The Van Buren County Warriors had a night to remember Thursday, May 14th at Sigourney, with the boys capturing the district team championship and the girls finishing a strong runner-up in one of the deepest Class 1A qualifying fields in the state. Between the two squads, the Warriors punched multiple tickets to the Iowa State Track and Field Championships, set for May 21-23 at Drake Stadium’s Blue Oval in Des Moines.
The meet brought together Van Buren County, Pekin, Sigourney, and Keota alongside New London, WACO, Winfield-Mt. Union, North Mahaska, Danville, Wapello, Highland, Hillcrest Academy, Twin Cedars (boys only), and Lone Tree (girls only). The following results reflect top five placements only.
Team Scores
Pekin claimed the girls team title with 120 points, but Van Buren County made it a race, finishing runner-up at 93. North Mahaska was third at 82, Highland fourth at 81, WACO and Danville tied for fifth at 67, Hillcrest Academy sixth at 54, Sigourney seventh at 46, Lone Tree eighth at 37, Keota ninth at 26, Winfield-Mt. Union 10th at 23, Wapello 11th at 17, and New London 12th at 12.
On the boys side, Van Buren County left no doubt, outpacing a field that had several teams within striking distance all night. The Warriors finished with 112 points to claim the district title. New London was a distant second at 88, with Sigourney third at 87 and WACO fourth at 85 — three teams within three points of each other in the chase for second. Pekin rounded out the top five at 84. Winfield-Mt. Union finished sixth at 67, North Mahaska seventh at 56, Danville eighth at 54, Wapello ninth at 38, and Highland, Keota, and Hillcrest Academy all finished between 19 and 20 points. Twin Cedars brought up the rear at 5.
Van Buren County Girls — State Qualifiers and Top Five Performances
The Warrior girls delivered one of their strongest performances of the season when it counted most, securing multiple state berths and setting a school record along the way.
The highlight of the night came in the 4×200 relay, where Emma Coffin, Aubrey Loeffler, Aida Troutman, and Ava Loeffler ran down a school record of 1:49.71 to edge Danville’s 1:50.41 by less than seven-tenths of a second. The finish earned Van Buren County the district championship and an automatic state qualifier — the kind of performance that defines a season.
Three more relay squads added at-large state berths to the growing list. The 4×800 foursome of Rory Philips, Rylee Philips, Gabby Titus, and Kayley Snowgren crossed in 10:12.33 for a runner-up finish behind WACO’s 10:00.87. The sprint medley relay — Ali Pedretti, Emma Coffin, Aida Troutman, and Ava Loeffler — also took second in 1:55.60, behind Danville’s 1:52.81. And the 4×100 group of Emma Coffin, Aida Troutman, Daphny Wells, and Ava Loeffler rounded out the at-large relay qualifiers with a fifth-place finish in 51.66 — a result that speaks to just how stacked that race was.
Individually, Rylee Philips turned in a personal best in the 1500-meter run, finishing second in 5:14.40 behind Pekin’s Chloe Glosser at 4:46.33 — a time strong enough to earn an at-large state qualifier.
Elsewhere on the track, Gabby Titus and Adalyn Snowgren went fourth and fifth in the 400-meter dash, crossing in 1:05.88 and 1:06.94 respectively, as Danville’s Alina Gourley pulled away with a winning time of 59.46. Kayley Snowgren finished fifth in the 800-meter run in 2:28.67, behind Glosser’s 2:20.24. Aubrey Loeffler had a busy night, placing fourth in the 400-meter hurdles in 1:18.25 behind North Mahaska’s Nataliya Linder at 1:08.36, and fifth in the high jump at 4-10, behind Winfield-Mt. Union’s Quin Smith at 5-03. The distance medley relay of Rory Philips, Daphny Wells, Ali Pedretti, and Kayley Snowgren placed fourth in 4:36.65, with Pekin taking the win at 4:22.79. The 4×400 squad of Adalyn Snowgren, Kayley Snowgren, Aubrey Loeffler, and Ali Pedretti finished third in 4:25.46, behind Danville’s 4:15.99.
In the field, Aida Troutman went fourth in the long jump at 15-06, with Linder of North Mahaska taking the top spot at 17-07.50. Elli Daugherty threw the discus 88-09 for third place, behind Pekin’s Anna Hadley at 153-00. Briley Losey placed fourth in the shot put at 33-02.25, with Hadley again leading the way at 42-05.25.
Van Buren County Boys — State Qualifiers and Top Five Performances
If the girls set the tone, the boys raised the roof. Van Buren County’s performance on the boys side was nothing short of dominant, with five automatic state qualifiers, two at-large berths, and multiple top-ranked times in Class 1A from state qualifying sites across Iowa.
Lincoln Bainbridge was simply in a class of his own Thursday night, automatically qualifying in all four events he competed in. He opened with a district championship in the 400-meter dash, running a 49.54 to pull away from Justyn Faulkner of Wapello at 52.62 — an automatic state qualifier that ranks second among all Class 1A times from qualifying sites statewide. He then came back later in the evening to win the 800-meter run in 2:01.28, edging Jude Dykstra of WACO at 2:02.49 in a race that came down to the wire. That time ranks fifth in Class 1A from qualifying sites and earned another automatic state berth and district title — a remarkable double from one of the premier distance and middle-distance runners in the classification.
Jace Duncan was equally impressive in the 400-meter hurdles, clocking a 54.43 to claim the district championship and an automatic state qualifier — a time that ranks third in Class 1A from qualifying sites. Right behind him, Kayden Simmons crossed in 56.33 for second place and an at-large state qualifier, giving Van Buren County a 1-2 punch in the event that few teams anywhere in the state can match.
On the relay front, the Warriors were equally formidable. The 4×400 unit of Kayden Simmons, Jaren Troxel, Jace Duncan, and Lincoln Bainbridge won the district title in 3:23.13, holding off Pekin’s 3:24.61 in a race that wasn’t decided until the final stretch — that time ranks first among all Class 1A teams from state qualifying sites. The distance medley relay of Jace Duncan, Jaren Troxel, Kayden Simmons, and Lincoln Bainbridge was equally commanding, claiming the district title in 3:36.65 over WACO’s 3:42.80 — also ranking first in Class 1A from qualifying sites statewide.
Landry Loeffler provided another key contribution, finishing second in the 3200-meter run in 10:20.26 behind Sigourney’s Troy Klett at 10:14.04 — a time good enough for an at-large state qualifier. Loeffler also competed in the 1600, grinding out a fifth-place finish in 4:56.24 behind Klett’s winning 4:35.87. Sawyer Spiker added a fifth-place finish in the 3200 at 11:47.92.
Kayden Simmons pulled double duty, also placing third in the 110-meter hurdles in 16.53, behind Cruz Hagmeier of Winfield-Mt. Union at 15.60. Gavin Noll followed Bainbridge in the 800 with a fifth-place finish at 2:06.74. Jaren Troxel crossed fourth in the 200-meter dash at 23.99, with Hayden Shelman of WACO taking the win at 23.21. The shuttle hurdle relay of Parker Boley, Jaydan Pilcher, Marion Yoder, and Jayce Simmons placed fourth in 1:11.62, behind Winfield-Mt. Union’s 1:02.94. The 4×800 relay of Thomas Roberts, Jackson Meek, Landry Loeffler, and Gavin Noll finished fourth in 8:54.90, behind WACO’s 8:16.41. The 4×200 group of Jayce Simmons, Jackson Meek, Gavin Noll, and Thomas Roberts closed out the relay events with a fifth-place finish in 1:39.30, behind Pekin’s 1:30.34.
Coach Comments
Girls head coach Lucinda DeHart was effusive in her praise for how her athletes rose to the occasion at exactly the right time.
“Our girls had a great night at the state qualifying meet, and we are extremely proud of the way they competed,” DeHart said. “The girls truly peaked at the right time of the season, and it showed through the many PRs and strong performances throughout the night. Our automatic state qualifier was the 4×200 relay team of Emma Coffin, Aubrey Loeffler, Aida Troutman, and Ava Loeffler. The girls ran an outstanding race and earned their spot at the state meet with a PR performance. We also saw strong improvements from our throwers, Elli Daugherty and Briley Losey, who both continued to compete well, improve, and PR at the right time of year.”
She closed by reflecting on the season as a whole — and tipping her hat to the boys. “The girls have continued to grow physically and mentally throughout the year, and it has been exciting to watch them come together and compete their best at the end of the season. We are excited for the opportunity to represent our school at the state meet and look forward to what next week will bring. Although we did not run every event due to injuries, it was nice to be runners up at the meet and to see our boys come home as champions!”
Boys head coach Mike Bainbridge described a night that had every potential to unravel early — and instead became a defining chapter for his program.
“I am so proud of this group of guys and how they responded throughout the night,” Bainbridge said. “We knew this was going to be a tough, close meet and we dropped the baton in the very first race of the night. That could have easily set the tone for the evening, but the guys put it behind them and went to work. They battled throughout the night and were able to overcome a few other things that didn’t go our way. The results really say a lot about the growth, toughness, and maturity of this team. I asked them to do a lot tonight, and they didn’t bat an eye. I’m so excited for them.”
What’s Next
The Iowa State Track and Field Championships are set for May 21-23 at Drake Stadium in Des Moines, where the Warriors will represent Van Buren County on the biggest stage in high school track and field in the state of Iowa.
