Your Prep Sports Area Girls Track and Field Athletes to Watch This Season
Ryan Murken
Your Prep Sports
Track season is off and running in the state of Iowa.
Competition began last week and the opening day of the 2024 state track and field meet is less than eight weeks away with the three-day state meet schedule to begin on May 16 at Drake Stadium in Des Moines.
There is a lot that will happen in the seven weeks leading up to the track postseason that includes district meets in all classes schedule for May 9.
As the season gets underway here is a look at 10 track and field athletes in the Your Prep Sports area to watch this season.
Gracie Federspiel
Senior, Solon
An Iowa State recruit, Federspiel has been a centerpiece of back-to-back Class 3A state championship teams for the Spartans.
Already an 11-time state medalist and five-time state champion, Federspiel is coming off the best season of her career last year as a junior.
Federspiel earned four state medals for the second consecutive season last May highlighted by her first individual title as she won the 3A 800 in a time of 2:12.97.
Federspiel also finished third in the 400, anchored the Spartan distance medley team to a state title and helped Solon finish runner-up in the 4×800 last season.
Erinn Varga
Senior, West High
A three-year multi-event state qualifier Varga is seeking a strong end to what has been an excellent prep career.
Varga qualified for the state meet in three events in each of her first two prep seasons and was a four-event qualifier last season as a junior.
Varga has finished in the top 10 in the Class 4A 400 hurdles each of the past three seasons, including a fifth-place finish as a sophomore in 2022.
Last season Varga just missed a second medal in the 400 hurdles finishing ninth in 1:06.91 and was also a qualifier in the 400, the 4×400 and the sprint medley relay.
Cori Mac
Senior, Liberty High
A multi-event state qualifier in each of the past three seasons Mac is seeking a breakthrough senior year after a strong finish to her junior season.
Mac finished in the top 11 in Class 4A in both the 3,000 and 1,500 at the state meet last season clocking a career-best time of 4:41.91 in the 1,500 on her way to a ninth-place finish.
She was 11th in the 3,000 in 10:30.11 and will look to improve on those performances while earning the first state medals of her career this spring.
Anna Quillin
Senior, Solon
Another key piece of the recent run of success for Solon Quillin has been a part of three state title relay teams over the past three seasons helping the Spartans to three consecutive top-two team finishes including a pair of 3A titles.
A member of state champion 4×800 teams as both a freshman and sophomore Quillin was a four-event state qualifier last season helping the Spartans win a second consecutive 3A team title.
Quillin was a member of the title winning distance medley relay team, ran on the Solon 4×800 team that finished runner-up and also qualified in the 4×400 relay and the 800.
Alyssa Pierce
Junior, West Branch
After bursting onto the scene as a freshman in 2022 Pierce continued to climb the Class 2A throwing ranks during a strong sophomore season last spring.
Pierce finished 21st in the shot put as a freshman in 2022 and made a big jump last season with a ninth-place finish at the Class 2A state meet with a mark of 37-6 ½.
This season Pierce is already off to a strong start winning the River Valley Conference indoor shot put title earlier this month with a mark of 36-3.
Kiera Rogers
Senior, Clear Creek Amana
A three-time, three-event state qualifier Rogers has been an important piece of the Clear Creek Amana relay lineup throughout her career.
Rogers has competed at the state meet in the 4×400, 4×800 and distance medley relays each of the past three seasons with six of those relay teams posting top-15 finishes at state.
Clear Creek Amana has missed a medal by one spot in the 4×800 each of the past two seasons with ninth-place finishes and Rogers will look to add her first career state medal this season.
Mia Stahle
Senior, Solon
Already an eight-time state medalist Stahle will look to cap a stellar career with another big state meet performance.
Stahle has won eight state medals as part of relay teams over the past three seasons helping Solon to a runner-up team finish in 2021 before back-to-back 3A state titles the past two years.
A three-time individual qualifier in the 400 hurdles, Stahle has helped Solon finish seventh, fourth and runner-up in the shuttle hurdle relay the past three seasons.
Stahle was part of Solon’s state champion distance medley relay team last season and was also on the Spartan 4×200 team that finished third last year.
Ruth Cloyd
Junior, City High
After making her state meet debut two seasons ago on the Little Hawk’s sprint medley relay team Cloyd took a big step forward last spring qualifying for the state meet in four events as a sophomore.
Cloyd earned her first career medal last season helping City High to a fourth-place finish in the Class 4A distance medley and was also a member of the Little Hawk 4×400 relay team that finished 10th and ran on the City High 4×200 relay team that was 22nd.
Cloyd was also an individual state qualifier last season in the long jump.
Reese Naeve
Sophomore, Regina
Naeve impressed in her debut season last spring qualifying for the Class 2A state meet in three events and earning a medal in the 100 hurdles.
As a freshman Naeve finished eighth in the 2A 100 hurdles in 16.07 and was also a member of the Regals’ shuttle hurdle and 4×100 relay teams that each finished 13th at the state meet.
Look for a big jump from Naeve this season as the Regals look to continue to build the program.
Alexi Thigpen
Sophomore, Liberty High
Thigpen capped an impressive freshman season with a stellar state meet that included a third-place finish in the Class 4A long jump with a leap of 17-5 ¾.
A three-event qualifier last season as a freshman Thigpen was a member of the Liberty High 4×200 relay team that finished 12th at state and the Lightning 4×100 team that was 15th in 4A.
Thigpen is off to a strong start this season winning the long jump title at the Wartburg Indoor meet with a jump of 17-0.
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