Ridge View, Newell-Fonda finish seventh at girls state track meet

Ridge View and Newell-Fonda gave Buena Vista County a pair of seventh-place finishes at the girls state track and field meet in Des Moines, a strong showing on a stage where even top-eight medals require clean execution and season-best efforts. The 2026 meet ran May 21-23 at Drake Stadium, where the Iowa Girls High School Athletic Union says its state track meet ranks among the largest and oldest in the country.

Ridge View’s best finish came from Shea Rapp, who placed seventh in the Class 2A 400 meters in 59.01 seconds. Hannah Brown also reached the state level in the event and finished 18th in 1:02.12. Rapp’s run came after a steady qualifying season that included a second-place finish in the 400 at the Sioux Rapids qualifier in 1:00.42, and Ridge View also earned automatic qualification there in the sprint medley relay, distance medley relay and 4x400 relay. That kind of breadth meant the Raptors arrived in Des Moines with more than one chance to score, not just one front-running athlete.

Newell-Fonda matched that seventh-place result with its 4x800 relay, as Mareni Brabec, Elliot Hamilton, Rylee Hogrefe and Quinn Sievers finished in 10:01.43. In a relay as demanding as the 4x800, the difference between seventh and the rest of the field often comes down to pace discipline and clean handoffs, and the Mustangs kept themselves in the top eight through four consistent legs. The finish added another state-meet marker for a program that also delivered a Class 1A girls basketball championship earlier this spring.

The countywide depth did not stop there. Alta-Aurelia’s 4x800 relay placed 19th in 10:04.08, while Storm Lake’s Silvia Kampbell finished 17th in the 3,000 meters in 10:56.71. Ridge View’s Addison Tesch took 15th in the 3,000 meters, and Melany Horan was 19th in the long jump. Sioux Central also showed up across multiple events, with its 4x800 relay taking 11th and athletes appearing in the 3,000 meters and shuttle hurdle relay.

For Buena Vista County, the results reflected more than two individual placements. Ridge View, Newell-Fonda, Alta-Aurelia, Storm Lake and Sioux Central all put athletes on Drake Stadium’s biggest stage, and the seventh-place finishes by Rapp and the Newell-Fonda relay showed that smaller programs in the county can still convert strong seasons into state-level results.