District Track Preview: 1A-8 (Mount Ayr)

NOTE: This is the second of a three part preview of the district track meets. We've posted a preview of the West Harrison meet and will post a preview tomorrow of the Treynor meet.

There's a lot of storylines for the Mount Ayr meet Thursday. Griswold, Stanton and Essex will all be competing against the likes of Bedford, Nishnabotna, Mount Ayr, Clarinda Academy and Lenox for a shot at state.

Griswold

The Griswold girls track team will be one of the big stories going into the meet. Rebekah Topham continues her drive at winning more state titles when she goes into the meet. She'll try to get to state again and reach double-digit golds for her career.

Topham has the top times in the district in the 3,000, 1,500, 800 and 400-meter hurdles. Her teammate Alyx Flippin is also a contender for state as she's second behind Topham in the 3,000 and 1,500 and third in the 800. Jessica Marshall meanwhile has the third best time in the 400-meter hurdles for Griswold in the district.

In the field events, Griswold has contenders in Jackie Rush, MyKenzie Rainey, Melodie Anstey and Kinzey Nicklaus. Rush ahs the top mark in the discus and is fourth in the shot put. Rainey is fifth in the shot put, while Nicklaus is fourth in the discus. Anstey has the fifth best jump in the district long jump field.

Griswold's also got relay contenders in the 4x800, 4x400, the shuttle hurdle and the distance medley.

On the boys side, Griswold's best individual contenders are Derek Kirchhoff, David Thompson and Aaron Metheny. Kirchhoff has the top time in the district (11.45) in the 100-meter dash. Andy Hartman also has a chance for Griswold as his 11.72 is fourth fastest in the field.

Thompson has the top time in the 3,200 with 10:57.37, putting him ahead of Nishnabotna's Josh Haning.

Metheny meanwhile has the top jump in the district with 20'7".

Griswold is also a contender in the shuttle hurdles, 4x100 and 4x800.

Essex

The Trojanettes have a chance to send a lot of competitors to state, especially their relay teams. Essex has the second best time in the 4x100 (53.71) and the fourth best in the 4x200 (1:55.87). The 4x800 and 4x400 teams also have a chance.

Individually, freshman sprinter Daiton Martin is a serious contender in the 100-meter dash. Martin's 13.40 puts her second in the district field. Jescenia Mosley is a contender in the 100-meter hurdles for the Trojanettes. Mosley has the fourth fastest time (17.25) in the field.

Keegan Nelson is a field event contender in the shot put. Her 35'1" is second best in the district field.

For the boys team, Essex's best contender is Cody McClintock, who has won the 1,600 multiple times this season. McClintock's 4:52.27 is the second best in the district behind Haning.

Stanton

Stanton has contenders for both the boys and girls. The best contender for the boys is Alex Becthold, who leads the district in the discus. Becthold's 168' remains among the top leaders in 1A. Becthold is also second in the shot put with 46'4".

Connor Hultman is also a potential contender in the boys meet as he's fourth in the district for the 400-meter hurdles (1:01.59).

The girls have a contending team in the shuttle hurdles, but they'll have to contend with Mount Ayr and Griswold. Stanton is third in the shuttle hurdle field with 1:14.05.

Chelsea Weis, who is one of the running legs in the shuttle hurdles, is also a contender in the long jump. Weis is tied for second in the district with 16'0.5".