Serving O'Brien & Clay Counties
Serving O'Brien & Clay Counties
H-M-S girls win 5 events at state qualifying meet
Lydia Harders and Emily Mutombo are two of the members of H-M-S's sprint medley relay that qualified for the state meet.
Jasmine Lux and a runner from Westwood are in a tight battle for the 400-meter dash title. Lux won the race and her third trip to state.
Madison Otto approaches the finish line all alone to win the 3000-meter run and qualify to run at state for the first time.
Victories in three relays and two individual events were among the highlights for Hartley-Melvin-Sanborn's girls at the Class 1A state qualifying meet. The meet was held at Lawton on May 13.
Individual champions were senior Jasmine Lux in the 400-meter dash (1:00.93) and senior Madison Otto in the 3200-meter run (12:27.94).
Sophomore Abby Otto, junior Emily Mutombo, senior Lydia Harders and Lux won the sprint medley relay (1:52.91). That same quartet also combined to win the 4x100 relay (:51.88).
The Hawks wrapped up the night with another relay win, as senior Anna Vander Veen, Harders, Otto and Lux placed first in the 4x400 (4:22.42).
Those individuals and relays automatically qualify for state. Mutombo will also compete in the 100-meter dash on the basis of her third-place qualifying meet time of :13.22.
"I saw a lot of greatness, and the girls handling the pressure like they've shown all season," observed Hawk coach Kirsten Taylor. "We made it in several relays that we knew we could, and just missed out in others by a couple of seconds."
Lux and Harders are three-time state qualifiers. Mutombo, Abby Otto and Vander Veen are returning to state for the second time, and Madison Otto is making her first trip.
"Their effort is everything, and their attitudes," Taylor noted.
The Hawks should be ready to compete in the biggest high school meet in Iowa.
"We need to fine tune our handoffs in the relays. We need to stay confident," Taylor said. "We really want to place in the relays if we can."
Other individuals placing at the state qualifying meet were Alexis Croatt, fourth, 3200-meter run (13:14.74); Mutombo, fifth, long jump (14'4"); Jocelyn Abonce, sixth (2:54.97) and Kamryn Ebel, eighth (2:55.59), 800-meter run; Frankie Mohni, seventh, 400-meter hurdles (1:22.91); Croatt, seventh (6:12.23) and Madison Otto, eighth (6:14.11), 1500-meter run.
Abby Otto, Kylee Schiphoff, Vander Veen and Harders added a third-place finish in the 4x200 (1:54.98); and Emily Otto, Schiphoff, Vander Veen and Madison Otto finished fourth in the distance medley (4:53.83).
South O'Brien scored 133 points to win the girls' title. Gehlen Catholic was runner-up with 110 points and Lawton-Bronson was third with 105. H-M-S scored 85 points and finished fourth.
Other team scores were Westwood 61, Remsen St. Mary's 56, MMCRU 55, River Valley 38, George-Little Rock 36, Akron-Westfield 31, Trinity Christian 9 and Siouxland Christian 8.
