-Nosbisch (Ottumwa) 2:11.45; 2. Ashlyn Keeney (Liberty High) 2:11.57; 12. Kiara Malloy-Salgado (West High) 2:21.57; 22. McKenzie Logan (Liberty High) 2:30.76

1,500 – 1. Ashlyn Keeney (Liberty High) 4:34.04; 17. Cami Mac (Liberty High) 4:57.73; 22. Erica Buettner (West High) 5:04.42

100 hurdles – 1. Darby Thomas (Council Bluffs Abraham Lincoln) 14.41; 2. Taylor Cannon (Liberty High) 14.452; 3. Peyton Steva (West High) 14.458; 8. Caroline Schaeckenbach (City High) 15.56

4×100 – 1. Ankeny 48.29

4×400 – 1. Cedar Falls 3:51.51

Shuttle hurdle relay – 1. Waukee 1:03.11; 3. West High (Ella Woods, Amy Liao, Matayia Tellis, Peyton Steva) 1:03.79; 5. City High (Jordan Sekafetz, Te’Nia Ansley, Mia DePrenger, Caroline Schaeckenbach) 1:05.6; 6. Liberty High (Taylor Cannon, Elizabeth Davis, Jada Murphy, Gabbie Schroeder) 1:06.01

Sprint medley relay – 1. Cedar Falls 1:47.42; 14. City High (Emma Clark, Emma Cooper, Ayana Lindsey, CeCe Kelly-Harvey) 1:51.51

Did you enjoy this subscription free article? Help keep Your Prep Sports free by becoming a member.