Area competitors set to compete at state

 DES MOINES — The Red Oak track teams have three qualifiers going to the famed Drake Stadium this week competing in the state track and field meet.

The lone boys qualifier for Red Oak is long-distance runner Josh Sunberg.

The junior qualified for state in two races, the 1,600 and the 3,200.

In both instances, Sunberg outright earned his spot by winning both races at the 2A district meet Thursday in Treynor.

It’s the first state meet appearance in track for Sunberg, who missed out on the chance last season.

“I was so bummed. I was checking the computer last year, watching for the times to come out,” Sunberg said. “But now I know what’s going to happen.”

In the 3,200, Sunberg won easily by 12 seconds against runner-up Freddie Hug of St. Albert, posting a time of 10:16.81. Sunberg’s time as of Monday morning was listed as 20th on the seeded list in the 3,200.

“My goal today was to win it,” he said.

In the 1,600, Sunberg found himself in a foot race as he edged out Treynor’s Trey Castle, running a time of 4:46.04.

Both Sunberg and Castle are 23rd and 24th on the 1,600 list.

Sunberg bruised his foot during the distance medley Thursday at Treynor, but will be competing at state track this week.

The qualifiers for the Red Oak girls team were Kate Walker and Nikki Graber.

Walker qualified for state in two events, while Graber is in one.

Both Walker and Graber are in the 400-meter dash field for Class 2A.

Walker won the district title in the 400 by running a time of 59.69 seconds. The time is the fifth fastest in the field in terms of seeding.

“I just knew I had to get out of the blocks faster than I had been if I wanted to [get a personal record] and get under 60,” Walker said.

Graber meanwhile was third in the 400 with a time of 1:03.70.

As of Monday morning, Graber was scheduled to compete in the first heat of the 400-meter dash. Walker will be in the third heat.

Walker also qualified in the 1,500 as she won the district title with a time of 5:12.82. The junior held off St. Albert’s Jacey Martin by two seconds to get the spot.“That last lap, I heard everyone cheering for her,” Walker said about Martin. “I had to kick it into gear.”

Walker’s time was the 11th fastest in the field.

Walker will have a busy schedule for the week as she will also be competing in tennis, trying to get to state in that sport once again. With both of Walker’s races taking place later in the day (Thursday evening and Saturday afternoon), the junior will be playing in both the regional tennis tournament, as well as Saturday’s regional team tennis final, both taking place in Red Oak.

Southwest Valley

The Southwest Valley boys track and field team had two state qualifiers for the 2A state meet.

Colten Drake joined Clarinda’s Noah Bix and Kuemper Catholic’s Chase Rupiper in the high jump field. All three finished with a mark of 6’2”. Drake ended up second in the event at the Treynor districts based on tiebreakers. Bix was first.

Keegan Longabaugh was the other state qualifier for Southwest Valley as he took second in the shot put. Longabaugh had a mark of 44’6”. Marcus Boldy of Panorama had the top throw in the district with 52’1”.

The Southwest Valley girls team had one qualifier as of press time in the 2A field. Sydney Maynes qualified in the 200-meter dash. The senior finished third at districts with a time of 27.50 seconds. Maynes’ as of Monday morning will be competing in the second heat of the preliminaries for the 200-meter dash.

Griswold

The Griswold girls track team will be sending a loaded field once again to the 1A state meet in Des Moines this week.

Leading the pack is Rebekah Topham, who qualified for state in four individual events.

Topham is qualified for state in the 800, 1,500, 3,000 and 400-meter hurdles.

In the 800, Topham ran 2:22.72 to win the district title at Underwood Thursday. Her time is the fastest in the 1A field.

Topham also had the fastest time in the 1,500 field as she ran a 5:02.76 at the Underwood districts. Teammate Alyx Flippin was second at districts and has the third fastest time (5:15.18) in the 1,500 field.

Both Topham and Flippin are qualified in the 3,000-meter race. Topham has the sixth best time in the state field as she has a time of 11:22.62. Flippin has the 11th best time in the field with 11:32.03.

Topham is also qualified in the 400-meter hurdles, posting the top time in the 1A field as she ran a 1:05.78.

Candice Howell is the only other individual qualifier for the girls team as she will compete in the discus throw. Howell had a mark of 105’2” to finish third at the Underwood districts.

Griswold will also be sending its share of relay teams. They are qualified for state in the shuttle hurdle relays, after finishing third in the district meet. The 4x800 team also qualified for the state meet, finishing second at the Underwood districts.

The Griswold girls team will be entering the state meet looking to win their fourth straight state title.

For the Griswold boys team, they will be sending several relay teams to state. The Tigers are qualified for state in the 4x100, 4x200, 4x800, distance medley and shuttle hurdles.

Stanton

The Stanton Viqueens track and field team will be once again sending representatives to the state meet for Class 1A.

Stanton had two individual state qualifiers. Carmen Subbert is qualified in the 100-meter hurdles field for Stanton. Subbert won the district title at Underwood Thursday when she ran a time of 16.65 seconds.

Chelsea Weis is the other state qualifier for Stanton as she claimed the district title in the long jump. Weis, a freshman, had a mark of 15’9.25”, two inches ahead of runner-up Taryn Williams and three inches ahead of South Page’s Cheyana Brownfield.

Stanton is qualified for state in three relay races. The shuttle hurdle team once again qualified for state after finishing second at districts. Their time of 1:10.37 is the seventh fastest in the 1A field. Fremont-Mills, who won the district title, sits third in the seeding for shuttle hurdles.

The Viqueens are also qualified in the 4x100 and 4x200 races. In both instances, the Viqueens won the district titles at Underwood.

Essex

The Trojanettes track and field team had one district qualifier for this season. Regan Burns qualified for state in the shot put field. Burns won the 1A district title with a mark of 34’7”.

East Mills

Travis Tupper will be among the Wolverines making the trip to Des Moines this week for the 1A state meet. Tupper qualified individually for East Mills in both the 200 and 400-meter dash. In both instances, Tupper won the district title during the Underwood meet Thursday night. In the 200, Tupper won with a time of 23.30, while in the 400, he ran a 51.92.

Sam Rew is the only other individual qualifier for East Mills. Rew qualified in the high jump when he had a mark of 6’2”. It’s the fifth highest jump in the field.

In the relay races, East Mills is qualified in the 4x100 and 4x400. The 4x100 team, which features Tupper, Colton Story, Colby Jennings and Cavin Darnold, won the district title as they have the second fastest time in the field with 44.71 seconds.

The 4x400 team has the sixth fastest time in the field with 3:34.76.

The state meet starts Thursday morning and continues through Saturday at Drake Stadium in Des Moines.

The Red Oak Express website will have a full updated listing of the area competitors competing at state, as well as the start times for said races.