NM Quartet to State Finale
DES MOINES – North Mahaska’s 1,600-meter relay team will be competing for the top prize in the event on the Blue Oval at Drake Stadium on Saturday. The relay team secured a spot in the final event of the day taking second in their heat and placing seventh overall in the preliminaries.
More than 16,000 track and field fans were treated to a day of new state records and personal bests by many.
For North Mahaska it was a matter to see just how well the 1,600-meter team could do. Lucas Nunnikhoven led off running a 52.3 second 400 meters and Kaleb Stout clocked another 52 second lap to put the team in second and Nate Sampson ran neck-and-neck with the competition in 54.471 seconds before handing off to 400 specialist Andy Knockel. Knockel blistered his quarter in 48.6 seconds. The boys just missed breaking the school record for a third time this season finishing in 3:29.12. They set record at districts in Sigourney with a 3:29.03.
The quartet will have the seventh best team entering tomorrow’s final which will run off about 3:40 p.m. Earlham had the best time of 3:24.63 but could be pushed by Bellevue (3:25.04) and Iowa Valley (3:25.09).
No other events qualified for Saturday’s finals but still had great runs. Freshman Nataliya Linder set a personal mark in the 400 hurdles in 1:08.85 to place 13th overall in the prelims. Carly Henderson of Oakland Riverside took the top spot in 1:04.58 and will be the favorite in tomorrow’s final.
The girls’ 1,600-meter relay placed 17th overall after finishing sixth in their heat. Kayla Readshaw, Alivia Schock, Linder and Aly Steil covered the distance in 4:18.53. A lunge in the final meter or two allowed Steil to put the team in sixth. Saint Ansgar had the overall best time of 4:04.71.
Lucas Nunnikhoven placed sixth in the first heat of the 400 meter hurdles clocking a 58.01 time. That time would earn in 20th overall. Ryce Reynolds of Mount Ayr notched his name in the record book as a three-time state champion in the event coasting to the finish line in 51.68 seconds, nearly two seconds faster than runnerup Gabe Funk of Lenox, who ran 53.65.
North Mahaska has four chances to earn state titles. The sprint medley team of Nunnikhoven, Stout, Sampson and Knockel will run at 9:50 a.m. Senior Brayden Veiseth will compete in the 800 meter final at 11:10 a.m. and follow it up with a run in the 1,600 meters at 2:45 p.m. The 1,600 relay team will run off at 3:55 p.m.
