How Ames-area high school athletes fared at the Drake Relays

Last week was the 114th Drake Relays track and field event on the Jim Duncan Track at Drake Stadium in Des Moines.

It was a busy three days for Ames-area high school competitors who qualified for the Relays. From Thursday through Saturday, area athletes combined to finish in the top eight during seven events.

The Ames girls totaled four medals over the three days. The Gilbert girls won two, and the Ballard boys picked up one.

Here are how area high school athletes fared at the Drake Relays.

Ballard boys 4x400 runners make prom delay worth it

Ballard boys track coach Darren Herrold had one message immediately to his 4x400-meter relay runners after they qualified for Drake earlier in the season.

"I texted them and told them you're going to tell your prom dates you are going to be late," said Herrold. "Right now!"

It was worth the wait.

The Ballard team of seniors Jameson Witt, Jakson Fleischmann, Eli Rouse and Chance Lande shattered their own school record and placed fourth overall.

"It was awesome for the guys, the school and our program," Herrold said. "Their prom dates are going to be happy."

More: Ballard's Chance Lande is ready for a big encore after his big 2023 season on the track

The Bomber team ran a time of three minutes, 19.41 seconds to easily beat the 3:23.85 mark the set earlier this season. They did so despite a long rain delay that lasted nearly three hours.

"They just relaxed," Herrold said. "That's why they ran so well."

Ballard was the fastest Class 3A team in the field on Saturday. Cedar Falls won the race in 3:16.74, South Hamilton was second in 3:17.13 and Cedar Rapids Prairie took third in 3:18.36.

"They've got the foundation, and now they've got a target on their backs," Herrold said. "But they will be ready. They know it's their last race, and they want to finish with a state title."

Ames girls place fifth in two events

The Ames girls may not have the juggernaut team they had last season that ended up placing second in Class 4A at state and featured the most outstanding female performer at last year's Drake Relays in Ali Frandsen.

But the Little Cyclones showed they still have plenty of talent during Drake.

Sophomores Angelica Attinger and Sophia Hatcher both earned two medals for the Little Cyclones.

More: How Angelica Attinger and Sophia Hatcher give Ames a dynamic duo in girls track and field

Attinger placed fifth in the 400 hurdles with a time of 1:03.64, and Hatcher took seventh in the long jump after peaking with a distance of 16 feet, 8.25 inches. They both were part of the Ames girls shuttle hurdle team that took fifth in the prelims to fall one spot shy of qualifying for the finals.

Elia Varghese and Camryn Johnson ran the other two legs for the Ames girls in the shuttle hurdle, helping the Little Cyclones complete the race in 1:06.60.

Junior distance runner Marley Turk earned a medal in the 3,000 during the Distance Carnival on Thursday. She placed sixth with a time of 10:06.39.

Gilbert girls do well in the open 800 and 4x800

Sarah Feddersen placed sixth individually in the girls 800 on Friday, and she joined Clare Stahr, Sophia Bleich and Keira Andersen to finish seventh in the 4x800 on Saturday.

Feddersen ran a PR time of 2:12.90 in the 800. Pleasant Valley's Ani Wedemeyer won in 2:09.31.

More: Running brings the best out of Gilbert senior 4x800 runner Clare Stahr

The Gilbert 4x800 foursome finished in a time of 9:27.52. That easily beat the 9:40.03 the Tigers ran at last year's Relays, when they also came in seventh.

Roland-Story girls, Gilbert boys surprise in the 4x100 prelims

The Roland-Story girls and Gilbert boys 4x100 teams both surpassed expectations during Saturday's prelims.

The Roland-Story girls team of Adalyn Sporleder, Kennedy Petersen, Lauren Kilstofte and Kamryn Lande entered the race ranked 71st out of 96 qualifying teams. They ended up placing 15th and coming just 0.74 seconds shy of reaching the finals with a time of 49.86.

The Norse ran a full two seconds faster than their qualifying time of 51.86.

The Gilbert boys also made a nice dent in their qualifying time, and they set a school record to boot.

The quartet of Brayden Howard, Paul Marpe, Gabe Fierce and Will Hawthorne placed 35th in 43.70, the fastest time in school history. They qualified 89th in 44.78.

The Roland-Story boys and Gilbert girls also ran in the 4x100 prelims, as did the Ames boys and girls and the Nevada boys.

In the girls prelims, the Ames team of Destiny Davis, Hatcher, Edyn Cowles and Alli Ryan placed 29th in 50.34. The Gilbert team of Sammy Johnson, Keaton Hanson, Laurel Mizerak and Gretchen Mizerak finished 47th in 51.01.

The Nevada boys saw Jackson Baker, Lucas Brown, Carson Clem and Connor Kunze take 64th in 44.29. Casey Spainhower, Heston McIlrath, Jake Berggren and Knoll came in 85th for the Roland-Story boys with a time of 45.13, and the Ames quartet of Gavin Clouser Sawyer Larson, Kayden Willoughby and Luke Simmons finish 86th in 45.18.

Other area results from Drake

Turk also competed in the girls 800, Risdal and Gilbert's Emee Dani in the 3,000 and Kunze in the boys 100 prelims.

Turk ran the 800 in 2:18.28 to place 11th. Risdal finished the 3,000 16th in 10:26.62 and Dani 17th in 10:27.33.

Kunze was 20th in the 100 prelims after crossing the finish line in 11.45.

Roland-Story and Ames ran in the girls sprint medley relay. The same Norse quartet that ran in the 4x100 took 14th in the sprint medley with a time of 1:52.45, and the Little Cyclone team of Davis, Cowles, Holly Dettbarn and Natalya Deardorff finished 19th in 1:56.32.

Ames also competed in the girls 4x800. Emma Stanley, Charley Bleyle, Katie Campbell and Lauren Risdal placed 16th in 9:51.33.

Joe Randleman covers high school sports for the Ames Tribune. Contact him at jrandleman@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter at @JoeRandleman

This article originally appeared on Ames Tribune: Ames-area high school athletes place in seven events at Drake Relays