SIGOURNEY 

The whole season had been building up to this, an opportunity to qualify for the State Track and Field Championships in Des Moines. 

This year’s Class 1A state qualifier meet was hosted by Sigourney. With state on their mind the Highland boys and girls track and field teams headed to the home of the Savages on May 9. 

Taking the team championship on the girls side was Pekin with 103 points and the runner-up was Danville with 87. On the boys side Columbus won the state qualifier title with 114 points with Danville placing 2nd with 104 points. 

Girls Results 

The Highland girls battled 13 other teams along with the weather since rain decided to make an appearance, but this was a familiar occurrence for a season filled with not so favorable weather.  

“The weather was par for the course. Running in the rain has become a standard this season so it didn’t really affect them,” Highland coach Angela Strobel said about how her team performed in the rain at Sigourney. 

“There were many seasons best performances across the board from the girls on, which is evidence that they came to compete, and a little rain wasn’t going to deter them one bit. I’m so proud of them for finishing the season on such a strong note.”

Collecting 46 team points the Huskies ended the meet placing 9th in the overall standings. Highland qualified for state in one event, the 4x100 with the four-person team of Grace Prybil, Lilly Barre, Hailey Brun, and Alexa Hahn.

Placing first at Sigourney automatically qualifies a person or team to the state championships. 

Highland placed 2nd in the 4x100 with 52.45 seconds, but their time was fast enough to qualify for state with the full list of state participants being revealed the following day. 

“These girls put in the work required to fine tune their hand-offs and to push the pace in the exchange zone, which is everything in a race like the 4x100,” coach Strobel said about the team of Prybil, Barre, Brun, and Hahn. “They put their trust in each other, and it really paid off.”

It was a season filled with growth for a small Highland team and while their placements in meets this year haven’t been high, they still found individual success by improving their performances and gaining experience. 

“We had many girls who stepped up, filled spots, acted as great leaders and role models, and  who tried and succeeded at events they’d never done before,” coach Strobel said about her team.  

“The plethora of season best efforts at the state qualifier reflected the hard work and dedication that the girls put in. I couldn’t be more proud of each and every one of them!”

Up next for Highland will be traveling to Drake Stadium in Des Moines to compete in the COED Track and Field State Meet taking place from May 16-18. 

Boys Results 

The Highland boys season came to a close at Sigourney. The Huskies did not appear in the final team standings after not recording a team score. 

Giving the Huskies two top 15 finishes was junior Cayden Day. Day raced in the 100m and the 200m, placing 12th in 12.15 and 10th in 25.07 respectively. 

Day was also a part of a four-person relay team along with teammates Elvin Hernandez, Brixton Rust, and Jackson Schneider. This quartet placed 11th in the 4x100 with a time of 52.28.

Competing in two field events at the state qualifiers was sophomore Brody Sobolik. In the discus he finished in 15th place with a toss of 79-10 and in the shot put he finished in 21st place with a throw of 25-09.75.

With the curtains closing on their season the Huskies will say goodbye to their lone senior, Jackson Schneider.    

Girls results, *=Highland state qualifier 

100m: 1, Rya Scott, Hillcrest, 12.91; 4, Grace Prybil, Highland, 13.32; 6, Hailey Brun, Highland, 13.64 

200m: 1, Rya Scott, Hillcrest, 27.27; 20, Courtney Chalupa, Highland, 33.97; 24, Marissa Chalupa, Highland, 38.02

400m: 1, Rya Scott, Hillcrest, 1:03.25; 7, Graci Boyd, Highland, 1:11.36

100m hurdles: 1, Josie Nelson, W-MU, 17.19; 6, Brena Hazelett, Highland, 18.11

400m hurdles: 1, Nataliya Linder, N Mahaska, 1:09.26; 5, Mackenzie Davis, Highland, 1:17.70

4x100m shuttle hurdle relay: 1, WACO, 1:11.11; 4, Highland (Brena Hazelett, Emma Cole, Courtney Chalupa, Mackenzie Davis), 1:15.32 

4x100m: 1, Lone Tree, 51.85; 2, *Highland (Alexa Hahn, Hailey Brun, Lilly Barre, Grace Prybil), 52.45

4x200m: 1, Lone Tree, 1:50.78; 5, Highland (Alexa Hahn, Hailey Brun, Lilly Barre, Grace Prybil), 1:53.68

800m sprint medley: 1, Danville, 1:51.77; 7, Highland (Emma Cole, Graci Boyd, Alexa Hahn, Lilly Barre), 2:04.72

Long jump: 1, Kenna Furnald, Danville, 17-01.50; 7, Alexa Hahn, Highland, 14-09.50

Discus: 1, Anna Hadley, Pekin, 122-00; 9, Adyson Gerot, Highland, 74-01; 17, Hailey Plank, Highland, 57-02

Shot put: 1, Anna Hadley, Pekin, 37-04.75; 16, Adyson Gerot, Highland, 25-00; 24, Hailey Plank, Highland, 19-10

Boys results 

100m: 1, Ayden Doyle, Danville, 11.18; 12, Cayden Day, Highland, 12.15; 25, Brixton Rust, Highland, 13.68

200m: 1, Ayden Doyle, Danville, 22.66; 10, Cayden Day, Highland, 25.07

400m: 1, Andy Knockel, N Mahaska, 52.10; 11, Elvin Hernandez, Highland, 59.30; 22, Jackson Robinson, Highland, 1:17.27

800m: 1, Kohlby Newsom, W-MU, 1:58.44; 16, Jackson Robinson, Highland, 3:08.24

110m hurdles: 1, Alexander Rees, Columbus, 15.31; 12, Jackson Schneider, Highland, 20.43

4x100m: 1, Danville, 44.13; 11, Highland (Elvin Hernandez, Brixton Rust, Jackson Schneider, Cayden Day), 52.28

Discus: 1, Chase Waterhouse, WACO, 147-00; 15, Brody Sobolik, Highland, 79-10

Shot put: 1, Russell Coil, Columbus, 49-04; 21, Brody Sobolik, Highland, 25-09.75