The Van Buren County girls track and field team claimed the team title Thursday, April 16th at the WMU Girls Invitational at Winfield-Mt. Union — an impressive feat considering it was their third meet in four days, and for some athletes competing in their fourth meet in six days.
The team won 135 points to edge Louisa-Muscatine with 122, Danville with 99, WACO with 94, Wilton with 60, Lone Tree with 39, and host Winfield-Mt. Union with 25. The meet featured Southeast Iowa Superconference teams with Wilton making a guest appearance.
Aida Troutman placed second in the 100-meter dash in 13.64 behind winner Ava Christofferson of Lone Tree at 13.56, and Grace Richards placed 11th in 15.38. In the 200-meter dash, Emma Coffin placed fourth in 29.01, Willow Worley 13th in 32.19, and Richards 14th in 32.32 behind winner Alaina Gourley of Danville at 26.66. Gabby Titus placed sixth in the 400-meter dash in 1:10.43 and Adalyn Snowgren 23rd in 1:08.69 behind Gourley’s winning time of 1:00.31.
Aubrey Loeffler placed second in the 400-meter hurdles in 1:13.72 and Adalyn Snowgren fourth in 1:22.25 behind winner Josie Dykstra of WACO at 1:11.49. Armoney Adams placed 11th in the 100-meter hurdles in 20.83 and Willow Worley 12th in 21.91 behind winner Bren Graber of WACO at 17.05. The shuttle hurdle relay team of Ali Pedretti, Aubrey Loeffler, Willow Worley, and Armoney Adams placed second in 1:22.81 behind WACO’s winning time of 1:15.74.
Kayley Snowgren placed second in the 800-meter run in 2:43.27 and Gabby Titus third in 2:46.71 behind winner Fiona McGill of Louisa-Muscatine at 2:41.67. Rylee Philips placed second in the 1,500-meter run in 5:41.45 and Rory Philips fourth in 5:45.12 behind winner Macie Carter of WACO at 5:30.63. Rylee Philips also placed third in the 3,000-meter run in 12:44.95 behind McGill’s winning time of 11:47.00.
The 4×200 team of Rory Philips, Aubrey Loeffler, Ali Pedretti, and Daphny Wells placed second in 1:57.22 behind Danville’s winning 1:52.16. The 4×400 team of Kayley Snowgren, Ali Pedretti, Elli Daugherty, and Rory Philips placed second in 4:39.60 behind Louisa-Muscatine’s winning 4:34.08. The 4×800 team of Kayley Snowgren, Gabby Titus, Adalyn Snowgren, and Rory Philips placed second in 11:09.25 behind WACO’s winning 10:12.00. The sprint medley team of Aida Troutman, Emma Coffin, Daphny Wells, and Ava Loeffler placed second in 2:01.18 behind Danville’s winning 1:53.00. The distance medley team of Emma Coffin, Daphny Wells, Ava Loeffler, and Kayley Snowgren placed second in 4:44.10 behind WACO’s winning 4:34.00. Van Buren County did not have a result in the 4×100 relay.
Aubrey Loeffler placed seventh in the high jump clearing 4-06 behind winner Quin Smith of Winfield-Mt. Union at 5-05. Aida Troutman placed fourth in the long jump at 14-09.50 and Ali Pedretti ninth at 13-10 behind winner Ava Christofferson of Lone Tree at 17-03. Briley Losey placed second in the shot put at 30-01, just behind winner Kaylee Whitcomb of Louisa-Muscatine at 30-09. Elli Daugherty placed sixth at 27-05.50 and Willow Worley seventh at 25-04. Losey also placed third in the discus at 87-03.50, Lizzie Camp fourth at 81-01, and Elli Daugherty fifth at 78-01 behind winner Taylor Morrison of Louisa-Muscatine at 98-04.25.
Notably, Van Buren County did not win a single individual event on the night — yet accumulated enough points across the board through consistent placements in nearly every event to pull away with the team title.
Head coach Lucinda DeHart said the victory was a true testament to the team’s grit and collective effort. “We were proud of the girls for finding a way to come away with the win tonight,” DeHart said. “It wasn’t easy because this was our third meet of the week, and you could see that many of them were tired and sore. It really took a lot of grit and mental toughness to push through and compete the way they did.”
DeHart credited the depth of her roster as the key factor. “This was truly a team effort,” she said. “We had athletes step up across different areas, and everyone contributed in some way to this win. Weeks like this are challenging, but they’re also important. We believe a full competitive week like this helps build strength and resilience and prepares us for the end of the season, when we want to be at our best.”
Photo by A.J. Roe.
