A showcase that has expanded to four elite conferences in central Iowa featured several successful events for the schools of the Little Hawkeye Conference as they competed at the Jim Duncan Invitational on Saturday at Drake Stadium.
Five weeks ahead of Championship Saturday at the state meet and two weeks before the Drake Relays, athletes from Pella, Indianola, and Norwalk filled the day’s festivities, as did Pella Christian thrower Trevor Veenstra.
The Eagles standout placed 2nd to his in-town rival Hanson King as the two threw head-to-head and cleared the rest of the field. King’s shot put (57-10.5) and discus (185-6) both marked personal bests, while Veenstra turned in a several strong throws as well (184-9 in the discus, 57-4 in the shot put).
On the track, there were several standout performances for area athletes, highlighted by Marissa Ferebee torching the field in the 3000 meters (9:48.05) — the 15th best ever time turned in by an Iowa High School athlete. Jordyn Brown from Indianola placed 2nd (10:11.87) in that same event.
Norwalk Junior Tony Anania ran the fastest 3200 and 1600 times in the state Saturday, winning both events at the Jim Duncan Invitational. His 3200 time of 9:09.62 ranks 23rd all-time in state history. Canaan Dunham was 3rd in the 3200, which dropped him to the best-in-3A time at 9:13.04.
Indianola’s Graham Hilton won the day at the long jump, with his first marking his best effort at 21-5.
Top Ten Finishes from KNIA/KRLS Area Schools (not including the victories or those mentioned above):
Girls 800 Sprint Relay – Indianola, 6th (Tessa Gripp, Kiley Kindelspire, Josie McGraw, Kendal Sandy) – 1:52.08; Pella, 10th (Abigail Melvin, Bray-Lynne VanZante, Mara Schiebout, Chloe Punt) – 1:54.97
Boys Shot Put – Charlie Radosevich, Indianola, 10th – 45-2
Girls Shot Put – Sam Gripp, Indianola, 4th – 35-2.25; Katie Scheckel, Pella, 5th – 34-8.25
Boys Discus – Own Cambron, Indianola, 7th – 150-11; Aiden Curtis, Indianola, 9th – 144-4
Girls Discus – Abbie Kluver, Indianola, 4th – 120-10; Ava Tichy, Indianola, 5th – 118-2; Lauren Black, Norwalk, 10th – 107-8
Girls 4×800 – Pella, 9th (Macy Schroeder, Lizzie Neumann, Raegan Snieder, Marissa Ferebee) – 9:49.53
Boys 4×800 – Indianola, 10th (Kiefer Barnes, Samuel Appel, Paxton Bloom, Reed Robbins) – 8:12.58
Boys Shuttle Hurdle – Norwalk, 7th (Daniel Webster, Cameron Thomas, Isaac Sutcliffe, Isaac Peter) – 1:01.73; Pella, 9th (] Andrew Vanderhoff, Levi Shetterly, Logan VanDenBroek, Cor Huyser) – 1:02.35
Girls Shuttle Hurdle – Indianola, 2nd (Sully Downey, Madison Grover, Lilly Hoger, Josie McGraw) – 1:04.61
Boys Long Jump – Bailey Shetterly, Pella, 8th – 20-2.25
Girls High Jump – Madison Grover, Indianola, 7th – 5-0
Boys High Jump – Logan Atherton, Norwalk, 4th – 6-2; Logan VanDenBroek, Pella, 7th – 5-10
Girls Distance Medley – Indianola, 3rd (Tessa Gripp, Kiley Kindelspire, Emma White, Gracie Foster) – 4:21.75; Pella, 5th (Abigail Melvin, Avery Schroder, Abby Teagarden, Raegan Snieder) – 4:29.51; Norwalk, 10th (Jaylynn Brandt, Kennedy Robbins, Maya Butler, Grace DeRocher) – 4:31.46
Boys Distance Medley – Pella, 2nd (Colin Kerndt, Bailey Shetterly, Harrison Mullens, Canaan Dunham) – 3:35.03
Girls 400 Meters – Kendal Sandy, Indianola, 9th – 1:02.17; Ashlyn Brown, Norwalk, 10th – 1:02.75
Girls 4×200 Meters – Norwalk, 9th (Hailey Gear, Jillian Hammond, Savannah Welch, Nyah Hulbert) – 1:47.87
Boys 4×200 Meters – Indianola, 7th (Jack Hilton, Vincent Anderson, Jonce Hale, Eli Fox) – 1:30.52
Girls 100 Meter Hurdles – Josie McGraw, Indianola, 2nd – 15.11
Boys 800 Meters – Grant Wallace, Norwalk, 10th – 2:02.21
Girls 200 Meters – Emma White, Indianola, 5th – 27.09
Boys 200 Meters – Harrison Mullens, Pella, 8th – 22.97
Girls 400 Meter Hurdles – Madison Grover, Indianola, 6th – 1:08.44
Girls 1500 Meters – Marissa Ferebee, Pella, 2nd – 4:46.52; Jordyn Brown, Indianola, 8th – 4:54.83
Boys 1600 Meters – Canaan Dunham, Pella, 6th – 4:23.6; Nathan Vander Waal, 7th – 4:29.15
Girls 4×100 Meters – Indianola, 6th (Tessa Gripp, Kiley Kindelspire, Kaydence Eaton, Josie McGraw) – 50.19
Boys 4×100 Meters – Norwalk, 7th (Logan Atherton, Kadan Borcherding-Johnson, Nate Platner, Isaac Sutcliffe) – 43.49; Indianola, 10th (Jack Hilton, Vincent Anderson, Jonce Hale, Eli Fox) – 44.05
Girls 4×400 Meters – Indianola, 9th (Kendal Sandy, Madison Grover, Hadley Erickson, Emma White) – 4:11.6