Oskaloosa Track And Field Athletes Headed For State
Oskaloosa, Iowa – Several Oskaloosa Track and Field athletes have qualified to participate in the state track meet at Dallas-Center Grimes.
The Oskaloosa Girls Track Team had automatic state qualifiers started with Sophia Dykstra and Faith DeRonde going one-two in the discus with throws of 129-0 and 125-1 respectively, along with Faith grabbing second in the shot put with a throw of 34-8 1/4.
Emma Kelderman won the 400 hurdles, setting a new school record of 63.73, surpassing the time of 63.98 that Trisha VanDusseldorp set in 2008. When asked how it felt to break the school record, Emma said, “It was my goal going into the meet, and I set myself up to be successful. I knew that it would take everything that I had to make it happen. I didn’t know that I had beat the record until a teammate came up and told me. I gave a big sigh of relief at the end knowing that I had achieved one of my major goals.”
The 4×400 took over 8 seconds off their previous season best on their way to a district championship time of 4:07.29
Relays and individuals that will need to wait for the state to compile performances from all of the districts:
Sophia Dykstra who placed 3rd in the shot put with a throw of 34-1/4
Emma Kelderman placing 3rd in the high jump with a leap of 5-0
Jordan Czerwinski who finished in 4th place with a time of 27.44
The distance medley relay which took off 3 seconds from their previous season best, finishing 3rd with a time of 4:23.25.
The sprint medley relay that took off 2 seconds to finish in a close 4th place with a time of 1:54.09.
The Sprint Medley team of Aaron Blom, Casey Hill, Brayden VanKampen, and Huyser punched our first ticket and the 4×400 team closed the evening with a new Stadium record, school record and 1st place at 3:25.01. Casey Hill also qualified in the discus, throwing 148′ 9″.
Those that weren’t automatic qualifiers had to wait until Saturday to find out if they had made the state track meet. For the Oskaloosa girls, the list of all qualifiers is;
Emma Kelderman in the 400 hurdles
Emma Kelderman in the high jump
Faith DeRonde in the shot put and discus
Sophia Dykstra in the discus
4×400 (Czerwinski, Coon, Wiltse, Kelderman)
Sprint Medley Relay (Allen, DeRonde, Wiltse, Czerwinski)
Distance Medley Relay (Czerwinski, Wiltse, Kelderman, Coon)
For the boys, the following Indians have qualified for the state track meet;
Hill (discus),
Blom, Hill, VanKampen, Huyser (sprint medley),
Huyser (400),
Huyser(800),
Brown (400 Hurdles),
VanKampen, Schultz, Blom, Huyser(4×400).
