ut competition, the HMS girls track & field teams have seen some action during two early-bird outdoor meets.
With most indoor meets not happening this year due to COVID, some track teams are scheduling early outdoor meets, Coach Nicole Dorhout said. “Our season started a little later than normal, due to a scheduling change by the state, and normally we would not be starting outdoor meets until April, so it’s been nice to get a couple of early competitions under our belts. Since we’ve had such a long competitive layoff, we needed a couple of meets just to figure out where to put everyone and what kind of shape we’re in.”
On March 25, the Hawks traveled to Hawarden for the West Sioux Falcon Early Bird Meet. No team scores were kept or awards given, but the meet gave area schools a chance to get some competition.
Dorhout said the information gathered was really helpful. “We have a fairly young team,” she noted. “Some of them haven’t run since seventh-grade, so we weren’t really sure which events they should be in. This gave us an opportunity to see our athletes in action and get some baseline data. We weren’t concerned about scoring a bunch of points but are rather focused on figuring out the best events for our personnel.”
Highlights for the Hawks were three runner-up finishes in the 11-team meet. Junior Madison Otto placed second in the 800-meter run. The sprint medley and distance medley relays were also second. The sprint medley team was made up of freshman Emily Mutombo and juniors Anna VanderVeen, Lydia Harders and Jasmine Lux. The distance-medley team was Mutombo, Harders and Lux, in addition to freshman Abigail Otto. Madison Otto also placed fifth in the 1,500-meter run.
In a second outdoor event on March 29, HMS travelled to Paullina for the South O’Brien Relays.
The Hawks picked up runner-up finishes with Madison Otto in the 3,000-meter run; the 4×200 relay team of Mutombo, Abigail Otto, senior Taya Mason and Lux; and the distance medley team of VanderVeen, junior Emily Otto, Abigail Otto and Lux.
Third-place finishes were recorded by Mutombo in the 100-meter dash, Madison Otto in the 800 meter run, Harders in the 400-meter dash, the 4×800 team of VanderVeen, Harders, Abigail Otto and Lux, and the sprint medley team of Mutombo, VanderVeen, Harders and Lux.
In fourth place were Emily Otto in the 200-meter dash and the 4×400 team of Harders, VanderVeen, sophomore Ashleigh VerMeer and Abigail Otto.
In fifth place were freshman Lexi Croatt in the 3,000 meter run and senior Megan Recher in shot put.
In JV, senior Paige Gehrke was the winner of shot put. In the JV 1,500 meter run, freshman Jocelyn Abonce finished fourth and junior Juliana Pasillas was fifth. The 4×200 team of freshman Alexa Reed-Clancy, Abonce, freshman Kya Christopherson, and Recher were third. The sprint medley team of Reed-Clancy, Gehrke, Christopherson, and Abonce finished fourth. The 4×100 team of Christopherson, sophomore Kayla Kafman, Recher, and Gehrke finished sixth.
Dorhout said the goal of the first two meets was to establish times and determine some placements of athletes. “Of course, we want to compete well, even at this early stage, but we’re also getting into shape, taking a look at our newcomers, and figuring out the best way to put a lineup together,” she said. “We need some patience right now, but we will get there.”
Overall, Dorhout said, it felt great for kids to be competing. “Last year, we started with practice and were a day away from our first meet when things were shut down,” she said. “It’s wonderful for these student-athletes to have a somewhat normal season again. I’m happy for them and look forward to the season.”