Ryan Murken

Your Prep Sports

DES MOINES – For most of the season Lillian Reynolds hovered around the 67 second mark in the 400 hurdles.

All that Reynolds needed to burst past that mark was the right combination of good weather, an electric environment and elite competition.

The City High senior found that mixture at the Class 4A state track meet on Friday and used it to produce the performance of a lifetime.

Reynolds trimmed nearly two seconds off her previous career best time while finishing third in the 400 hurdles in a time of 1:04.69 under sunny skies at Drake Stadium in Des Moines.

“I’m really happy with my time and I honestly wasn’t really expecting it,” Reynolds said. “My goal was just to go out and compete with this amazing competition. Just to be out and competing with them and to use them to do my best was really exciting.”

The 400 hurdles has been the event of choice for Reynolds since her freshman season.

On Friday she got the perfect ending to her prep career when she held off Madison Bunton of Burlington to finish behind only the top two seeds in Pleasant Valley senior Emily Wood and Waukee junior Mackenzie Carney.

“All I wanted to do was leave it all out on the track,” Reynolds said. “It’s an event I’ve done a lot and I wanted my final one to be my best one.”

It was a fairly consistent climb toward a top three state meet finish for Reynolds this spring.

She ran a 1:08.28 on April 16 at the Forwald/Coleman Relays at City High finishing second to Wood.

Two weeks later she ran a season-best 1:07 at Liberty High before posting her best time of 1:06.59 at the state qualifying last week.

Reynolds entered a strong field led by Wood, Carney and Cedar Falls junior Maddy McFarland with the seventh fastest time in 4A this season.

She improved that by four spots on Friday staying within striking distance of champion Wood and runner-up Carney until the finish.

“As a runner naturally you want to be toward the front, it hurts to see people pass you,” Reynolds said. “When people are going really fast and they pass you and you stay with them it’s the best feeling.”

Wood won in 1:03.3 and Carney was second in 1:04.46.

“When you feel good after a race for sticking with it that’s my favorite feeling in the world,” Reynolds said. “No matter how bad it hurts it always feels great when you cross.”

Class 4A Girls State Track and Field Meet

At Drake Stadium in Des Moines

Team scores – 1. Waukee 49; 2. Pleasant Valley 39; 3. Ames 26; 4. Ankeny 24; 5. Cedar Rapids Prairie 23; 6. Dubuque Hempstead 19; 7. Southeast Polk 18; 7. Sioux City East 18; 9. Ankeny Centennial 15; 9. Cedar Falls 15; 9. North Scott 15; 9. Liberty High 15; 20. West High 8; 21. City High 7

Individual results (event winners; area competitors)

Shot put – 1. 11. Arionnah Sonii (West High) 36-5 ½; 22. Phoebe Burt (West High) 32-8 ¼

Long jump – 1. Shelby Roming (Ankeny) 18-0 ¾; 18. Isabelle Woody (Liberty High) 15-10 ¾

400 hurdles – 1. Emily Wood (Pleasant Valley) 1:03.3; 3. Lillian Reynolds (City High) 1:04.69; 10. Erinn Varga (West High) 1:08.68; 12. Isabelle Woody (Liberty High) 1:08.79; 22. Martha Hamilton 1:11.55

4×200 – 1. Waukee 1:41.24; 12. City High (CeCe Kelly-Harvey, Sierra Pruessner, Evan Reynolds, Mia DePrenger) 1:47.73; 13. Liberty High (Brityn Gryp, Amira Coleman, Hannah Ramsey, Brynlee Slockett) 1:47.96

Distance medley – 1. Cedar Rapids Prairie 4:09.1; 4. Liberty High (Chaise Lange, Brynlee Slockett, Isabelle Woody, Ashlyn Keeney) 4:11.89; 9. City High (Jordan Sekafetz, Mia DePrenger, Lillian Reynolds, CeCe Kelly-Harvey) 4:18.21

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