Day two of the Iowa State Track and Field Championships at Drake Stadium in Des Moines delivered another memorable chapter for area schools Friday, May 22nd, headlined by a historic relay championship for Van Buren County and a string of strong performances across multiple programs.
Van Buren County
The Warriors wrote their names into the record books Friday afternoon when the distance medley relay team of Jace Duncan, Jaren Troxel, Kayden Simmons, and Lincoln Bainbridge crossed the finish line in 3:30.11 — a new state meet record and the first relay championship in Van Buren County track and field history. It also gave Bainbridge his second state title in as many days, following his 400 meter dash championship on Thursday.
Head coach Mike Bainbridge was beaming after the historic performance. “Today was a truly historic day for VBC track and field,” he said. “For the distance medley team to be the first team to win a state title in a relay event for VBC is an amazing accomplishment. There has been a lot of success over the years in track and field at VBC, so I’m just so happy for the guys. Though we didn’t run our best, we were able to get the 4×400 through to the finals and Kayden scored some points in the 400 low hurdles. Looking forward to a big day tomorrow. I expect us to be ready to finish with an exclamation point on what has been an amazing season.”
Lincoln Bainbridge was characteristically enthusiastic when asked about the moment. “It feels outstanding — just coming out here and showing that my work has paid off and just bringing it home for my small community and showing them that anything’s possible,” he said. When asked his favorite moment of the meet so far, Lincoln didn’t hesitate. “I’d say crossing the finish line in the distance medley, seeing all my boys running to give me a hug. That’s one of my top moments — but also coming across the finish line in the 400, just knowing that I’ve accomplished my dream of winning the state title for the first time. It just feels absolutely ecstatic. But I think the distance medley is better because we also got the state meet record in that one, and hopefully that’s something that will stand for a while.”
With two titles already in hand, Lincoln made clear he is not done. “Running the 800 — I think I have a good shot to win that one and go out there and get another title, another individual title,” he said. “And then that 4×400 final — hopefully all the splits line up and we can go out there and make something happen.”
Kayden Simmons ran one of his best races of the season in the 400 meter hurdles, finishing sixth in a personal best of 55.16 — his third or fourth time racing the event all season. “I was a little nervous coming into it, but I was feeling good,” Simmons said. “I had a couple bad hurdles but still pushed through and had a decent time and was able to place and score some points and get a medal, so that feels great.” On the distance medley, Simmons was at a loss for words. “I don’t think there are really many words to describe it,” he said. “It’s a very big deal and important to our school, and it was just exciting and amazing to watch. I don’t even know what to say. It was just amazing.”
Looking ahead to Saturday, Simmons said his biggest goal is clear. “I’m looking most forward to seeing Lincoln run the 800, hopefully get another state championship under his belt, and then to come out in the 4×400 final as a team and hopefully improve off of what we’ve done this season and get a second team championship.”
Jace Duncan let his results do the talking after the distance medley victory. When asked about his favorite event of the meet, his answer was short and sweet. “The distance med,” he said. “Well, we won a state title, so.” His outlook for the rest of the weekend was equally straightforward. “To go win the 4×4.”
Jaren Troxel, who ran the second leg of the 4×400 relay prelims on Friday, said the day felt surreal. “It felt pretty good — coming in, winning a state title for the distance medley and hanging out with all these guys,” he said. Running his first 4×400 at Drake Stadium was a moment he won’t forget. “It was pretty nerve-wracking coming out there in that big stadium and running my first 4×400 ever there,” he said. His strategy for Saturday’s final? “Give it all — leave it all there. Might as well.”
The 4×400 relay unit of Kayden Simmons, Jaren Troxel, Jace Duncan, and Lincoln Bainbridge qualified for Saturday’s final with a fifth-place finish in the prelims at 3:25.90. Lincoln, running the anchor leg, was back in sixth place before sprinting all the way to second to secure the Warriors’ spot in the final. Jace Duncan finished 16th in the 400 meter hurdles at 56.19.
On the girls side, the 4×100 relay of Emma Coffin, Aida Troutman, Daphny Wells, and Ava Loeffler ran a personal best and new school record of 51.46 to finish 17th in the prelims, missing the cut for the final. The 4×200 relay of Emma Coffin, Aubrey Loeffler, Aida Troutman, and Ava Loeffler also ran a personal best of 1:49.70 to finish 19th.
“We were very proud of the girls,” girls head coach Lucinda DeHart said. “They ran strong and got the baton around the track. The 4×200 and 4×100 were both PRs for these teams, and the 4×100 got the school record. We are so proud of these girls and our team. We cannot wait to see what tomorrow brings.”
Through two days of competition, the Van Buren County boys sit tied for third in the Class 1A team standings with 23 points alongside Riverside Oakland, trailing Iowa Valley at 25.5 points and Lisbon at 25 heading into Saturday’s final day.
Pekin
The Panthers had another productive day, picking up multiple medals and qualifying two relay teams for Saturday’s finals.
Anna Hadley came agonizingly close to completing her unprecedented sweep, finishing second in the discus with a throw of 145-07 behind Saint Ansgar’s Lindsay Kruse at 148-06. The result was the only blemish on what has otherwise been a dominant final season for the Pekin senior. The boys 4×200 relay of Alijah Brock, Aliyas Brock, Nolan Glick, and Riley Smith delivered one of the highlights of the day for Pekin, finishing second in 1:29.24 to earn a silver medal. The same foursome then ran in the 4×100 relay prelims, finishing seventh in 43.99 to qualify for Saturday’s final. The 4×400 relay of Alijah Brock, Lane Fariss, Nolan Glick, and Riley Smith also punched their ticket to Saturday’s final with a third-place prelim finish in 3:25.43.
The girls distance medley relay of Brin Lauderman, Addison Smith, Maddy Petrehn, and Chloe Glosser finished 10th in 4:24.34, and Paislee Coleman placed 12th in the 100 meter hurdles in 16.38.
Coach Davis Eidahl was pleased with the day overall. “Our sprinters did a great job — qualified for two finals and placed second in one,” he said. “It’s nice to have two relays qualifying for the last two events of the day. Six medals at state is quite a feat.”
On the girls side, Pekin fell slightly to second place in the Class 1A team standings with 28 points, trailing only Edgewood-Colesburg at 39 heading into the final day of competition Saturday.
Fairfield
Eli Zillman closed out his high school track and field career Friday with a fifth-place finish in the long jump at 21-06.50, graduating as the most decorated male track and field athlete in Fairfield program history. Spencer McCready added a 12th-place finish in the long jump at 20-11. The boys 4×200 relay of Eli Hoffman, Voss Richardson, Dayson Workman, and Ethan Bisgard finished 23rd in 1:31.68.
Sigourney
The Savages’ distance medley relay of Carson O’Rourke, Aiden Knepper, Brayden Wood, and Troy Klett finished 19th in 3:45.88. Klett returns Saturday for the 800 and 1600 meter runs.
Keota
Ayden Galindo competed in the high jump, finishing 12th with a clearance of 5-11 in what was a strong showing for the Eagles’ state qualifier.
Competition wraps up Saturday at Drake Stadium, with Van Buren County’s Lincoln Bainbridge chasing a third state title in the 800 meter run and the Warriors’ 4×400 relay team eyeing a second relay championship to cap what has already been a historic weekend.
