Fairfield and Van Buren County’s girls track and field teams hit the track Tuesday, March 31st at the 2026 Falcon Relays hosted by West Burlington-Notre Dame. No team scores were kept at the meet. Fairfield competed in Class A alongside Washington, Mount Pleasant, Keokuk, Burlington, and West Burlington-Notre Dame, while Van Buren County ran in Class B against Danville, WACO, Mediapolis, New London, and Winfield-Mt. Union. The meet featured several record-breaking performances throughout the evening.
Fairfield Results
It was the first meet of the season for the Fairfield girls, and the squad wasted no time making an impression.
Bailey Belzer led the way individually, winning the Class A 3,000-meter run in 14:07.88 ahead of Ellie Van Der Molen of Washington in second at 14:39.18. Caroline Van Pelt and Alex Jo Steward went third and fourth in the 1,500-meter run in 5:58.45 and 6:14.06 respectively, with Fatima Baez seventh in 7:02.65 behind winner Emma Horak of Washington in 5:23.84. Belzer also placed eighth in the 800-meter run in 3:10.79, an event won by Washington’s Iris Dahl in a Falcon Relay record time of 2:24.19.
In the sprints, Iris Lane was the top Fairfield finisher in the 100-meter dash at sixth in 13.41, followed by Lauren Martin 15th in 14.45 and Ryelan Schnoebelen 18th in 14.80, behind winner Mylee Stiefel of Burlington who broke the Falcon Relay record in 12.40. The 200-meter dash saw Schnoebelen 13th in 31.51, Olivia Manning 15th in 33.14, and Aubrey Ryan 18th in 34.13. The event featured two record-breaking performances, with Alex Scott of Mount Pleasant winning in 26.16 and Avery Fedler of Mount Pleasant second in 26.17 — both breaking the previous Falcon Relay record. In the 400-meter dash, Fatima Baez placed 12th in 1:22.50, Zehra Erdem 14th in 1:30.24, and Laney Bowers 16th in 2:05.45 behind winner Avery Fedler of Mount Pleasant, who broke the Falcon Relay record in 58.37. Isabel McCready placed fifth in the 100-meter hurdles in 17.61 and Aislinn Wise 16th in 21.20 behind winner Alaya Carr of Keokuk in 15.91.
The relay teams showed plenty of promise for the season ahead. The 800-meter sprint medley team of Isabel McCready, Iris Lane, Maddy Martin, and Sam Lyons placed third in 2:03.75 behind Washington’s winning time of 1:56.30. Kate Brecount, Caroline Van Pelt, Kensley Fligg, and Alex Jo Steward ran second in the 4×800 in 11:45.38 behind Mount Pleasant’s winning time of 11:14.51. Olivia Manning, Aislinn Wise, Aubrey Ryan, and Kate Brecount placed fourth in the distance medley in 5:21.47 behind Washington’s winning time of 4:42.16. The 4×200 squad of Maddy Martin, Kensley Fligg, Allie Hammes, and Sam Lyons crossed third in 1:57.53 behind Washington’s winning time of 1:50.29, while the 4×100 group of Isabel McCready, Allie Hammes, Iris Lane, and Sam Lyons was fifth in 54.39 behind Mount Pleasant’s winning time of 50.60. The 4×400 team of Maddy Martin, Lauren Martin, Kensley Fligg, and Kate Brecount placed fourth in 4:48.57 behind Washington’s winning time of 4:21.01.
In the field events, Kate Brecount cleared 4-02 for eighth in the high jump behind winner Kilee Peoples of Burlington at 4-10. Allie Hammes leaped 14-04.50 for seventh in the long jump behind winner Izzy Sloat of Mount Pleasant at 16-04. Elyse Setterstrom placed second in the discus with a throw of 110-05 and fifth in the shot put at 32-00.25, with Nora McReynolds adding a 15th-place discus throw of 52-08 and 11th in the shot put at 26-01.75. Burlington’s Kylee Hill broke Falcon Relay records in both throwing events, winning the shot put at 46-05.75 and the discus at 142-09.
Head coach Jerrod Belzer was encouraged by how his team performed in the season opener.
“Really happy with our performance, especially with it being our first meet of the season,” Belzer said. “Our seniors did a great job of setting the tone for the rest of the team. We’re excited to get back to work, make a few improvements and keep building on tonight’s success.”
Van Buren County Results
Van Buren County’s girls had a productive night in Class B, claiming four event victories and posting strong finishes across the board.
Aida Troutman set the tone, winning the 100-meter dash in 13.79 with Bailey Jackson of Mediapolis second in 14.22 and Willow Worley adding a seventh-place finish in 15.28. Briley Losey won the shot put with a throw of 31-11.75, ahead of Jemma Huntington of Mediapolis in second at 29-01.25, Elli Daugherty fifth at 26-09, and Lizzie Camp eighth at 23-11. The Warriors swept the distance medley relay with Emma Coffin, Daphny Wells, Ava Loeffler, and Kayley Snowgren winning in 4:37.57 ahead of Mediapolis’s second-place 4:55.15, and the 4×100 with Troutman, Ava Loeffler, Daphny Wells, and Emma Coffin crossing in 53.23 ahead of Danville’s second-place 54.50.
The Philips sisters had a big night in the distance events. Rylee Philips placed second in the 1,500-meter run in 5:39.59 with Rory Philips right behind her in third at 5:39.94, behind winner Macie Carter of WACO in 5:29.51. Rory Philips, Rylee Philips, Gabby Titus, and Kayley Snowgren combined for a second-place finish in the 4×800 in 10:52.24 behind WACO’s winning time of 10:44.30. Adalyn Snowgren placed third in the 3,000-meter run in 13:05.71 behind winner Macie Carter of WACO in 11:54.98.
Elsewhere in the relays, the 800-meter sprint medley squad of Aida Troutman, Ava Loeffler, Daphny Wells, and Emma Coffin was second in 2:02.38 behind Danville’s Falcon Relay record of 1:53.93. The shuttle hurdle relay group of Ali Pedretti, Aubrey Loeffler, Willow Worley, and Armoney Adams placed second in 1:23.23 behind Mediapolis’s winning time of 1:18.01. Adalyn Snowgren, Aubrey Loeffler, Ali Pedretti, and Daphny Wells were second in the 4×200 in 1:58.48 behind Danville’s winning time of 1:54.61, while Kayley Snowgren, Rory Philips, Rylee Philips, and Ali Pedretti placed fourth in the 4×400 in 4:48.23 behind Mediapolis’s winning time of 4:26.75.
In the individual events, Emma Coffin placed second in the 200-meter dash in 28.74 behind winner Delaney Newberry of Danville in 28.11, with Willow Worley 10th in 32.84. Rory Philips placed fourth in the 400-meter dash in 1:08.77 and Gabby Titus seventh in 1:11.88 behind winner Alaina Gourley of Danville in 59.38. Kayley Snowgren and Gabby Titus went fifth and sixth in the 800-meter run in 2:41.23 and 2:47.41 behind winner Alaina Gourley of Danville in 2:29.21. Aubrey Loeffler placed third in the 400-meter hurdles in 1:15.80 and Adalyn Snowgren fourth in 1:20.86 behind winner Bren Graber of WACO in 1:12.32. Armoney Adams placed eighth in the 100-meter hurdles in 21.80 behind winner Bren Graber of WACO in 17.25.
In the field events, Aubrey Loeffler cleared 4-04 for seventh in the high jump behind winner Bren Graber of WACO, who broke the Falcon Relay record at 5-01. Aida Troutman placed seventh in the long jump at 14-02 and Ali Pedretti eighth at 13-11.50 behind winner Evie Schmidgall of Mediapolis at 15-10. Briley Losey led the throws in the discus with a second-place throw of 94-07, Sofia Scharf fifth at 82-00, and Lizzie Camp seventh at 71-04 behind winner Payton Harris of Mediapolis at 123-05.
Head coach Lucinda DeHart was pleased with how her team handled the meet.
“I thought we ran, threw, and jumped well tonight,” DeHart said. “It was a quick meet, so we handled it like a workout. It was nice seeing new competition, which I think helped our athletes. It is nice seeing our younger athletes excelling at their events and our upperclassmen running strong. We are still working on perfecting the lineup, and this meet gave us more insight. We will continue to work hard and play with the lineup. We are looking forward to the Mediapolis meeting on Thursday.”
Photos by A.J. Roe.
