Ridge View, Sioux Central send seven events to state track meet
Ridge View and Sioux Central combined for 12 state-qualifying entries in Sioux Rapids, led by three winning Ridge View relays and Sioux Central’s pair of runner-up relays.
Ridge View’s relay group looks like the Buena Vista County lineup most likely to chase medals at Drake, and Sioux Central’s distance strength gives the Rebels a real chance to turn qualification into a finals run after both schools delivered a heavy state-meet haul in Sioux Rapids.
With the top two finishers in each event earning automatic state berths, Ridge View sent seven events to the Iowa Girls High School Athletic Union state track and field meet, while Sioux Central added five. The county’s two Class 2A programs combined for 12 qualifying entries from the Sioux Rapids site, where Ridge View finished second in the team standings with 86 points and Sioux Central was third with 80. Hinton won the meet with 134.
Ridge View’s strongest medal path starts with the relays. The sprint medley of Melany Horan, Reese Hawthorne, Cora Tesch and Shea Rapp won in 1:51.97. The distance medley of Hawthorne, Tesch, Rapp and Addison Tesch took first in 4:24.71, and the 4x400 of Hannah Brown, Cora Tesch, Hawthorne and Rapp also won, clocking 4:11.03. Those three relay wins give the Raptors a championship-level foundation heading into Drake Stadium in Des Moines, where the state meet is scheduled for May 21-23.
Ridge View also advanced four individual events. Rapp was second in the 400 meters in 1:00.42, Cora Tesch was second in the 400-meter hurdles in 1:07.08, Addison Tesch was second in the 3,000 in 11:20.51, and Horan took second in the long jump at 16 feet, 2 inches. Coach Angie Kohn said the group got the handoffs and qualifying marks it was aiming for. She also said Rapp handled back-to-back 400s in the distance medley and open 400, Cora Tesch managed the strong wind on the second curve, and Horan was a surprise in the long jump, improving her season best by 1.5 inches at the right time.
Sioux Central’s best state chances are built on balance. Lillian Johnson qualified in the 100 meters in 13.14 seconds, Karina Bloom in the 800 in 2:25.81, and Sage Weber in the 1,500 in 5:13.12. The Rebels’ 4x400 relay of Bloom, Nora Christian, Avery Wilson and Marley Madsen finished second in 4:12.32, and the 4x800 of Bloom, Christian, Madsen and Weber placed second in 10:10.44. Those results show a program that is not just getting to state, but arriving with relays and middle-distance runners that can threaten the field once the championship races begin.
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