March 29, 2024

PCM track claims three more state medals

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DES MOINES — Prairie City-Monroe senior Jayci Vos needed some redemption.

After the 400-meter hurdles did not go as planned on Friday, Vos had to recover both emotionally and physically to help her trio of teammates qualify for the finals of the 4x400 relay.

Vos bounced back with an impressive lead-off leg in the 4x400 preliminaries on Friday, and then the foursome put together a record-setting performance Saturday and finished in the runner-up position.

It was one of two medals the PCM girls collected in the final two days of the Iowa High School State Track and Field Championships at Drake Stadium.

“I had a lot of emotions going in because it was my last track event ever, so I just told myself that it was going to be the race of my life,” Vos said after placing second in the 4x400 relay. “This is the last time I get to step on this track. That one felt good.”

PCM junior Noah Anderson grabbed the boys only medal at state when he finished fourth in the 200 on Saturday.

Vos had an up and down weekend but capped her track career by joining sophomore Paytan Schut, freshman Sierra Foster and senior Rachel Stafford in setting a new school record in the 4x400 relay. The foursome finished second overall with a time of 4 minutes, 4.19 seconds.

The previous record of 4:04.32 was set back in 2004.

A day earlier Vos was in position to win the 400 hurdles, but she clipped the final hurdle and fell to the ground. She ended up 17th overall with a time of 1:10.28. It was not the ending the senior, who came into the race as one of the title favorites, wanted but she didn’t let that disappointment ruin the rest of her weekend.

“I could have just coasted over that hurdle and accepted second or third place,” Vos said. “I decided to go for it and get as low as possible so I could get over it quicker. Unfortunately, I got too low and hit the hurdle.”

Vos couldn’t take credit for being able to bounce back and help her teammates qualify for the 4x400 final.

“I am not going to lie, it had nothing to do with me. It had everything to do with my supporters, my teammates and my coach,” Vos said. “Oh my coach, I love that woman so much. She means the world to me. I also had three other people counting on me to do well. It’s not all about me.”

Vos got the Mustangs off to a good start in the 4x400 final. She handed the baton to Schut, who ran a 59.6-second 400 split to get the Mustangs near the front. Foster kept the Mustangs in contention and then Stafford ran a 60.80-second anchor split.

Stafford fell back to third with about 150 meters to go, but rallied with a late push to get her team back into the runner-up position.

“She passed me, and I was thinking that it wasn’t real,” Stafford said. “I cannot get passed on my leg. I just had to get my feet going.

“You have to go in with the mindset that you are going to cross the line first. Jayci always tells me that. That is what I thought about going around the final curve. To me, getting us back into second was my race. That was me crossing first.”

Schut, Foster and Stafford started the weekend with an eighth-place medal in the distance medley relay.

The opening 200 leg on that relay was ran by junior Ashley Miller.

The foursome finished eighth with a season-best time of 4:18.99, which was close to a new school record.

“It feels amazing just to be able to be a part of this experience,” said Foster, who was running on the blue oval for the first time. “I have been watching for a long time, and I really wanted to live this moment as a freshman.”

Miller is now a two-time state qualifier. After a subpar freshman year, Miller is still sort of in awe that she was able to make it to state.

“Considering I never thought I would get to state after my freshman year, this feels great,” Miller said. “The state experience this year was 10 times better than last year for me. I am in four events. I have awesome teammates.

“I fell short of my goals last year so I never stopped training after the season ended. I am always thinking about track. It’s the only sport I do so I look forward to the next season right when the current season ends.”

Anderson had the best finish for the PCM boys. After qualifying eighth for the 200 finals on Thursday, Anderson improved his position by four places and brought home a fourth-place medal. He turned in a career-best time of 22.60 seconds.

“I felt a lot better out of the blocks today. I kept my head down all the way around this time. I dug deep in that one,” Anderson said. “This feels amazing. Two of the guys ahead of me are seniors, and I finished higher than I was seeded. Plus, I know my starts can still get better.”

AHSTW junior Gage Clay won the 200 in 21.69. He was followed by Madrid’s Michael Santi (22.02), the 100 and 110 high hurdles champion, and Albia senior Jacob Clouse (22.22).

“This season was a lot more fun for a lot of the guys,” Anderson said. “We had nine guys here this year. That’s amazing from where this program was a few years ago.”

The Mustang boys were a few spots off a medal in the 4x200 relay. The foursome of sophomores Wes Cummings, Brayton Van Dyke and Preston Van Wyk and Anderson finished 10th in 1:33.68.

“It was a nice, fun experience to share with the guys,” Van Dyke said. “We had a lot of people in the stands supporting us. We are only sophomores and juniors. We just tried to run as hard as we could.”

Cummings ran with a noticeable incision up by his left shoulder that he got after surgery from an injury suffered during wrestling season. The fact that he was able to run on the blue oval a few months later was surprising to even Cummings himself.

“I didn’t think I would be able to run at all after getting hurt,” said Cummings about the injury to his inferior capsule. “I definitely didn’t think I would be running in the 4x200. I usually do 400s and 800s, but he put me in the 4x200 once and we set a PR as a team. He just kept me in there after that.”

The final event of the weekend for the PCM girls was the sprint medley relay on Saturday morning. The Mustang foursome of senior Tatum Nearmyer, Foster, Miller and Stafford placed 16th overall with a time of 1:54.95.

“This year’s state meet was a whirlwind of emotions,” PCM coach Bridget Martin said. “There were definite highs and lows, but in the end, we couldn’t be more proud of the girls. We walked away medaling in three events and breaking two school records. The girls worked so hard to get this point in the season, so it was a lot of fun to watch them shine on the blue oval.”

Like Cummings, Vos and Anderson also suffered injuries in other activities before track season started.

Vos’ injury was much worse. The leg injury she suffered could have been handled three ways. Amputation of the leg was ruled out early on, but at least one doctor advised Vos to have a surgery that wouldn’t allow her to ever play sports again.

“I am just so thankful to be here,” said Vos, who will play softball at DMACC after her playing days at PCM are over.

The PCM boys had two other events Friday and Saturday.

On Friday, sophomore Cole Dustin placed 22nd in the 110 high hurdles with a time of 15.90.

Senior Chris Ellens ran in the 3,200 on Thursday and then completed the double when he took part in the 1,600 on Saturday. He finished 21st in the event with a time of 4:40.