West Branch Distance Medley Relay Team Finishes Runner-up
Ryan Murken
Your Prep Sports
DES MOINES – The commonly used term is relay ‘team’.
The West Branch distance medley team felt more like a relay family.
“I think of these girls as my sisters, they are family to me so I am glad that we kept the team together and we were able to compete at it,” West Branch senior Rena Holmes said. “It means everything.”
After three years together as a team the West Branch distance medley relay family got the finish they had always wanted.
Seniors Addi Schultes, Holmes and Lexi Skay and junior anchor Grace Hamann earned a runner-up finish at the Class 2A state track and field meet on Friday afternoon at Drake Stadium in Des Moines.
“I think it’s the best, it’s a great way to end it,” Skay said. “I wouldn’t want it any other way.”
The runner-up finish on Friday meant a little more after the past two state meet performances.
Two years ago Schultes, Skay and Hamann were part of the West Branch distance medley squad that finished 15th at the state meet in 4:22.83.
Last season the same foursome of Holmes, Schultes, Skay and Hamann missed a medal by less than half a second finishing ninth in 4:17.1.
“It was kind of heartbreaking that we missed it by one spot,” Holmes said. “We wanted to go back and start fighting and putting together the team and getting stronger. We’ve been improving all year.”
The improvement has been incremental for the Bears for three seasons.
Friday’s runner-up finish came in a season-best time of 4:13.21, which was faster than the time of 4:13.34 the same foursome ran at the state qualifier last week.
“We worked hard on the little things like making sure the handoffs are good and the sprinting mechanics,” Schultes said. “We’ve just worked together as a team.”
Grundy Center won the distance medley title in 4:09.01 followed by West Branch and Garner-Hayfield/Ventura was third in 4:13.55.
“Last year we were one spot away so it’s definitely great to be on the podium,” Skay said. “Our goal was podium this year and it might not have been first but we improved and put our best foot forward.”
West Branch entered with the second fastest time behind Grundy Center and finished only behind the Spartans.
Hamann pulled the Bears from fourth into second place with a strong 800-meter anchor leg.
“I know that’s something we’ve done a couple of years where we come in ranked really high and then expect that out of ourselves and fall a little bit short,” Hamman said. “To be able to come out and place really high how we did is something that we need to look at and be super grateful for and not focus on how we came up short of anything because we didn’t really come up short.”
Class 2A State Meet
At Drake Stadium in Des Moines
Girls Results
Team scores (Top 10; area teams) – 1. Spirit Lake 35; 2. Grundy Center 30; 3. Mid-Prairie 27; 4. Van Meter 23; 4. Tipton 23; 6. Pella Christian 20; 7. Unity Christian 17; 8. Treynor 16; 9. Anamosa 14; 10. Northeast 13; 17. West Branch 8
Individual events (Event winners; area competitors)
400 hurdles – 1. Ella Hein (Tipton) 1:02.29
4×200 – 1. Pella Christian 1:39.7; 22. West Branch (Rena Holmes, Ava Lacina, Addi Schultes, Lexi Skay) 1:49.84
Distance medley – 1. Grundy Center 4:09.01; 2. West Branch (Rena Holmes, Addi Schultes, Lexi Skay, Grace Hamann) 4:13.21
Discus – 1. Kasey Frommelt (Anamosa) 140-5
High jump – 1. Allison Koch (Grundy Center) 5-8; 12. Jada Wiltz (Regina) 5-0
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