‘You’ve Got This!’

By John Burbridge
sports@charlescitypress.com
CRESCO — The Charles City Comets girls 4-by-800 relay team had built a lead going into the final leg of its race during the Northeast Iowa Conference Meet, Thursday at Crestwood High School.

But it was evaperating like this past weekend’s snowfall.

Crestwood’s Cassidy Ihns, who previoiusly won the girls 3,000-meter run, closed the gap on Comet junior Mackenzy Bilharz and appeared to be on the verge of passing her as the two front runners went into the final turn.

But Bilharz, a returning state-qualifier in the event, managed to find a higher gear going down the homestretch to hold Ihns off for a winning time of 10 minutes, 5.15 seconds — a season-best for a squad that also consisted of Lydia Staudt, Marley Hagarty and Whitney Martin, another returning 4-by-800 state qualifier.

That wasn’t the only Comet relay team to shine at the conference meet.

In the girls 4-by-100, Comet junior Liz Fizer as the anchor ran her fastest 100 of the year to nip Decorah’s Grace Thompson at the finish line with a winning time of 52.45 seconds. Alex Litterer, Rachel Chambers and Sami Heyer were also part of the winning quartet.

The meet was concluded with a lights-out performance from the Charles City 4-by-400 boys relay team. The squad of Colton Slinger, Mason Deeter, Ian Collins and Nick Litterer nearly matched their season-best time set last Friday at the Hampton-Dumont Bulldog Relays with a winning time of 3:33.13 — more than 6 seconds faster that runner-up Crestwood.

Earlier, Collins — just a freshman — won the high jump with a clear of 6 feet, 4 inches. At the Bulldog Relays, Collins tied a school mark with a clear of 6-6.

The Comets’ 440 shuttle hurdle relay team of Dylan Koresh, Jeremiah Chapman, John Sibuma and Cole Reams won their race with a time of 1:04.46. Initially, a strong final leg from Reams enabled the Comets to overtake Crestwood at the finish for what appeared to be the runner-up spot as Oelwein crossed the finish line first but was subsequently disqualified.

Overall, Charles City’s girls placed second to Decorah.
The Comet boys placed third, with Waverly-Shell Rock second and Decorah first.
Next meet for Charles City, as well as several of the NEIC teams, is the Class 3A joint state qualifier, which will be held Thursday at Comet Field.

Northeast Iowa Conference Meet
May 3
AT CRESTWOOD HIGH SCHOOL
Female Results
Team Scores
1. Decorah 155, 2. Charles City 109, 3. Waverly-Shell Rock 103.5, 4. Crestwood 102.5, 5. Waukon 60, 6. New Hampton 47, 7. Oelwein 12.
Event Placers
100 — 1. Katie Saner (Cr) 12.58, 2. Rose Gullekson (D) 12.67, 3. Brielle Buresh (D) 13.04, 4. Kiki Connell (CC) 13.16, 5. Sarah Hemer (WSR) 13.78, 6. Sarah Hemer (WSR) 13.88.
200 — 1. Katie Saner (Cr) 25.65, 2. Brooke Berns (D) 25.77, 3. Rose Gullekson (D) 26.83, 4. Rachel Chambers (CC) 27.88, 5. Brylee Folkerts (WSR) 28.15, 6. Mattie Janssen (WSR) 29.16.
400 — 1. Brooke Berns (D) 58.46, 2. Katie Saner (Cr) 1:02.62, 3. Marley Hagarty (CC) 1:03.78, 4. Emma Nierengarten (D) 1:04.67, 5. Meridian Snitker (W) 1:04.80, 6. Libby Dix (WSR) 1:05.42.
800 — 1. Maddie Usher (NH) 2:31.91, 2. Mackenzy Bilharz (CC) 2:34.17, 3. Britta Swanson (D) 2:34.26, 4. Maddy Waters (W) 2:35.39, 5. Brooke Courtney (D) 2:35.78, 6. Cassidy Ihns (Cr) 2:37.92.
100 HUR — 1. Britney Young (WSR) 16.31, 2. Drew Becker (O) 16.32, 3. Grace Syverson (D) 16.48, 4. Haley Eckerman (WSR) 16.99, 5. Alex Litterer (CC) 17.29, 6. Lauren Griffith (W) 17.60.
1500 — 1. Emma Hoins (WSR) 5:01.71, 2. Kiki Connell (CC) 5:07.07, 3. Leila Johnson (D) 5:17.81, 4. Cassidy Ihns (Cr) 5:25.18, 5. Emily Jackson (NH) 5:27.12, 6. Bailey Shafer (W) 5:30.05.
3000 — 1. Cassidy Ihns (Cr) 10:59.11, 2. Emma Hoins (WSR) 11:01.49, 3. Britta Swanson (D) 11:45.14, 4. Mindi Neve (CC) 11:54.49, 5. Annette Leschensky (D) 11:58.09, 6. Katelyn Benzing (W) 12:01.88.
400 HUR — 1. Claire Quirk (NH) 1:09.75, 2. Ambria Pipho (D) 1:10.65, 3. Rachel Steffen (Cr) 1:12.49, 4. Olivia Battle (D) 1:13.23, 5. Reagan Dahlquist (WSR) 1:13.29, 6. Lauren Griffith (W) 1:13.35.
DIS — 1. Sharon Goodman (Cr) 135-03, 2. Carly Stevenson (CC) 118-10, 3. Annika Headington (W) 114-08, 4. Haley Shaw (WSR) 108-07, 5. Jordyn Hussain (D) 106-08, 6. Cora Crooks (CC) 101-01.
HJ — 1. Reagan Dahlquist (WSR) 5-00, 2. Ellec Armstead (D) 4-10, 3. Ambria Pipho (D) 4-10, 4. Ashley Schneberger (D) 4-08, 5. Sharon Goodman (Cr) 4-06, 5. Leah Cherry (WSR) 4-06.
LJ — 1. Katie Saner (Cr) 15-11.5, 2. Liz Fiser (CC) 15-10, 3. Kiki Connell (CC) 15-10, 4. Reagan Dahlquist (WSR) 15-03, 5. Lexi Hoppe (Cr) 15-01, 6. Britney Young (WSR) 14-09.5.
SP — 1. Annika Headington (W) 38-02.25, 2. Kristen Reicks (Cr) 37-02.25, 3. Haley Shaw (WSR) 35-05.5, 4. Brigid Berns (W) 34-10.75, 5. Katie Sindt (CC) 33-09.25, 6. Avery Shelton (D) 33-05.5.
4X100 — 1. Charles City (Alex Litterer, Rachel Chambers, Sami Heyer, Liz Fiser) 52.45, 2. Decorah 52.61, 3. Waverly-Shell Rock 52.97, 4. New Hampton 53.95, 5. Waukon 55.85, 6. Oelwein 56.26.
4X200 — 1. Decorah (Amanda Kuehner, Brielle Buresh, Grace Thompson, Rose Gullekson) 1:49.13, 2. Charles City 1:52.98, 3. Waverly-Shell Rock 1:54.44, 4. Waukon 1:56.90, 5. Crestwood 1:57.71, 6. New Hampton 2:00.53.
4X400 — 1. Decorah (Brooke Berns, Brielle Buresh, Emma Nierengarten, Cassidy Carolan) 4:16.80, 2. Waukon 4:19.08, 3. New Hampton 4:20.15, 4. Waverly-Shell Rock 4:20.71, 5. Charles City 4:24.05, 6. Crestwood 4:33.81.
4X800 — 1. Charles City (Whitney Martin, Lydia Staudt, Marley Hagarty, Mackenzy Bilharz) 10:05.15, 2. Crestwood 10:06.93, 3. New Hampton 10:18.02, 4. Decorah 10:22.25, 5. Waukon 10:26.24, 6. Waverly-Shell Rock 11:02.83.
400 SHR — 1. Waverly-Shell Rock (Reagan Dahlquist, Abby Bechtel, Haley Eckerman, Britney Young) 1:08.32, 2. Decorah 1:09.72, 3. Charles City 1:10.15, 4. Waukon 1:11.95, 5. Oelwein 1:12.65, 6. Crestwood 1:14.16.
800 SMR — 1. Decorah (Grace Syverson, Grace Thompson, Brooke Berns, Amanda Kuehner) 1:55.94, 2. Charles City 1:57.84, 3. New Hampton 2:00.40, 4. Waverly-Shell Rock 2:01.55, 5. Crestwood 2:02.49, 6. Oelwein 2:02.92.
1600 DMR — 1. Decorah (Cassie Wyatt, Grace Thompson, Ellie Luzum, Leila Johnson) 4:31.56, 2. Crestwood 4:32.38, 3. Waverly-Shell Rock 4:34.20, 4. Charles City 4:43.45, 5. New Hampton 4:51.05, 6. Waukon 5:01.91.
Male Results
Team Scores
1. Decorah 146, 2. Waverly-Shell Rock 125, 3. Charles City 96, 4. Waukon 73, 5. Crestwood 73, 6. New Hampton 51, 7. Oelwein 24.
Event Placers
100 — 1. Cameren Sims (O) 11.59, 2. Daniel DeBower (WSR) 11.71, 3. Beirgen Gunhus-Dansdill (D) 11.81, 4. Kade Munkel (Cr) 12.03, 5. Bryce Maloy (NH) 12.06, 6. Ben Hemer (WSR) 12.10.
200 — 1. Brock Hatlan (W) 23.49, 2. Beirgen Gunhus-Dansdill (D) 23.56, 3. Daniel DeBower (WSR) 23.80, 4. Bryce Maley 9NH) 23.83, 5. Andrew Schwab (WSR) 23.84, 6. Chase Rhoades (O) 24.13.
400 — 1. Andrew Schwab (WSR) 52.67, 2. Cameron DeLong (D) 52.86, 3. Sam Kepford (WSR) 53.93, 4. Walker Sobolik (Cr) 54.58, 5. Lance Reicks (NH) 55.37, 6. Reid Wiley (Cr) 55.64.
800 — 1. Sam Kepford (WSR) 2:04.76, 2. Nick Litterer (CC) 2:05.92, 3. Matthew Franzen (D) 2:07.00, 4. Mason Deeter (CC) 2:07.73, 5. Nolan Usher (NH) 2:10.38, 6. Samuel Robinson (D) 2:10.85.
110 HUR — 1. Andrew Magner (D) 15.54, 2. Cameren Sims (O) 15.67, 3. Dylan Koresh (CC) 16.38, 4. Zachary Lane (Cr) 16.75, 5. Brady Behrend (W) 17.37, 6. James Groux (D) 17.48.
1600 — 1. Gus Hayes (D) 4:34.02, 2. Sam Kepford (WSR) 4:34.09, 3. Brady Hogan (D) 4:43.63, 4. Justin Nibaur (Cr) 5:00.70, 5. Andrew Cummer (WSR) 5:01.92, 6. Dylan Usher (NH) 5:06.83.
3200 — 1. Gus Hayes (D) 10:08.33, 2. Brady Hogan (D) 10:14.05, 3. Justin Nibaur (Cr) 10:45.71, 4. Logan Houg (W) 10:48.25, 5. Logan McCullough (WSR) 10:53.12, 6. Ethyn Chesnut (WSR) 10:55.27.
400 HUR — 1. Evan Gossling (NH) 58.25, 2. Cole Reams (CC) 59.63, 3. Zach Graeser (CC) 59.64, 4. Zackary Lane (Cr) 1:00.47, 5. Creed Welch (W) 1:01.47, 6. Drew Snyder (D) 1:01.83.
DIS — 1. Mosai Newsom (WSR) 178-11, 2. Noah Fenske (NH) 172-05, 3. Brady Sullivan (W) 147-00, 4. Logan Halverson (D) 143-00, 5. Caleb Siech (WSR) 133-07, 6. Tino Tamayo (CC) 131-06.
HJ — 1. Ian Collins (CC) 6-04, 2. Logan Albert (Cr) 6-02, 3. Brady Behrend (W) 6-02, 4. Keaton Solberg (D) 6-02, 5. Bradley Andrews (CC) 6-02, 6. Braxton Stewart (W) 5-10.
LJ — 1. Brock Hatlan (W) 20-00, 2. Ryan Zuspan (CC) 19-09.75, 3. Creed Welch (W) 19-00.75, 4. Austin Johnson (Cr) 18-06.5, 5. Will Clark (NH) 18-05, 6. Ryan Folkerts (WSR) 18-03.25.
SP — 1. Noah Fenske (NH) 60-07, 2. Brady Sullivan (W) 55-07.75, 3. Mosai Newson (WSR) 54-06, 4. Logan Halverson (D) 50-09.50, 5. Seth Blanchette (WSR) 49-03.75, 6. Sam Wilson (D) 44-02.25.
4X100 — 1. Decorah (Haywood Stowe, Mikel Fullhart, Drew Snyder, Jason Adam) 1:34.25, 2. Waverly-Shell Rock 1:35.04, 3. Charles City 1:38.65, 4. Crestwood 1:38.98, 5. New Hampton 1:40.18, 6. Waukon 1:40.64.
4X400 — 1. Charles City (Colton Slinger, Mason Deeter, Ian Collins, Nick Litterer) 3:33.13, 2. Crestwood 3:39.64, 3. Decorah 3:40.55, 4. Waverly-Shell Rock 3:43.04, 5. New Hampton 3:44.74, 6. Waukon 3:44.81.
4X800 — 1. Waverly-Shell Rock (Sam Kepford, Kyle Kueker, Elijah Davis, Luke Stromberg) 8:27.16, 2. Charles City 8:33.21, 3. Decorah 8:40.24, 4. New Hampton 8:46.41, 5. Crestwood 9:07.94, 6. Oelwein 9:25.46.
440 SHR — 1. Charles City (Dylan Koresh, Jeremiah Chapman, John Sibuma, Cole Reams) 1:04.46, 2. Crestwood 1:04.79, 3. Decorah 1:08.40, 4. Waverly-Shell Rock 1:12.04, 5. Waukon 1:23.86.
800 SMR — 1. Decorah (Jason Adam, Mikel Fullhart, Beirgen Gunhus-Dansdill, Cameron DeLong) 1:37.97, 2. Waukon 1:39.10, 3. Waverly-Shell Rock 1:39.81, 4. Crestwood 1:41.89, 5. Oelwein 1:42.36, 6. Charles City 1:43.49.
1600 DMR — 1. Decorah (Mikel Fullhart, Haywood Stowe, Seth Shindelar, Gabriel Vilardo) 3:53.64, 2. Waverly-Shell Rock 3:55.78, 3. Waukon 3:58.73, 4. Crestwood 4:00.60, 5. Charles City 4:01.27, 6. New Hampton 4:03.11.