The Sigourney Savages and Keota Eagles both had athletes qualify for the Iowa State Track and Field Championships at Thursday’s Class 1A state qualifying meet, May 14th at Sigourney. The Sigourney boys finished a strong third as a team, headlined by a remarkable four-event night from Troy Klett, while Keota’s Ayden Galindo claimed the district championship in the high jump to earn his second consecutive trip to Drake Stadium. The state meet is 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 district title with 120 points. Van Buren County finished second at 93, North Mahaska third at 82, Highland fourth at 81, WACO and Danville tied for fifth at 67, Hillcrest Academy sixth at 54, Sigourney eighth at 46, Lone Tree ninth at 37, Keota 10th at 26, Winfield-Mt. Union 11th at 23, Wapello 12th at 17, and New London 13th at 12.
Van Buren County claimed the boys district title with 112 points. New London finished second at 88, with Sigourney a strong third at 87 — just one point back of New London in what was a tight battle for the runner-up spot. WACO finished fourth at 85, Pekin fifth at 84, Winfield-Mt. Union 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.
Sigourney Girls — State Qualifiers and Top Five Performances
The Sigourney girls had a competitive night, picking up points across multiple events in a deep field. The biggest individual story was a 2-3 finish from Addison Yates and Ellie Yates in the 3000 meter run. Addison crossed in 11:26.06 to finish second behind Pekin’s Chloe Glosser at 10:34.64, while Ellie finished right behind her in third at 11:26.92 — the two separated by less than a second. Both earned at-large state qualifying bids, a notable accomplishment in an event that saw one of the top distance runners in Class 1A take the win.
Addison Yates also placed fourth in the 1500 meter run in 5:20.41, behind Glosser’s 4:46.33. The sprint medley relay of Carmalita Cave, Amelia Phillips, Bella deOliveira, and Brynn Clarahan placed fifth in 2:01.54, behind Danville’s 1:52.81. The shuttle hurdle relay of Jasey Ingle, Kinsley Clubb, Amelia Phillips, and Abby Davis finished fourth in 1:23.35, behind Pekin’s 1:11.40. The distance medley relay of Carmalita Cave, Bella deOliveira, Brynn Clarahan, and Addison Yates placed fifth in 4:48.58, behind Pekin’s 4:22.79. The 4×400 relay of Kinsley Clubb, Izzy Heisdorffer, Amelia Phillips, and Brynn Clarahan rounded out the Sigourney girls’ night with a fifth-place finish in 4:46.14, behind Danville’s 4:15.99.
Sigourney Boys — State Qualifiers and Top Five Performances
If there was a single athlete who defined the night for Sigourney, it was Troy Klett — and it wasn’t particularly close. The senior put together one of the most impressive individual performances of the entire meet, competing in four events and qualifying for state in all of them.
Klett opened with a district championship in the 1600 meter run, edging Riley Raines of New London in a photo finish — Klett’s 4:35.87 to Raines’ 4:36.05, a gap of just eighteen-hundredths of a second. That time ranks fourth among all Class 1A competitors from state qualifying sites. He then went out and won the 3200 meter run in 10:14.04, pulling away from Van Buren County’s Landry Loeffler at 10:20.26 for another automatic state qualifier and district championship — a time that ranks eighth in Class 1A from qualifying sites. Klett added a fourth-place finish in the 800 meter run in 2:05.35, behind Van Buren County’s Lincoln Bainbridge at 2:01.28, to earn an at-large state qualifying bid. And he closed out his night anchoring the distance medley relay — after Carson O’Rourke, Aiden Knepper, and Brayden Wood put together strong opening legs — finishing third in 3:44.20 behind Van Buren County’s 3:36.65 to earn yet another at-large state berth. Four events entered, four state qualifiers earned — a senior night for the books on his home track for the last time.
Elsewhere, Cole Klett placed fourth in the 3200 in 11:18.90. Lance Walden finished fifth in the 100 meter dash in 12.59, behind New London’s London Franklin at 11.42. The sprint medley relay of Carson O’Rourke, Carson Davis, Lance Walden, and Brayden Wood placed fifth in 1:43.31, behind Pekin’s 1:34.69. The 4×800 relay of Levi Myers, Jordan Anderson, Isaac Jones, and Brentley Weldeon Kyle finished fifth in 9:20.08, behind WACO’s 8:16.41. The 4×100 relay of Carson O’Rourke, Aiden Knepper, Carson Davis, and Lance Walden placed fourth in 47.15, behind New London’s 43.18.
Brayden Wood placed fifth in the 400 meter hurdles in 1:03.25, behind Van Buren County’s Jace Duncan at 54.43. Hunter Sellers placed fifth in the high jump at 5-06, behind Keota’s Ayden Galindo at 5-10, and fourth in the discus at 128-06, behind Colin Anderson of Winfield-Mt. Union at 140-05. Aiden Knepper placed fifth in the long jump at 20-01.50, behind New London’s London Franklin at 22-02. Graham Moore rounded out the Savages’ field events with a second-place shot put of 43-06.75, behind Colin Anderson of Winfield-Mt. Union at 46-08.50.
Keota Girls — Top Five Performances
The Keota girls competed hard in a deep field, picking up points in multiple events. Elyse Lyle was the standout, placing third in the 400 meter dash in 1:04.71, behind Danville’s Alaina Gourley at 59.46. Olivia Lyle placed fifth in the 200 meter dash in 28.22, behind Lone Tree’s Ava Christofferson at 26.77. The sprint medley relay of Kaylee Kindred, Zoey Sieren, Olivia Lyle, and Elyse Lyle finished fourth in 2:00.85, behind Danville’s 1:52.81. Karley Greiner placed fourth in the discus at 86-07, behind Pekin’s Anna Hadley at 153-00.
Keota Boys — State Qualifier
Ayden Galindo delivered the defining moment for the Eagles on the boys side, clearing 5-10 in the high jump to claim the district championship ahead of Graham Haines of Winfield-Mt. Union and Jaxon Johnson of Danville, both at 5-08. The win earned Galindo an automatic state qualifier and a return trip to Drake Stadium — his second state appearance in the event.
Coach Comments
Sigourney boys head coach Jared Jensen was effusive in his praise for how his team competed from top to bottom, singling out Klett as the heartbeat of the program.
“The Savages had a strong finish to the season as a team,” Jensen said. “To have 16 healthy guys compete as well as they did and earn a third-place finish with 87 points at the district meet is a huge accomplishment. It’s been a complete team effort all season long. Coach Han and I want to thank those young men for their commitment to success.”
Jensen reserved special recognition for Klett. “The headliner of the night for the Savages was Troy Klett. District champ in the 3200 and 1600 was what he expected. The determination that Troy exhibits is contagious — everything is fuel for the fire with that young man, and it rubbed off on the distance medley and in the 800. While Troy also anchored the distance medley, Carson O’Rourke, Aiden Knepper, and Brayden Wood put together a great first three legs to put us in position to qualify with a 3:44.20. Troy laid down a half-mile time that qualified him in four events at the Blue Oval in his senior season.”
Keota girls and boys head coach Dan Stout was proud of how his athletes represented the program. “Great competition from southeast Iowa,” Stout said. “Had some super great athletes competing for both boys and girls. Awesome to see Ayden make it back to state for the second year. Very proud of how hard he works on what he does.”
What’s Next
The Iowa State Track and Field Championships are set for May 21-23 at Drake Stadium in Des Moines, where the Savages and Eagles will be competing on the biggest stage in Iowa high school track and field.
