After a remarkable weekend of success at the Drake Relays, the best of the Little Hawkeye Conference will square off head-to-head in what marks the beginning of the track and field postseason at Pella Christian High School.

Each team has several key athletes that could propel them to the top of the league by evening’s end, and on the girls and boys side, it could be the elite athletes in the league that drive up the team scores.

The girls competition will feature the top-level sprinting group from Eagle Lane, who placed 5th among the relay scores at Drake Stadium this past weekend. Indianola will likely shine in the hurdles and most of the field events, where they have several top times and distances among conference schools. DCG brings a strong amount of depth to the long sprints/800 meters, and could have strong contending relays. The Dutch girls will likely rely on their two-time defending cross country champions in the distance races to get the most out of their scoring chances.

Eagles Head Coach Keith Anderson knows his surging girls team is ready for the challenge on their home track.

“I’m excited to see what we can put together for the conference meet. The conference meet is a great challenge with the big schools coming in to Eagle Lane to run here. But that’s a great preparation for the State Qualifying Meet that’ll be just the week after that, so an exciting time but we’ll see what things kind of transpired here and what we’re able to put together.”

Indianola Head Girls Track and Field Coach Morgan Singleton said the young athletes on the team saw a lot of success at the middle school level and now through this season, and their positive team atmosphere has allowed them to make the jump to varsity — which has prepared them well for this postseason run.

“We’re working hard. And I think it’s a little more work than they are used to. But it’s always an adjustment, and they are handling it very well, and handling it with grace. It’s never an environment where they think it’s too hard, it’s like what can I do next to help make the team better? It’s a very team oriented situation, and it shows with the results which is very exciting.”

For the boys, several elite athletes will also be key in deciding the final team score. Indianola comes in with the best times in the sprints, while Newton will likely lean on their strength in the long sprints and hurdles, including one of the best 4×400 groups in the state. Pella and Norwalk’s distance crew, headlined by Drake Relays winner Tony Anania and placewinner Canaan Dunham, should provide an excellent back and forth as well. Perhaps the best race of the night will be in the shuttle hurdle relay, where the top five teams are separated by two seconds and feature several state meet veterans. Hanson King and Trevor Veenstra will also likely again duke it out for conference bragging rights after the Dutch senior came home with both Drake Relays flags last week.

Dutch Head Coach Brent Van Hauen is excited to see how his team’s growth over the last two months has prepared them for the daunting task of contending for another conference title. Norwalk Head Coach Matt Ramthun expects a close battle at the top of the league.

Field events start at 3:00 this afternoon, which has been moved up due to possible storms this evening.