The Upper Iowa Conference track and field meet—held May 7 at Clayton Ridge—was full of personal and season bests for members of the Central girls track and field team.
“The weather finally set the stage for a fantastic meet. There was competition and enthusiasm the whole evening, and commentary from our own Mr Reinhart added to a great environment for everyone,” said Central coach Martha Bauder. “Our girls competed with energy and intensity and finished with seven hard-fought PRs and four impressive season best marks.”
Among the season best marks was the 4:38.70 put up by Payton Stannard, Tenley Bormann, Carlie Bergan and Blair Scherf in the distance medley relay. They cut four seconds off the previous best to place third and earn a medal.
Another stellar run came in the 4x400 relay, where Alivia Wiley, Bergan, Stannard and Scherf shaved six seconds off the season best for a time of 4:32.85, putting them fifth.
In the seventh-place shuttle hurdle relay, Stannard, Brylee Erickson, Ella Frieden and Wiley turned in a time of 1:19.64—a season best by nearly two seconds. Erickson and Frieden both had PRs on their splits.
The Warriors finished 10th in the 4x100, 4x200 and sprint medley relays. Bormann, Kaylie Wilson, Mya Gregerson and Katalina Dunlap made up the 4x100, posting a time of 57.61 seconds. Wiley, Wilson, Dunlap and Frieden had a time of 2:00.78 in the 4x200, then Stannard, Wiley, Bormann and Lillian Becwar crossed with a 2:07.36 in the sprint medley.
In the individual running events, Scherf clocked a season and personal best 2:37.13 for seventh in the 800 meter run. It was her first time running under 2:40.
Teammate Hannah Friedlein placed 16th in the race as well as 13th in the 1500 meter run and 11th in the 3000. Friedlein’s 15:06.14 in the 3000 was her best time since 2024.
Layla Embretson was Central’s other distance runner, placing 12th in the 1500 with a time of 6:52.57.
In the sprints, Dunlap and Mikayla Evans were a respective 12th and 15th in the 100 meter dash, crossing the finish line in 15.09 and 16.11 seconds. Evans turned in a 33.59 for 18th in the 200, behind teammate Erickson, who was 14th. Erickson set a PR with a time of 31.18 seconds.
The 400 included a personal record 1:11.87 for Gregerson, who placed 10th. Becwar was 12th on a time of 1:13.69.
The field events were highlighted by a fifth-place distance of 15-04.50 for Bergan in the long jump. Embretson earned seventh in both the shot put and discus, hitting 33-09.75 and 98-04.50 in the respective events. Tenley Meyer reached 27-01.00 for 17th in the shot put, while Scherf placed ninth in the discus on a throw of 96-01.50.
The Warriors will be back in action this Thursday, May 14, for the Class 1A state qualifying meet at Edgewood-Colesburg.
