Girls Find Success On The Blue Oval

2019 Oskaloosa Girls State Track (submitted photo)

by Coach Betsy Luck

It was an exciting state meet for the Oskaloosa girls team.

The team started off on Thursday in the field events with Faith DeRonde and Sophia Dykstra competing in the discus. Faith wrapped up her freshmen season finishing 5th in class 3A with a throw of 119-9. Sophia finished 11th in the state with a throw of 113-7.

When Faith was asked about her finish in the disc, “It felt really good to finish 5th especially because of how nervous I was. The support of the everyone there watching was extremely appreciated.” She went on to say that, “state was an amazing experience and I’m extremely blessed to be able to have gone as a freshman. I’m glad that I could get my nerves out this year, so I can come back even stronger next year!”

Both Sophia and Faith have been such a strong part of the team this season and everyone is looking forward to what will come in the future.

Emma Kelderman then took to the high jump where she jumped to a 10th place finish clearing 5-2. Coach Luck added, “She had been struggling with this height for the second part of the season and I was so proud of her when she cleared this height.”

On Friday, the team took to the track competing in 3 events. The Distance Medley Relay of Jordan Czerwinski, Savannah Wiltse, Emma Kelderman and Lauren Coon ran to a 18th place finish with a time of 4:26.18.

Emma Kelderman then took to the track for the 400 hurdle finals. She won the fast heat in a time of 64.06 however the Drake Relays champion, Janette Schraft of Glenwood was in the second heat and ran a time of 63.5 to take the championship. Coach Luck added, “I couldn’t be more proud of Emma, it’s really tough to run against the clock in a race like the 400 hurdles. She gave her race everything she had.”

To finish up the day the quartet of Jordan Czerwinski, Lauren Coon, Savannah Wiltse and Emma Kelderman took to the track in the 4×400 relay where they raced to a 16th place finish with a time of 4:09.76. “The Class 3A field was super fast this year. Usually their time would have got them in to the finals, but not this year. There were two teams that ran in the 4:04’s and didn’t make the top 8. That’s just how fast Class 3A was this season.”

Quotes from Emma –
“Going into the race I knew that it would be a tough race, especially since the 3A leader was not in the same heat. I focused on going out and competing my best yet, knowing that she wouldn’t be there to push me. Before the race there were many emotions going through my head, but I set my focus on competing to my highest level and the rest would fall into place.
Obviously my goal going into the race was to try and win a state title. So that was a little disappointing. However it was still a great ending to my high school track career, and I’m very pleased with what I accomplished. One of my main goals this year was to be able to finish in the top 3 in the 400H, and to say I did that is truly a great feeling. Our relays had tough competition, but we were able to go out strong and compete!

Finishing up my last events of my high school career was definitely bittersweet for me. Standing on the field taking it all in one last time was a truly humbling moment, knowing that I had so much support from all of my coaches, teammates, family, friends and the community.”

Early on Saturday morning the Sprint Medley Relay of Brooke Allen, Faith DeRonde, Savannah Wiltse and Jordan Czerwinski raced to a time of 1:56.52 finishing 22nd in the field.
This group of girls have been wonderful leaders for the team this year. The entire coaching staff could not be more proud of these young ladies and all of their accomplishments.
The team will have some big shoes to fill with the graduation of Emma, Savannah, and Lauren along with the other two seniors, Madi Muir and Maliyah Martin. These young ladies have been such an important part of the team for the past four year and I want to wish them all the luck with their future plans.

Quote from Savannah – Being involved in track has taught me skills such as: discipline, commitment, and leadership that I am able to use in the future. These four years have been an amazing adventure that ended in a great way this weekend! I have been fortunate enough to end my season running at state track for multiple years. I love running there and seeing all the competitors there. I am so glad I went out for track all 4 years in high school. I’ve made so many friendships and memories that will last a lifetime!

Quote from Lauren Coon – I think the state meet was a great way to end my competitive running career as an Indian! It didn’t go as I wanted it to but was grateful for the opportunity to compete at state for four years in a row. Track was also a great way to end my high school career as I was able to know that when I showed up to track practice after a long day of tests and assignments, I could focus on getting better as an athlete, teammate, and overall person. I enjoyed the end of the season when I saw my times in the 800 finally getting closer to my goal! Even though I didn’t quite reach my goals, I was still proud to run for Oskaloosa every time I put the jersey on. I am thankful that I was able complete my senior year, then compete at state the next day as a result of the hard work put into the season by my teammates and coaches.

Posted by on May 20 2019. Filed under School Activities. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. Both comments and pings are currently closed.

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