DES MOINES — The Nashua-Plainfield girls’ track program left home Wednesday night without a state championship in the program’s history.
Nashua-Plainfield’s Jennah Carpenter hands off to Abbie Hyde in the distance medley during the Iowa High School track and field championships at Drake Stadium in Des Moines on Friday.
But, over the next three days, the Huskies added one state title per day to propel them from no state titles to three event titles and one team title.
On Thursday, freshman Kadence Huck added the first in the program’s history with a first place in finish in the 400 meter dash. Then, on Friday, Makenzie Foelske, Jennah Carpenter, Abbie Hyde and Huck combined for the Huskies second state title in the distance medley relay.
The Nashua-Plainfield girls track team hoists their first-place trophy during the Iowa High School track and field championships at Drake Stadium in Des Moines on Saturday.
Nashua-Plainfield added their final state title Saturday morning with a first place finish in the sprint medley relay consisting of Hyde, Rylee Weiss, Foelske and Huck.
Along the way, Foelske added a third- and fourth-place finishes in the 100 and 200. Senior Breanna Hackman added 12 points with two third-places finishes in the throwing events.
Turkey Valley’s Jalyssa Blazek smiles after winning the 800 meter run during the Iowa High School track and field championships at Drake Stadium in Des Moines on Saturday.
Sitting at 53 points heading into the final event of the day, the 4×400, the Huskies trailed Madrid by one point. Seeded seventh, the Huskies just needed to finish at or above that seed to seal the team title.
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With a team of Hyde, Carpenter, Jordyn Frost and Huck, Nashua-Plainfield recorded a season-best performance, placing third with a time of 4:09.54.
The six points earned from the finish propelled the Huskies to the championship. .
Hailing from two towns with a combined population of just under 2,000, Hyde said she takes a lot of pride in coming to state and taking home the championship honors.
Nashua-Plainfield’s Kadence Huck looks up to the scoreboard after crossing the finish line in the 4×400 meter relay during the Iowa High School track and field championships at Drake Stadium in Des Moines on Saturday.
“For such a small team from a small town, getting that big of an achievement is a confidence boost.” Hyde said. “I am proud of us. I knew we could get it.”
Despite her confidence, Hyde admitted that she never expected to end her prep career on top.
“I would have never thought we would be in this position,” Hyde said. “To have this be what it is for our last year, it brings tears to my eyes.”
Nashua-Plainfield’s Breanna Hackman makes a throw in the shot put during the Iowa High School track and field championships at Drake Stadium in Des Moines on Thursday.
Similarly, Carpenter and Huck noted that they had not expected to walk away from Drake Stadium with the championship trophy.
“I am so surprised still,” Carpenter said. “It still has not hit me yet.”
“I, honestly, did not expect us that good of a team,” Huck said. “I knew we had good people, but putting it all together is great. A lot of us stepped up.”
For first year head coach Jessi Mahnesmith, a previous stint as the junior high head coach has allowed her to follow the careers of each athlete since they started the sport.
“It has been really amazing,” Mahnesmith said. “A lot of these girls are seniors, so they have been working hard for this for four seasons…It has been so emotional because I have seen them since they were seventh, eighth grader.”
The coach added that the title will resonate with their younger athletes and serves as an example of what is possible regardless of school size.
“It is inspiring,” Mahnesmith said. “Our girls we have not had a state title…so, it is really inspiring and encouraging to other athletes. It is just exciting.”
She also added that, after a weekend of support, she expects a warm welcome when they return home.
“Back home has been going crazy,” Mahnesmith said. “The school has just been going nuts, excited for us. Our community is amazing. We have a great support system here, cheering everybody on. The girls will return to a nice welcome home that is for sure.”
Turkey Valley senior doubles up in final state meet: Last season, Jalyssa Blazek fell just short of winning a state title, finishing third in the 800.
That finish sat with her during the offseason and the early goings of the track season as Turkey Valley had meet after meet cancelled due to rain. Undeterred, Blazek and her Trojan teammates would train inside with the help of a uniquely shaped school.
“Our school is in the shape of a circle,” Blazek said. “So, we end up running our hallways, lap after lap after lap.”
That training paid off as, after a strong district meet, Blazek entered the state meet as the top seed in the Class 1A 800 and 1,500 races.
“It was a little tough at some points,” Blazek said. “I tend to not get nervous until we get on the track. Once, I got on the track it was just deep breaths and trying not to think about the rankings….It comes down to has that last push at the end.”
On the final lap of the 800, the senior had that last push as she surged to the front of the pack with a clear thought in her mind.
“All I could think about was this is my time, this is my turn,” Blazek said. “I wanted that so badly. I just shot for it and it took a lot of gut to get there…My legs felt good, my mindset was in the right place. I was just ready to go.”
Blazek crossed the finish line with a time of 2:15.83, a new personal best, and her first state title.
“I have felt so great with this 800 race this season,” Blazek said. “I knew that I have it down…It felt good to be able to run it here with great competitors.”
Later on Saturday, the senior also managed to take home the state title in the 1,500. With a time of 4:46.63, she beat out the second-place finisher by just .22 seconds.
“I am so proud,” Blazek said. “This was a big weekend for me. I knew that coming in and so I knew I had to work hard on all four of those laps. Nothing was coming easy today.”
Tripoli senior stars in short sprints, runs into record books: Four years ago, Tripoli senior Liam Carlson ran the short sprints–the 100 and 200 meter dashes–for the first time.
On Saturday, Carlson put together a record breaking performance in the two events with a first-place finish in the 100 and a second-place finish in the 200.
However, Carlson’s 100 performance not only placed him atop the 2022 Class 1A leaderboards, but his time of 10.82 placed him at the top of the all-time Class 1A performance list for the event.
“I was training real hard so,” Carlson said. “I was confident that I was going to do good, but what more can you ask for than state champ.”
In addition to his strong individual performances on Saturday, Carlson ran the second leg of the Panthers’ state champion 4×100 relay.
Hudson’s Grady puts a bow on prep career:
Addison Grady took fifth in the 800 in new PR, and fourth in the 1,500 to cap off a storied career.
“I am so happy with it,” Grady said. “All I wanted to do was go out there and be proud of how I ran and I am so proud of how I round. It is just sad to think that senior year is over, but I hoping to do better things next year.”
