PCM experiences a lot of firsts at state track meet

DES MOINES — Ashley Van Gorp knew what it was like to participate on the blue oval in the Iowa High School Track and Field Championships.

The Prairie City-Monroe senior is a four-time qualifier in relays. What she hasn’t experienced was competing in an individual event.

The Mustang coaches allowed Van Gorp to compete in an individual event at the state qualifier for the first time in her career, and she took advantage with a season-best performance in the long jump.

Entering the state meet with the third best qualifying leap, Van Gorp was not at her best Thursday during Day 1 of a three-day event at Drake Stadium.

That didn’t stop her from enjoying the experience though.

A career-best jump would have given Van Gorp a third-place finish and a bronze medal, but she settled for a 17th place tally after a jump of 15 feet, 8 1/4 inches.

“Even though I didn’t jump what I wanted to jump, I am still happy that I got to do it. I am glad I got the opportunity,” Van Gorp said.

Her first jump covered 14-10 1/2, and her second was marked at 14-3 1/2. She was able to move up five positions with her final attempt.

“It’s been my dream to jump at state,” Van Gorp said. “I had never done an individual event at districts before this year, so it was a little weird coming out here and checking in by myself. I had to hang out in the fieldhouse by myself, too, but I am glad I got to experience it.”

Northeast’s Aleenah Marcucci came into the weekend with the top jump in Class 2A. She scratched on her first two attempts but qualified fifth for the finals with a leap of 16-9 1/4. Her next three attempts were all better than anyone else in the field as she won the girls 2A long jump with a mark of 18-0 3/4. It was her second straight state championship.

Unity Christian’s Mikayla Turek won the silver medal with a leap of 17-4 1/2, and Sheldon’s Ashlyn Albrecht secured the bronze after marking 17-0 1/2 on her second jump.

Thursday was a day of firsts for the PCM girls track team.

The 4x800 relay team included four first-time state qualifiers, including senior Morgan Novak.

“It was awesome,” Novak said. “All the hard work is paying off. These girls are all fast, and they pushed me to be the best I can be. We worked really hard to get here, and it was fun to get to run at state in my last year.”

The first and last runners in the relay were freshmen. Freshman Payton Schut opened up the relay, and she was joined by sophomore Baylee Smith, Novak and freshman Kirstin Ives. That foursome finished 24th with a time 11 minutes, 2.17 seconds.

The gold medal went to Monticello, which won the race in a state-record time of 9:25.23. The silver medal was secured by Pocahontas Area in 9:37.26, and Cascade claimed the bronze with a time of 9:38.13.

Monticello’s state-record winning team includes two freshmen and two sophomores.

It was a light day at Drake Stadium for PCM overall. That won’t be the case Friday.

The girls distance medley relay team kicked off the day at 9 a.m., while the 4x200 relay team hit the track at 10:50 a.m. Jayci Vos runs in the 400 hurdles at 11:40 a.m. And the girls 4x400 relay fights for a spot in Saturday’s final at 1:20 p.m.

Noah Clark, PCM’s lone male qualifier, throws in the 2A discus at 11:30 a.m.

Contact Troy Hyde at
641-792-3121 ext. 6536
or thyde@newtondailynews.com