Mustang girls grab silver in shuttle hurdle relay

DES MOINES — Morgan Uhlenhopp came down with a stomach flu on Thursday. She slept most of the day on Friday and didn’t eat anything until late Friday night.

By the time the Class 2A girls’ shuttle hurdle relay came around on Saturday morning, Uhlenhopp still wasn’t 100 percent healthy.

She was good enough though.

Uhlenhopp led off the Mustangs’ shuttle hurdle relay team in Saturday’s finals and the trio of Megan Cowman, Chelsea Bird and Margo Chipps finished off a race that netted PCM the silver medal.

“We have worked on this every day this season. I couldn’t ask for anything more,” Uhlenhopp said. “This kind of proves that we were one of the best teams all season.”

PCM came through the finish line in the 2A finals on Saturday in third with a time of 1 minute, 7.92 seconds. But the Mustangs moved up to second after Emmetsburg was disqualified.

Beckman Catholic defended its title with a time of 1:05.60.

“It felt really good. I just tried to finish strong and get us where we needed to be,” said Chipps, who anchored the team with a strong finish. “It was a fun event all year.”

The 1:07.92 was the second straight sub-1:08 performance for PCM. The Mustangs set a new school record with a time of 1:07.86 in Thursday’s prelims. Running a time faster than 1:08 again on Saturday proves the first one wasn’t a fluke.

“It feels good. It’s sad that it’s my last hurdle event ever. But getting another 1:07 again at state and finishing second when we were seeded sixth is awesome,” Cowman said.

Bird is now part of school records at the junior high and high school level.

“I have always wanted to be on this team. I have the school record in junior high and high school now so that’s pretty cool,” said Bird, who earned her first state medal.

The boys shuttle hurdle team of Nick Buswell, Nigel Sperfslage, Reed Worth and Cole Dustin advanced to the finals on Thursday but were disqualified on Saturday.

And according to PCM head coach Collin Harrison, they were not given a medal because of it.

The team was DQed after Worth collided with a hurdle, tumbled to the ground and crawled under the final hurdle.

“The inside part of my toe hit the blue bar. I lost my balance after I fell,” Worth said. “It’s annoying to know that I let the team down. The guys were understanding, but not the way we wanted to finish the year.”

Dike-New Hartford, which won the boys’ 2A team title, won the shuttle hurdle relay in 59.49 seconds. Two other schools, Treynor and Des Moines Christian, also ran under a minute.

The Mustangs were in 11 events total on Friday and Saturday.

Dustin had the best individual finish of the weekend. He took 11th in the 110 high hurdles with a time of 15.71 seconds. Chipps was in the 100 hurdles and finished 20th in 16.56. Both failed to qualify for Saturday’s finals.

“I was hoping to medal in the 110 highs, but it was my second fastest time of the season,” Dustin said. “It was a lot better than I got my sophomore year, which was 22nd.”

Three Mustangs also ran in the 400 hurdles. Sperfslage finished 16th with a time of 58.18. Chipps was 21st in the 2A girls’ 400 hurdles with a time of 1:11.66. Uhlenhopp competed under the weather and finished 24th in 1:17.39.

“It was my steps. I didn’t get my steps right in that race,” Sperfslage said. “I still have another year to perfect it. I will work on it all offseason and get here next year and kick it.”

The top 2A times in the boys’ 400 hurdles were 54.52 and 55.94. The top girls’ 2A 400 hurdles times were 1:03.89 and 1:04.06.

Both PCM squads competed in the timed 4x200 relay final on Friday.

The boys foursome of Payton Strovers, Wes Cummings, Jacob Van Winkle and Preston Van Wyk finished 15th in a season-best time of 1:32.43. Williamsburg won the race in 1:29.71. The final medal position ran a 1:31.87 and 10th place Roland-Story finished in 1:32.03.

The PCM girls’ 4x200 relay team of Sierra Foster, Regan Freland, Uhlenhopp and Paytan Schut finished 16th in a season-best 1:50.50. Treynor won the race in 1:46.98. PCM needed a time better than 1:48.78 to medal.

The Mustangs ran in the 4x400 finals the past two seasons but fell short this spring. PCM’s foursome of Delaney Baird, Kate McCarthy, Foster and Schut finished 15th in a season-best time of 4:14.29.

PCM’s Saturday started with the sprint medley relays.

The girls’ team of Chipps, Freland, Foster and Schut were 13th in 1:54.13. The Mustangs were .46 seconds away from the final medal position. Kingsley-Pierson/Woodbury Central won the race in 1:50.00.

PCM’s boys’ sprint medley relay team of Strovers, Van Wyk, Worth and Sperfslage were 14th with a time of 1:37.42. North Fayette Valley won the race in 1:35.23.