Newton girls finish third at 3A state qualifier

MOUNT VERNON — When the Newton girls track and field team left the Martha Parsons Activities Complex, it knew it had four events automatically qualified for the state track and field meet.

The Cardinals learned the next day they gained a whole lot more, and it will be a busy weekend on the blue oval for Newton, which also placed third at the Class 3A state qualifying meet hosted by Mount Vernon on Thursday.

“It was a night of mostly highs but also some heartbreaks,” Newton head girls track and field coach Rachelle Tipton said. “We’re so incredibly proud of the athletes for going out and putting it all on the line and know that both the triumphs and upsets will help propel the team to more success next season.”

The Cardinals have 11 entries to this year’s state meet and will be represented in 10 different events.

Newton scored 116 points in third at the state qualifier. The Cardinals were eight points back of runner-up Williamsburg (124) and host Mount Vernon won the regional championship with 167 points.

The rest of the eight-team field included Solon (105), Washington (95), Grinnell (59), Benton Community (49) and South Tama County (22).

Tori White was the only individual to earn an automatic berth into the state meet as she won the 100-meter hurdles in a career-best 15.68 seconds. That’s the 11th best state qualifying time in Class 3A.

Macy Lampe finished third in the event but earned an at-large state berth after posting a time of 16.04.

White placed seventh in the 100 hurdles last spring. Her time on the blue oval was 15.97.

Lampe is now a four-time state qualifier but will compete on the blue oval in an individual event for the first time in her career.

“(Lampe) continued to look strong and confident, leading to another great time and to getting her first individual event qualified to state,” Tipton said.

The top two finishers in each event in 3A earn the automatic berths to state and the next best eight performances in each event earn at-large spots.

Lampe and White teamed up with Camryn Klein and Mack Sims to win the shuttle hurdle relay. They posted a season-best time of 1 minute, 5.78 seconds, which is the second-best qualifying time. It also set a stadium record.

Lampe, Sims and White were part of last year’s shuttle hurdle relay team. Lampe is on her fourth state team and has helped the Cardinals win a state title and place second during her career.

The 4x200 relay also earned an automatic bid after winning the race in a season-best 1:45.03. The quartet of Klein, Lola Rivera, Abby Bruce and Lauren Clarke bettered their own school record and posted the eighth-best qualifying time.

Bruce, Rivera and Clarke were part of Newton’s 4x200 relay team which placed 21st last season.

“The 4x200 is prime to break 1:45 at state and hopefully bring home some hardware as well,” Tipton said.

The 4x800 relay team also punched its ticket with a runner-up finish. The foursome of Harper Barton, Sarah Malow, Alex Riney and Bella Winther took second in a season-best time of 10:01.5, which ranks 15th among state qualifying times.

Barton and Winther ran on the team’s 4x800 relay two seasons ago. Malow and Riney qualified for the state meet for the first time in their prep careers.

“Highlighting the high points was the 4x800,” Tipton said. “They executed the game plan and ran toe-to-toe with the competition.(Winther) made a confident pass for second to secure the auto bid, which also gave (Riney) her first state qualification.”

The sprint medley relay did not earn an automatic berth, but the Cardinals’ time of 1:49.98 was the eighth-fastest qualifying time.

Newton’s foursome of Alivia Conley, Bruce, Rivera and Clarke posted a season-best time and finished third.

Bruce, Rivera and Clarke joined forces to place 15th in the sprint medley relay in last year’s state meet. Conley will run on the blue oval for the first time.

Clarke did not have her best performances in the 100 or 200, but she was good enough to lock in a state berth in both events.

She placed third in the 100 in 12.8 seconds and was fifth in the 200 in 26.5. Rivera (13.25) was sixth in the 100.

Clarke, who placed 14th in the 100 and 17th in the 200 last season, had the 22nd-best qualifying time in the 100 and the final at-large time was 12.82. Her time in the 200 ranks 23rd and was the final at-large qualifying time.

Newton placed third six times. Only one of those finishes did not clinch a state berth.

Winther locked up an at-large state bid with a third-place tally in the 800. She advanced to state in the event for the second straight season after posting a time of 2:28.19. That was the 22nd-best qualifying time and the final at-large time was 2:28.3. Winther placed 23rd in the event last season.

Bruce is headed to the state meet in an individual event for the first time. She was third in the long jump but grabbed an at-large spot after a leap of 16 feet, 4 inches. It was the 20th-best qualifying jump.

Ashlyn Karsten gave the Cardinals double points in the event as she was sixth with a career-best jump of 15-8 3/4.

Audrey Muckler finished third in the 3,000 but her time of 11:30.54 was not quite fast enough to qualify.

White is headed back to the state meet in the high jump after hitting 5-0. She was fourth in the event.

The final qualifying height was 5-0, and 11 athletes from the around the state tied for that mark.

White finished tied for seventh in the high jump as a freshman and was ninth last season.

Barton (5:15.23) finished fifth in the 1,500 and Sims took fifth in the 400 hurdles.

Sims completed the race in a career-best 1:09.01, but the final at-large time was 1:08.92.

“After getting 10 events in last year, the challenge was to do that or more again this year,” Tipton said. “This senior group has helped raise the bar and the underclassmen are ready to keep doing the same.”

The Iowa High School State Track and Field Championships take place Thursday, Friday and Saturday at Drake Stadium in Des Moines.

The 2A and 3A portion of the state meet begins at 9 a.m. on Thursday.