Tomorrow is another day

DES MOINES — One of the Comets more promising athletes suffered a tough break, and another endured a tough act to follow.

Comet senior Zion Jordan, who won the 200-meter dash at the Class 3A state qualifier last week, was disqualified for a false start in one of the preliminary heats Thursday during the Iowa High School Track and Field Championships.

Earlier in the girls Class 3A discus, Comet senior Sara Martin came up 3 inches short of making it to the final-8 round in her event.

Her throw of 116 feet, 1 inch was bested by Brooklyn Cougill of Bishop Heelan, who advanced with a throw of 116 feet, 4 inches.

Martin had the distinction of following Gillian Streit of Harlan. The left-handed senior unleashed monster throws of more that 137 feet on two occasions.

Both throws bested the previous Class 3A record by nearly three feet as Streit now holds the mark at 137 feet, 3 inches.

Charles City junior Sydney Loeckle had an off day as she fouled on her third throw and finished in 22nd place.

For Jordan, who also came up short of qualifying in the subsequent 100 dash preliminaries, and Martin — tomorrow, or rather Friday, is another day. Jordan is part of Comets’ 4-by-200 relay team, which will compete in its heated final starting at 4 p.m.

Martin will compete in the shot put starting at 2 p.m. She’s a returning state qualifier in the event.

Also competing at 2 p.m. Friday are Comet senior long jumpers Brandon Bluhm and Jaden Foster. Like Jordan, Bluhm qualified in the 100 but didn’t make the finals.

Charles City senior Katie Foster qualified for both the 100- and 200-meter dashes after recovering from a late-season illness. Foster, who placed second at state in the 200 as a sophomore before sitting out last season while recovering from knee surgery, ran well in the 100 (12.69 seconds) and a season-best 200 (25.80 seconds) but didn’t advance to the finals in either event.

Other Comets competing during the first day of the meet were senior Sarah Turpen, who placed 18th in the 3,000 with a time of 11 minutes, 9.5 seconds) — a personal-best by 9 seconds; the 4-by-800 girls relay team of  Whitney Martin, Gillian King, Sami Heyer and Mackenzy Bilharz, who ran a 19th-place time of 10:12.77, a dramatic 7-second drop from the team’s previous season best; and the team’s shuttle hurdle relay team, who competed in the final preliminaries of the meet’s first day and night.

Press photos by John Burbridge

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Charles City junior Sydney Loeckle competes in the discus during the Iowa High School Track and Field Championships.

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Comet senior Katie Foster, foreground, runs in the Class 3A 200-meter dash. Foster placed second in the state event as a sophomore, but was unable to qualify for the finals as a senior.

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Charles City senior Sarah Turpen, right, heads into the final 200 yards of the 3,000-meter race. Turpen recorded a personal-best time by 9 seconds while finishing in the top 20.