Photo by Jeff Yoder | Liberty state track photo gallery

Ryan Murken

Your Prep Sports

DES MOINES – All season the battle for state 100 hurdle supremacy was between standout seniors Darby Thomas and Peyton Steva.

In the final 100 hurdle showdown Liberty High junior Taylor Cannon proved she more than belonged with the best in the state.

Cannon blazed to a runner-up finish in the 100 hurdles on Saturday at the Class 4A state meet at Drake Stadium in Des Moines finishing second to Thomas from Council Bluffs Abraham Lincoln who claimed the title with the sixth-fastest time in state history.

The time of 14.452 by Cannon was just off her career-best of 14.45 from Friday’s prelims that ranks 13th all-time in Iowa and edged Steva who was third in 14.458.

“It’s amazing to be able to run with these seniors as a junior and it feels good to be able to know that I am up there with them,” Cannon said. “Don’t count me out even though we are a new school I felt like I could be up there with them and compete with them.”

The runner-up finish was the second straight for Cannon who placed second at the 3A state meet last season in 14.58.

Cannon’s performance in the 100 hurdles was part of a huge Saturday for Liberty High that saw the Lightning surge to a fourth-place finish in the 4A team standings with 48 points.

At the center of the emphatic final day of the season for Liberty High was a breakthrough performance from its junior hurdler.

“It felt so good,” Cannon said. “I’ve been training so hard and I just wanted it all to pay off. My coach set me up so all my hard work would pay off and show in my race and it happened and I am so proud.”

For most of the season it was Thomas and Steva that battled for the title of the state’s top hurdler.

Cannon admitted on Saturday that she was a step or two behind that tandem earlier in the season.

Thomas held off Steva to win the Drake Relays title last month while Cannon placed fourth .32 seconds off the pace.

As the season wore on Cannon slowly narrowed the gap.

At last week’s state qualifying meet Cannon finished just .05 behind Steva.

Her breakthrough finally came on Saturday.

“At the beginning of the year I was maybe a hurdle behind (Steva) but every time I raced her I was closer and closer to her,” Cannon said. “At districts it was hurdle six and I was ahead of her the whole way and off the last hurdle, that sprint is where she caught me.”

Cannon could compete with any hurdler in the state for 60 or 70 meters but it was finishing races that proved to be problematic.

Midway through the year she found the answer.

“Believe it or not I’ve been running 200s,” Cannon said. “My 200s help me with the end of my races so that I don’t die at the end. At the beginning of the year I was kind of dying and my coach said I am going to throw you in some 200s and we will see how it helps with hurdles and it’s helped a lot.”

Cannon isn’t much of a fan of the extra sprint work. She would run 200 workouts at practice before turning her concentration to hurdles.

It wasn’t something she enjoyed but Cannon has relished the results that have followed.

“I hate it, I hate it so much,” Cannon said. “I know that it will benefit me in a good way at the end of the day. I have amazing coaches, they know what they are doing and they trained me exactly so that this could happen.”

With Thomas off to Nebraska and Steva headed to Northern Iowa Cannon is set to enter her senior season with the top hurdler tag.

Ankeny Centennial junior Katie Petersen was fourth on Saturday in 14.77 and City High junior Caroline Schaeckenbach was eighth in 15.56 and join Cannon as returning 4A medalists.

Cannon already has a goal for her final season.

“My goal for next year is to be undefeated all season long,” Cannon said. “I am going to train all summer long, I am going to be in the weight room getting stronger and my goal all senior year is to be undefeated for hurdles.

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.