Grundy Center’s 4×400 girls and boys relays each gave the Spartans a team on the podium at the end of the three-day state track and field meet at Drake Stadium in Des Moines.

The girls were third, Grace Storjohann, Raelyn Steinmeyer, Karlee Lynch and Maddy Hendershot lowering their school record time to 3:58.20. The boys were fractions of a second from gold, but Judd Jirovsky, Brody Zinkula, Brayden Wallis and Brayden Davie settled for silver in 3:16.49, also smashing their school record time, but eight hundredths of a second slower than Okoboji.

For the girls, it’s a sign of potentially great things to come, as all four runners will be eligible to return next year.

“We sat a lot of the day after our first race of the day [the sprint medley],” Hendershot said. “We had to think about this race all the time, but coming out here, getting warmed up and everything, hearing how loud it is, it was a good feeling.”

Pella Christian won the girls race in 3:55.54 and Eddyville-Blakesburg/Fremont was runner-up in 3:57.32. The three top teams were in that order for the majority of the race.

“We had a lot of confidence coming into this race just based on how we did yesterday,” Steinmeyer said.

Hendershot ran her anchor leg in 57.2 seconds. It was the final 400 of the year for Hendershot, who also ran as an individual in the open 400, finishing 9th; and the anchor leg of the sprint medley on Saturday morning, running to a 10th-place finish.

“I knew I just needed to give it my all now,” Hendershot said. “They were going to be coming for me. … I knew the person behind me was coming right behind me too, and we really wanted on the podium, so I just knew that I had to go.”

Hendershot previously ran the second leg of the race earlier this season, with Storjohann running the anchor, before the Spartans and head coach Todd Rohler landed on this record-setting combination.

“At first it was because I was mean at cutting in [on the backstretch], I wasn’t afraid to shut people down,” Hendershot said. “But we started PR-ing in that too, and he wanted to switch us around to try to give me a rest from the four-by-one, too, and ever since then we’ve just been PR-ing way, way more, and we thought it was going to be good to get Grace out of the box fast.”

Needless to say, with all four returning, Spartan fans might see this combination again and again next spring.

“We have a lot of fun with this team,” Storjohann said, “and this just shows what we’re going to be capable of next year.”

The 4×400 boys provided the Spartans with both sides of thrill of a photo finish at Drake Stadium. Unlike Saturday morning’s win in the sprint medley by fractions of a second, however, the Spartans found themselves on the other end, missing out on another state relay title by eight hundredths of a second as Okoboji’s Rhyker Wright beat Brayden Davie to the line.

Davie and Wright were shoulder to shoulder as they moved to the backstretch.

“I think I kicked way too early,” Davie said. “He wasn’t going to kick until way late and that’s probably how he got me.”

Brayden Wallis, one of two seniors on the quartet along with Brody Zinkula, struggled to find the words after his last event of his high school career ended anywhere else than the top of the podium after the Spartans had the top qualifying time on Friday, tears and anguish pulling at his words.

“There’s a reason why he’s emotional, he cares, this stuff matters to us,” said Davie, a junior. “That’s just our group of guys, and that’s why we all love to compete with each other.

“I felt good, it was good to PR. I’m just disappointed in the outcome. I felt like I let these guys down. They trust me with the stick, and I couldn’t get the job done.”

Zinkula and Wallis said they wouldn’t want anyone else in Davie’s position.

“He’s a big part of our team and our success,” Zinkula said. “We’ve done big things with him since he’s been a freshman. … Nine out of 10 times, I think we win this race, and it’s just that one time that [Okoboji] got us.”

Wallis added: “I know he wants to be the best, I know he wants the gold, and I was thankful that he was able to get one today, because he deserved that, he’s put so much time in and there’s more to come for him. … Even when you don’t perform your best or don’t run the times you want, you just have to be grateful and never take this for granted because there’s some kids that never get the opportunity.”

Storjohann third in the 800

Grace Storjohann, exhausted and hurting, picked herself up off the Drake Stadium infield and stood tall on the podium as a third-place finisher in the 2A girls 800 on Saturday.

A year ago, she was at home with an illness instead of running on the Blue Oval.

“I didn’t know if I’d ever be really fast again,” Storjohann said.

She was plenty fast, setting a new personal best in the two-lap race with a 2:14.52 and a third-place medal. Tipton’s ace distance runner Noelle Steines was champion in 2:11.49 and Emmetsburg’s Rachel Schany finished second with a 2:14.49 time out of the first heat.

“It just feels good to run better than I did at the Drake Relays,” Storjohann said. “A PR always feels great.”

The final lap had its challenges as Storjohann plotted her next move.

“I got spiked, and it tripped me up when I wanted a good close,” Storjohann said. “It caused a little bit of panic but I recovered pretty well. … I think I still had a little bit left, but I’ve had an injured foot for about two weeks and just have a little bit of hurt everywhere, but I think I ran through it really well.”

Storjohann was fourth in the 800 as a freshman in addition to a medal in the 4×800; she thinks the best may be yet to come.

“We’ve got all our girls coming back, we have so much potential,” Storjohann said. “I think as a team we’re all just going to compete at a higher level.”

Vokes finishes up 5th in 1600

Emerson Vokes finished his state track weekend with one more medal, taking home fifth in the 2A 1,600-meter run in a new personal best of 4:21.25.

Even with the fast time, faster than the time he ran for a fourth-place medal in the event as a sophomore, it was a challenging field in 2A for Vokes, who won the 3,200-meter title on Thursday.

“It just shows how much faster the competition is getting,” Vokes said. “I’ll definitely be ready for next year, but the preparation to get here has been a long road and it’s good to come here and see what I can do.”

Alex Torres of Vinton-Shellsburg, who beat Vokes to the finish line at the state-qualifying meet in Grundy Center in this event, walked away with the state title in 4:19.02 just ahead of Clarinda’s Kyle Wagoner in 4:19.48. NICL runners Jace Matern of Columbus and Conall Sauser of Oelwein were third and fourth, respectively.

Vokes said it’s all one big distance-running family, though, especially down at the state meet, where Vokes had to pause his post-race interview to experience Western Dubuque’s Quentin Nauman accomplishing Iowa high school’s first ever sub-4 minute time in the 1,600-meter run.

“It’s Championship Saturday, all the dogs are here,” Vokes said. “It’s really cool to see it all come together, especially there [with Nauman] where the whole stadium is on its feet. A performance like that just defies lactic acid. It’s crazy.”

And for Vokes, at the end of the weekend, the ups and downs all come back to his faith.

“He led me to this weekend to put on a show, and I believe I did,” Vokes said. “That’s pretty special to me, but I hope it shines a light to everyone else, too, on what I believe in, and when I point my finger to the sky that they know God did.”

Heeren defies expectations, grabs 6th in 100

Ava Heeren wasn’t expected to do much in her state debut in the 100-meter dash this weekend.

The Grundy Center sophomore made the most of her low profile to make a big splash by making the finals and then lowering her season-best time to 12.48 seconds for sixth overall in 2A in Saturday’s finals.

“It’s such a great experience,” Heeren said. “I got out really good, I was really happy with my start, and just confident having the sprint med before and knowing it was one of my better events.”

Heeren was seeded 20th out of 24 runners with her qualifying time out of districts. She ran 12.51 in Thursday’s prelims.

She was also on the sprint medley team that finished 10th in 2A in 1:51.58, running the first leg followed by Karlee Lynch, Grace Storjohann, and Maddy Hendershot.

“I think we did pretty good,” Heeren said. “We were hoping to place (top 8), but we felt good about our spot and our PR.”

• The shuttle hurdle team of Tiernan Vokes, Devin Hinders, Jacob Hoy and Pete Lebo was disqualified in the finals.