The Hawks 4x200 team of Jack Bowlin, Jace Johnson, Ethan Dunsbergen, and Jaiden Richards shown after they blazed around the track in 1:33.80 to place 19th overall.
The Lynnville-Sully boys and girls track and field teams collectively sent 20 student-athletes, including alternates, to compete in 15 events. It was a memorable weekend highlighting L-S track and field stars competing among the strongest and fastest athletes in the state.
Thursday, May 22
Class 1A State Track and Field Championships kicked off Thursday afternoon, May 22, with cooler temperatures welcoming athletes and fans.
The boys shuttle hurdle team was the first to represent Lynnville-Sully at the prestigious event on Thursday. Juniors Connor Deal and Sawyer Veldhuizen, freshman Ashton Rozendaal, and senior Terran Gosselink represented the Hawks with a second-place finish in their heat and tenth overall in a time of 1:02.67. They were just shy of placing in the top-eight to advance to the finals. This group took down the school record – one they had broken multiple times over the season – from 1:04 to a low 1:02 seconds.
Freshman Mandeesa Vos was up next on the docket in the 3,000m run. She ran her season best at this meet in a time of 11:29.94, earning her 19th out of 24 girls.
Another freshman, Isabelle Vos, qualified in two events with the long jump taking place on Thursday. I. Vos came out strong and flew across the sand pit 15’ 0.5” – a personal best on her first state attempt – to place 21st in the long jump. She fouled on her second attempt and leaped 14’11.5” on her final run.
Junior Tatum Huyser qualified for the finals in the 200m dash after running a shockingly quick time of 25.59 seconds, breaking the school record for the second time this season. In the 100m dash later that night, she ran a 12.49-second time, which qualified her for the finals to be held on Saturday, along with the 200m dash finals.
In the shot put ring, junior Dawson James came into the State Meet having qualified in 22nd place. He managed to move up a few spots to place 20th with a throw of 43’3.75”. While he did not have his best throws that day, he increased his per-sonal record more than three feet throughout the year.
Both the boys and girls 4x800 relays qualified for the event at the State Meet. The girls were up first with junior Kate Harthoorn pulling the first leg, followed by sophomore Emma Parkinson, senior Olivia Norrish, and sophomore Peyton Sharp. They ran a time of 10:17.59, placing them 14th. This was State Meet veteran Norrish’s final track and field event with the Hawks.
Freshman Sam Terlouw, Gosselink, sophomore Blake Wilmesmeier, and senior Hendrick Lowry ran a season-best time in their 4x800 relay with a time of 8:39.85, placing 18th overall.
Friday, May 23
Friday was kicked off with L-S competing in three field events. Deal cleared opening height of 5’9” on the first attempt. He was unable to clear his first attempt at 5’11” but managed to on the second attempt. He did not leap over the next height at 6’1”, which would have placed him in the top-eight for a medal. He finished in a four-person tie for 11th place.
Huyser also competed in the high jump on the ladies side. It took her two attempts to clear the opening height of 4’10”, but she made it over in her final attempt. On her second attempt at the next height of 5’, she cleared the bar. She finished in ninth place after not clearing the next height.
James qualified in the discus event, coming into the field of state participants in the 22nd spot with his season-best throw of 135’8” he tossed at Districts. He blew that number out of the water with his first throw at State being his new best at 146’8”, moving up several spots to finish 12th. His next two throws were 137’10” and 131’10”.
The Hawks hit the track for the first time on Friday in the boys 4x200 relay. Juniors Jaiden Richards, Ethan Dunsbergen, and Jack Bowlin and freshman Jace Johnson composed this quartet. They were the last qualifiers to enter the State Meet on time, running in lane eight. They pulled together a fast race, improving five spots, and improving their approach to running through the handoff. They placed 19th in a time of 1:33.80.
Gosselink got aggressive in the 400 hurdles, charging through the race, especially in the last 30 meters. He was third in his heat, finishing 11th overall in a time of 56.80 seconds. He was .49 seconds away from a medal, but he was able to bring down his time significantly from last season from a 59.15 to his season best at the state meet, shaving off nearly three seconds.
The blue and gold ran in duel 4x400 relays as both the girls and boys squads qualified. I. Vos, Harthoorn, freshman Breah Lowry, and Huyser ran a school-record time of 4:10.58, placing 12th. “This group finished the year strong in districts and ran well at state, breaking the school record in both meets,” said coach Kevin Johnson.
The boys 4x400 had some unpredicted changes as J. Johnson was substituted out for junior Michael Spooner due to injury. Dunsbergen and Lowry ran the first two legs of the race, both running under 55-second splits for their carries. Gosselink and Spooner ran the baton well around the run, Spooner getting under a 54.5-second carry. The team placed 24th in a time of 3:40.84.
Saturday, May 24
Huyser represented the Hawks in the final sprint races after qualifying in the preliminary events of the 100 and 200m dashes. She ran 12.59 seconds in the 100m dash, placing her seventh overall. This gave the Hawks their first medal and points at the State Meet. In the 200, she ran a time of 26.17 seconds, placing her sixth, earning her second medal of the day. She broke the school record in both of the these events at the District Meet earlier this season, as well as in the 4x400 on Friday at the State Meet.
“The Hawks did a lot of great things over the course of the season and at the State Meet. It's great to take seven events to the State Meet. We will miss our two seniors, Norrish and Sophia Squires, and wish them the best of luck. We appreciate all of the efforts and hard work our athletes put in as they worked hard in the classroom as well as in track,” commented girls coach Kevin Johnson.
“Overall just a great State Track and Field Meet, seeing the very best in the state of Iowa compete, and being able to say that the Lynnville-Sully Hawks were a part of the competition in 8 events, going home with improved placings from where they entered the meet, more season best and PR performances, a few near-place winners, and a great conclusion to this fantastic season by all of our team… Terran and Hendrick were our senior leaders all season, both with their efforts and hard work, along with their model teammate/team first attitude and approaches. They both got to finish their high school careers competing at the State Meet for the first time, so great examples of hard work and perseverance paying off for their younger teammates to see and follow. Their contributions as part of our track program the last four years have made us better, and I hope those returning next season follow their lead and work to build upon it. I hope they can say that they are taking away good memories and valuable life lessons from their years competing for Lynnville-Sully Track and Field,” said boys coach Darin Arkema.
