Girls track squad opens outdoor season with contests at North Fayette, Decorah

Waukon’s girls track and field squad got the 2005 outdoor season started last week. The Indians traveled first to North Fayette for a six-team meet. The Indians took third overall at the April 4 event. Later that week, April 7, the Tribe headed to Decorah for Invitational action. The Indians ended up sixth in a talented field of competitors.

at North Fayette...

After a scheduling change forced the Indians out of a meet at Cedar Rapids, the Tribe added an April 4 contest at North Fayette. The Indians ultimately finished third in the field with 131.6 points. The host Hawks won the event with 173 team points.

TEAM SCORES

North Fayette 173, South Winn 143.3, WAUKON 131.6, Turkey Valley 59, Crestwood 45, Postville 30.

Waukon coach Don Steffens pointed out that the team standings actually should’ve been closer, siting several scoring errors that went unnoticed the night of the competition.

In a few field events, distances were incorrectly reported, resulting in a couple of Waukon athletes being placed lower than their efforts warranted.

One key instance was Vannessa Herman’s placing in the long jump. The senior had a 16 foot, 5 inch effort which would’ve placed her first, however meet workers overlooked the leap and placed Herman second on her next best jump, a 16’1-1/2” leap.

The Tribe was jipped some in the discus, too. Senior Stephanie Snitker scored a 96’10” toss, good enough for fifth, however she was credited with the sixth place, 95’10” toss. The athlete who actually finished sixth was then credited with Snitker’s throw, forcing the Indians to once again come up short in scoring.

In the official meet score, each team usually has a maximum of two individual competitors (or one relay team) counting toward the score, however additional performances were counted in some events at North Fayette. For instance, in the 100-meter hurdles, the Hawks had a whopping five athletes scored while South Winn had two relays receive points in several events. Steffens added that in a few relays, Waukon did place in the top six, but received no points for their placing.

“You’ll have some glitches in early season meets,” Steffens pointed out, adding that a more accurate score would’ve given North Fayette about 150 points, South Winn 134, and the Indians 132.

The Waukon coach also added that the loss of senior Jessie Ryan, out temporarily with mononucleosis, factored into the score. “Without Jessie we’re not at full strength for our sprinting events. We’re hoping to have her back later in the week and get her an event or two.”

Although the night was marred somewhat by the inaccuracies, Steffens was nevertheless pleased with how his charges performed. “We ran quite well and competed hard. The weather also cooperated for us,” he noted.

Overall, the field events were quite successful for the Indians. Not only did Snitker place in both the shot and discus, but she was joined in the top three in the shot put by fellow senior Ashley Johnson. Steffens pointed out that Johnson’s best toss was incorrectly reported in the 35-foot range, but she did capture third with a 32-foot toss.

“We had two place in the shot and that’s excellent to see,” the coach noted.

Waukon had a pair of placewinners in the high jump, too, as freshman Lisa Dahlstrom was fourth and sophomore Alex Langland was fifth. Both cleared the bar at 4’6”.

On the track, the Indians claimed five firsts overall, including a win in the 4x400 relay. Langland joined with junior Ruth Rolling, sophomore Leanna Hammel, and senior Ashley Waters to post the meet’s top time of 4:22.48. “We brought our middle distance girls down to run the 4x400 and they won with a time that’s pretty good this early in the year,” Steffens remarked.

Hammel and Rolling were both champions in individual events, too. Hammel crossed the line in 12:27.23 to win the 3000 meters while Rolling broke the tape in the 400 in 1:05.4. Waters was second in the 400 in 1:07.9.

In the 1500, junior Sarah Hammel topped the field by over 20 seconds with her 5:23.21 showing.

After being shorted in the long jump, Herman came back to take one-two finishes in the 100 and 200 dashes. She led the way in the 100 in 12.56 and was second by two-tenths of a second in the 200 in 27.46.

“Vannessa had a very good time in the 100 for this early in the year. She also had a personal best in the long jump, which is really encouraging,” Steffens noted.

Langland was a runner-up finisher in the 800 (2:46) and joined with Sarah Hammel, sophomore Jenna Schoeberlein, and Rolling to take the silver spot in the 4x800 in 11:20.69.

Senior Leah Nichols was the 400-meter hurdles runner-up with a 1:18.68 performance.

Waters was also a fourth place finisher in the 3000 in 13:05.49.

Official results from the West Union meet are as follows:

Shot put - 2. Stephanie Snitker 33’3”; 3. Ashley Johnson NA; Hannah Jones NA; Hannah Gesing NA.

Discus - 6. Stephanie Snitker 95’10”; Ashley Johnson NA; Hannah Jones NA; Hannah Gesing NA.

High jump - 4. Lisa Dahlstrom 4’6”; 5. Alex Langland 4’6”.

Long jump - 2. Vannessa Herman 16’1-1/2”; Rachel Berns NA.

3000m - 1. Leanna Hammel 12:27.23; 4. Ashley Waters 13:05.49.

4x800 - 2. Sarah Hammel, Jenna Schoeberlein, Ruth Rolling, Alex Langland 11:20.65.

Shuttle hurdle relay - 4. Haley Jeppson, Allison Eickelberg, Laura Treangen, Brianne Bjerke 1:17.2.

Distance medley - 4. Alyssa Cooper, Lisa Dahlstrom, Amy Harvey, Sarah Riese 5:24.74.

100m - 1. Vannessa Herman 12.56; 6. Rachel Berns 13.96.

400m - 1. Ruth Rolling 1:05.4; 2. Ashley Waters 1:07.9.

4x200 - Jennifer Lacewell, Mara Mathis, Allison Eickelberg, Alyssa Cooper NA.

100m hurdles - Haley Jeppson NA; Brianne Bjerke NA.

800m - 2. Alex Langland 2:46; Nicole Smed NA.

200m - 2. Vannessa Herman 27.46; 6. Erika Schwartzhoff 30.00; Lisa Dahlstrom NA.

400m hurdles - 2. Leah Nichols 1:18.65; Haley Jeppson NA.

Sprint medley - Rachel Berns, Erika Schwartzhoff, Jennifer Lacewell, Mara Mathis NA.

1500m - 1. Sarah Hammel 5:23.21; Annette Osterhaus NA.

4x100 - Erika Schwartzhoff, Vannessa Herman, Leah Nichols, Rachel Berns NA.

4x400 - 1. Ruth Rolling, Alex Langland, Leanna Hammel, Ashley Waters 4:22.48.

at Decorah...

Next on the schedule for the Tribe was a Thursday, April 7 trip to the Decorah Invitational. In a competitive field, the Indians took fifth with 72 points. The host Vikings took the top position with 131.

TEAM SCORES

Decorah 131, Valley 121, West Delaware 84, South Winn 80, WAUKON 72, MFL-MarMac 51, Waverly-Shell Rock 31, Crestwood 19.

Although his squad did not contend for the team championship, the Indians still had a successful night according to Steffens. “Overall we had our best times or distances of the year in a majority of the events. We faced some good competition. That’s probably the best we’ll face all year,” he noted.

Herman was the lone Indian to win her event. She did it twice, in fact, leading the 100-meter field in 12.94 before winning the 200 with a 27.25 run. The senior added a second place finish in the long jump (14’11-1/4) to complete a great night of individual competition.

“Vannessa had her best time of the year in the 200 and her second best time in the 100,” Steffens noted. “In the long jump, she jumped well in a pit that’s difficult to jump in.”

Sarah Hammel was another Indian finishing in silver. The junior distance dandy took second in a competitive 1500-meter field in 5:05.75. “The times in the middle distance and distance events were just awesome,” Steffens said. “To run 5:05 this early in the season is unbelievable and to have four runners go 5:10 or faster is phenomenal.” The coach also pointed out that in the 3000, Valley’s Dacia Bushman (who won the 1500 in 5:03.82) finished first in a blistering 10:44.

Waukon’s 4x100 and 4x400 relays both took third place finishes.

In the 4x100, the Indians welcomed back Ryan from illness as she and Herman, Nichols, and freshman Rachel Berns were clocked in a season best 54.24.

Berns later joined with Rolling, Langland, and Waters to take the bronze in the 4x400 in 4:25.87.

In the field events, Langland reported a fourth place finish in the high jump, clearing 4’8” for the night.

Johnson used a personal best toss of 100’2” to take fifth in the discus while Snitker finished sixth in the shot put with a 34’3” effort.

Other fourth place finishes on the track came from freshman Erika Schwartzhoff in the 200 (29.51) and Nichols in the 400 hurdles (1:15.86).

Placing fifth was Waukon’s 4x800 crew (10:49.87), 4x200 (2:05.34), and the shuttle hurdle relay in a season best 1:12.25.

Indian results from the Decorah meet are as follows:

Shot put - 6. Stephanie Snitker 34’3”; Ashley Johnson 30’11-1/2”.

Discus - 5. Ashley Johnson 100’2”; Stephanie Snitker 94’8”.

Long jump - 2. Vannessa Herman 14’11-1/4”; Rachel Berns 13’0”.

High jump - 4. Alex Langland 4’8”; Lisa Dahlstrom 4’6”.

3000m - Ashley Waters 12:27; Annette Osterhaus 13:38.

4x800 - 5. Sarah Hammel, Ruth Rolling, Jenna Schoeberlein, Alex Langland 10:49.87.

Shuttle hurdle relay - 5. Leah Nichols, Allison Eickelberg, Laura Treangen, Haley Jeppson 1:12.25.

Distance medley - Alyssa Cooper, Jennifer Lacewell, Amy Harvey, Sarah Riese 5:13.46.

100m - 1. Vannessa Herman 12.94; Rachel Berns 14.14.

400m - 5. Ruth Rolling 1:03.23; 6. Ashley Waters 1:03.61.

4x200 - 5. Laura Treangen, Mara Mathis, Allison Eickelberg, Alyssa Cooper 2:05.34.

100m hurdles - Haley Jeppson 17.91; Laura Treangen 19.31.

800m - Alex Langland 2:42.28; Nicole Smed 2:58.

200m - 1. Vannessa Herman 27.25; 4. Erika Schwartzhoff 29.51.

400m hurdles - 4. Leah Nichols 1:15.86; Haley Jeppson 1:19.21.

Sprint medley - Erika Schwartzhoff, Brianne Bjerke, Jennifer Lacewell, Mara Mathis 2:15.28.

1500m - 2. Sarah Hammel 5:05.75; Jenna Schoeberlein 5:55.

Weightmens 4x100 - 2. Waukon (names unavailable) 1:01.99.

4x100 - 3. Jessie Ryan, Leah Nichols, Vannessa Herman, Rachel Berns 54.24.

4x400 - 3. Ruth Rolling, Alex Langland, Rachel Berns, Ashley Waters 4:25.87.

Junior varsity...

Waukon’s junior varsity corps also competed in several events at the Decorah meet. No team scores were kept, but the Indians still had some placewinning efforts.

In the long jump, Schwartzhoff had the best leap of the night with a 13 feet, 7-1/4 inch jump.

Waukon also had fourth place finishes by sophomore Hannah Jones in the shot put (26’1-1/2”) and discus (83’4”) and sophomore Sarah Riese in the 1500 (6:25.60).

Junior varsity results are as follows:

Shot put - 4. Hannah Jones 26’1-1/2”; 6. Hannah Gesing 25’6-3/4”.

Discus - 4. Hannah Jones 83’4”; Lynn Kious 74’4”.

Long jump - 1. Erika Schwartzhoff 13’7-1/4”.

100m - 6. Allison Eickelberg 15.40; Lisa Dahlstrom 15.73.

100m hurdles - 5. Brianne Bjerke 19.00.

800m - Amy Harvey 3:01; Jenna Wild 3:42.

200m - 6. Lisa Dahlstrom 32.30; Alyssa Cooper 32.53.

1500m - 4. Sarah Riese 6:25.60.

Waukon hosted its Early Bird meet Tuesday night and plans on traveling to Decorah this Thursday, April 14. The Indians will run again next Tuesday, April 19, at Crestwood. Both contests are scheduled to start at 5 p.m.