March 28, 2024

Kalkhoff, Harris win 4A district championships

Newton has three automatic state meet qualifiers in four events

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URBANDALE — Sarah Kalkhoff took one more step on her path to defending her Iowa Class 4A state discus championship. The Newton High senior captured her second consecutive 4A district championship in the event Thursday.

Kalkhoff was one of three automatic qualifiers for Newton High’s track teams during tough competition conditions at the Class 4A District 5 state qualifying meet hosted by Urbandale. Athletes contended with a constant rain along with windy conditions from the beginning of the meet.

Kalkhoff won the discus with a throw of 130 feet, 11 inches. She has the second-best throw in the state this season, 138-1, behind Urbandale’s Ashlan Burton, 138-4. Burton placed second at the district meet at 130-5.

Burton won the shot put event. Kalkhoff took third with a throw of 37-8.5. Newton freshman Haley Revell placed fourth in the discus, 94-10, and eighth in the shot put, 32-4.5.

Newton senior Deonne Harris defended his district championship in the 110-meter high hurdles Thursday, qualifying for the state meet. Harris is the lone automatic qualifier for the Cardinal boys, and he is going in two hurdle events.

Harris won the 110 high hurdles in 15.06 seconds, which is much slower than his Class 4A-leading 14.58. He battled with Ankeny’s Ethan Hanna, who was second in 15.36, down the stretch. Newton senior J.T. Thongvanh finished sixth in the race in 16.67 seconds.

Harris came back later in the meet to run second in the 400 hurdles in 56.70 seconds to notch a spot at the state meet.

Newton’s first state qualifier on Thursday was junior Grace Coen. Coen ran in the first race of the meet — the 3,000 meters — running second to Ankeny Centennial’s Kate Smith to advance to the state in the event again. Coen ran the race in 10 minutes, 40.79 seconds.

Coen finished fourth in her two other individual distance races Thursday. She took fourth in the 800 in 2:20.66 with teammate Tessa Keeton, a freshman, in ninth at 2:37.76. In the 1,500 meters, Coen posted a time of 4:54.93 and freshman Madison Bleeker was 11th in 6:32.48.

Any competitor finishing below second in an event has to await all the results from the 4A district meets to see if they are among the next 12 top times or marks to advance to the state meet. The Iowa High School State Coed Track Championship Meet is May 21-23 at Drake University in Des Moines.

Urbandale’s girls wrapped up a district team championship with 193.5 points and Ankeny Centennial finished second with 165. Ankeny placed third with 118 points and Dowling Catholic was fourth at 106.

Newton’s girls scored 81 points for fifth. Mason City followed with 44.5 points, Des Moines Hoover was seventh at 16 and Des Moines North had 10 points.

Dowling Catholic won the boys’ district team title with 161.5 points followed by Urbandale with 153, Ankeny Centennial with 126.5 and Ankeny with 114. The Newton boys were fifth with 46 points followed by Mason City with 41, Des Moines Hoover with 36 and Des Moines North with 16.

Newton junior Sydney Jenkins turned in a third-place time of 27.69 seconds in the 200 meters. Jenkins combined with freshman Alexis Stout, senior Hailey Coy and Coen to take fourth in the 4x400 relay in 4:16.04.

Coy and Jenkins were joined by juniors Leela Spencer and Alex Hutchinson to finish third in the distance medley relay race in 4:19.51. The Cardinal girls’ 4x100 relay team of freshman Liz McVey, Hutchinson, sophomore Kenna Winther and Spencer took fifth in 52.32 seconds.

Stout was sixth in the 400 hurdles in 1:12.13 and senior Anna Barr ran 11th in 1:20.44. Freshman Morgann Eide and sophomore Taylor Shipley were seventh and ninth, respectively, in the 100 high hurdles in 17.67 seconds and 17.91.

Stout, McVey, junior Fran Lucas and Eide took fifth in the shuttle hurdle relay race in 1:11.25. The 4x200 relay foursome of Spencer, Hutchinson, Winther and Jenkins finished sixth in 1:52.08.

In the girls’ 4x800 relay race, juniors Kaelee Knoll and Annie Hurt combined with sophomore Sydney Hook and Bleeker for sixth in 11:45.26. The sprint medley relay team of freshman Jordan Banfield, Shipley, Keeton and freshman Hannah Boecker was seventh in 2:09.44.

Banfield placed 11th in the 100 meters in 14.27 and freshman Serenity Stier was 14th in 15.12. Hook placed 11th in the 400 in 1:10.43 and Knoll was 12th in 1:11.88.

Winther finished seventh in the long jump with a leap of 15-0.75 and sophomore Sarah Prendergast was 12th at 12-2. Boecker cleared 4-8 in the high jump for eighth place.

For Newton’s boys, senior Mason Bowes took fourth in the shot put with a throw of 43-2.50 and sophomore Alex Miller was eighth at 39-10.5. Freshman Jace Lukefahr placed sixth in the discus with a toss of 117-3 and Bowes was 14th at 102.4.

Senior Christian Laube ran under five minutes again, placing fifth in the 1,600 in 4:43.93. Freshman Jack Callaghan was ninth in 4:55.84. Laube took 10th in the 800 at 2:18.21, and freshman Mikey Bradley was 11th at 2:20.61.

Bradley combined with junior Zach Theis and freshmen Dylan Main and De’Andre Roush to run sixth in the 4x800 relay in 9:47.86.

Freshmen Matthew Karsten and Josh Miravalles went 11th and 15th, respectively, in the 100 meters in 11.91 seconds and 12.98. Karsten placed 10th in the 200 at 24.57 and Miravalles was 15th in 26.39.

Callaghan, Karsten, Thongvanh and Harris turned in a seventh-place time of 46.35 seconds in the 4x100 relay race. Callaghan combined with senior Harrison McCarey, Bennett and Karsten for seventh in the 4x400 in 4:00.43.

In the 4x200 relay race, Miravalles, McCarey and freshmen Carson Cazett and Jaron Roush placed eighth in 1:44.12. The Newton distance medley relay ream of Cazett, Miravalles, De’Andre Roush and freshman Clayton Baltisberger was eighth in 4:15.17.

Contact Jocelyn Sheets at
641-792-3121 ext. 6535 or jsheets@newtondailynews.com