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Girls’ track finishes fourth at Lisbon meet
by Matthew Dickinson, sports editor · Sports · April 17, 2024
The West Branch girls’ track team held its own April 11 at Lisbon, finishing fourth with 92 points and logging four event wins and meet records.
“It was a lot of fun to see the girls compete,” Bears Head Coach Luke Posivio said. “It’s kind of exciting to see us perform and also just have others kind of step up. It’s good to see that we’re PR’ing and finishing where we are but are still getting better.”
Lisbon won the team race with 154, while Anamosa finished second with 138. North Linn finished just ahead of the Bears with 95, while Alburnett rounded out the top five with 67.
Alyssa Pierce continued a midseason surge in the shot put, winning with a 38 feet, 10.50 toss for a new personal best and a Lisbon Invitational meet record. Pierce would go on to improve even further in Saturday’s Eastern Iowa Track and Field Festival hosted by Iowa City West, shattering the school record with a 39-05.75. Shannon Laing had the previous record at 38-11.
“I think she’s her own biggest critic,” the coach said of Pierce. “When she doesn’t have a throw that goes well, she kind of gets down on herself pretty quickly, trying to figure out what’s going wrong, what she needs to do better. And a lot of the time it’s a simple coaching point of getting out there and telling her just go throw the thing. Trust your mechanics, trust what you’ve been coached to do, and just go perform.
“I think she’s finally believing in herself, believing in the fact that she can do it, and I think that’s just paid dividends for her.”
Grace Hamann had a hand in the Bears’ other three champion and meet record efforts, winning both the 800 meter run and 1500. In the 800, Hamann ran a 2:27.94 before turning around and putting down a 5:13.27 in the 1500. She also ran the 800 anchor leg of the winning distance medley relay, which had a time of 4:42.90. Kennedy Simpson, Addi Schultes, and Finley Rushton were the first three runners in the relay.
“Grace comes from a running family,” Posivio said of Hamann. “Obviously we expect her to perform, but we also have to remember she’s a freshman. Like Alyssa, Grace’s biggest critic is herself. When she doesn’t perform as well as she wants to, she can kind of beat herself up about it. I’m always impressed when I see Grace step on a track.”
Schultes and Lexi Skay had high individual finishes as well with a second-place placing apiece. Schultes was the runner-up in the 100 meter dash with a 14.13 while Skay took second in the 400 meter dash with a 1:05.47.
Posivio said that Schultes has been working through some minor “nagging tweaks” this season, but braved a strong headwind to get the high placing in the 100. The coach also marveled at her ability to run cross country for City High in the fall while also being able to be a legitimate sprinter for the Bears. Posivio also said that Skay has been working through some injuries of her own, but has already surpassed her best time from last year.
Three entries placed third. Nina Torkelson exceeded her seed in the 1500 to finish in 5:54.04 despite her time heading into the meet putting her fifth in the competition, while Amber Wolf continued a strong season in the 400 hurdles to post a 1:15.66.
“That’s kind of Amber’s baby,” the coach said of Wolf’s investment in the 400 hurdles. “She’s a girl who’s really quiet, doesn’t complain at all, shows up to lifting and practices all the time. She gives it her all.”
Posivio added that Wolf juggles other responsibilities well during the season and said he hopes to see her hard work pay off with a trip to the state meet.
The 4x800 of Caitlyn Harrison, Sulli Bucknell, Cassie Swisher, and Nora Ziehr had a 12:19.22.
“Our 4x8 team is fun because they’re young,” the coach said, noting that Ziehr is the only upperclassman on the relay team. “Just to see their growth and have them experience some success is going to go a long way as far as building their confidence for the next two or three years that they’re in the program.”
Several other events put up some solid efforts.
The 4x400 of Ziehr, Harrison, Wolf, and Swisher had a 5:02.43, while the 4x200 of Abby Linn, Gisele Gross, Wolf, and Joelle Haas combined for a 2:03.35 and a fifth-place finish. Alyssa Vargason cleared 4-06.00 in the high jump for fifth.
West Branch’s high team finish was helped by contributions across the board, with a plethora of events adding points to the score despite battling heavy winds throughout the meet and a brief rainstorm that soaked racers from around the 1500 to the 4x100.
“It’s exciting to have team success,” Posivio said. “We’ve been blessed with a lot of great individuals for West Branch track, both girls and boys. I played a team sport in college, so I’m obviously looking for that. A lot of people you ask don’t care about team scores in track as long as the kids are improving, and it’s all about getting to state. I really think there’s something to be said for being able to put together a lineup and being able to compete as a team in meets. That just promotes camaraderie.”
The sprint medley of McKenna Worrell, Vargason, Haas, and Rushton captured seventh in 2:08.80, while Pierce took eighth in the discus with a 74-03. Harrison also placed eighth, finishing the 800 in 2:55.40.
The Bears have just one meet in the coming week, an April 18 matchup against some more quality competition at Mid-Prairie in Wellman. Posivio said that the Bears are “kind of putting our feelers out” for constructing lineups and entries that have a strong chance to compete at the conference, district, and state meets. He also mentioned that some of the girls are starting to feel a sense of urgency about the season rapidly coming to a close.
Team scores: 1. Lisbon 154 2. Anamosa 138 3. North Linn 95 4. West Branch 92 5. Alburnett 67 6. Springville 42 7. Calamus-Wheatland 41 8. North Cedar 29 9. Highland 28.
High jump: 5. Alyssa Vargason 4-06.00
Discus: 8. Alyssa Pierce 74-03; 11. Alyse Klinkkammer 70-03
Shot put: 1. Alyssa Pierce 38-10.50; 18. Alyse Klinkkammer 23-05.50
Sprint medley relay: 7. (McKenna Worrell, Alyssa Vargason, Joelle Haas, Finley Rushton) 2:08.80
4x800 meter relay: 3. (Caitlyn Harrison, Sulli Bucknell, Cassie Swisher, Nora Ziehr) 12:19.22
100 meter dash: 2. Addi Schultes 14.13; 12. Abby Linn 15.30
Distance medley relay: 1. (Kennedy Simpson, Addi Schultes, Finley Rushton, Grace Hamann) 4:42.90
400 meter dash: 2. Lexi Skay 1:05.47; 9. Nina Torkelson 1:12.17
4x200 meter relay: 5. (Abby Linn, Gisele Gross, Amber Wolf, Joelle Haas) 2:03.35
100 meter hurdles: 9. Kennedy Simpson 18.75
800 meter run: 1. Grace Hamann 2:27.94; 8. Caitlyn Harrison 2:55.40
200 meter dash: 11. Alyssa Vargason 31.52; 13. McKenna Worrell 31.82
400 meter hurdles: 3. Amber Wolf 1:15.66
1500 meter run: 1. Grace Hamann 5:13.27; 3. Nina Torkelson 5:54.04
4x100 meter relay: 9. (Kennedy Simpson, Gisele Gross, McKenna Worrell, Joelle Haas) 56.98
4x400 meter relay: 4. (Nora Ziehr, Caitlyn Harrison, Amber Wolf, Cassie Swisher) 5:02.43
4/13 at Eastern Iowa Track and Field Festival (Iowa City West host)
100 meter dash: 9. Addi Schultes 13.44
400 meter dash: 9. Lexi Skay 1:05.38
800 meter run: 6. Grace Hamann 2:25.28
1500 meter run: 4. Grace Hamann 5:06.84
High jump: 10. Alyssa Vargason 4-06.00
Shot put: 1. Alyssa Pierce 39-05.75
Distance medley relay: 6. (Joelle Haas, Addi Schultes, Finley Rushton, Grace Hamann) 5:01.39
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