Keely Collins sets NEIC Track and Field Meet record in girls high jump

By John Burbridge

sports@charlescitypress.com

WAVERLY — Charles City sophomore Keely Collins and New Hampton junior Carlee Rochford were battling for air supremacy Thursday at the Northeast Iowa Conference Track and Field Meet.

And it looked for a moment that the Chickasaw was going to win by no-fly zone.

In the girls high jump, both Collins and Rochford were going into their final attempts at 5 feet, 6 inches. When Rochford missed her third try, all Collins had to do was clear her attempt for the gold.

Or miss and outright lose to Rochford, who would be awarded first place due to fewer misses up until that point.

But Collins came through in the clutch and sailed cleanly over the bar, winning the event while setting a new meet record.

Collins’s winning jump also matched her personal-best and school record. But while attempting to re-set a PB at 5-foot-7, like she did the week before at the Drake Relays where she finished third in the HJ, she couldn’t quite clear it for a new standard.

Collins’s older brother, Comet senior Ian Collins, already had an NEIC Meet record going into Thursday’s meet — a winning jump of 23 feet, 1 ½ inches in the long jump set last spring, which is also a school record.

He didn’t re-set any marks at this year’s meet, though he did win the LJ with a flight of 22 feet, 4 inches, bettering sophomore teammate Josiah Cunnings who had a runner-up leap of 22 feet, 10 ½ inches, which is a personal-best for him.

Ian Collins, who is the Class 3A defending state champion in both the long jump and high jump, also won the HJ with a height of 6 feet, 4 inches — with other events on the docket, Ian Collins didn’t try to go higher after securing the win.

Charles City placed third in the NEIC boys standings and fourth in the NEIC girls standings.

Decorah won both gender divisions, edging both runners-up Waverly-Shell Rock (boys) and New Hampton (girls).

The Comets had several close calls while trying to pan more gold at the meet hosted by Waverly-Shell Rock.

In the 800 boys medley relay, the Comet foursome of Jakob Sindlinger, Jalil Jones, Mario Hoefer and Jacob Vais finished a split-second behind the WSR squad of Ryan Folkerts, Austin carter, Nolan Foster and Austin Dewey, who set a meet record with their winning time.

And in the meet’s concluding 4-by-400 boys relay, Vais challenged WSR’s multiple conference 400 champ and state medalist Asa Newsom in the final leg all the way to the finish only to have the Go-Hawk hold him off for victory.

Malcolm Lopez, Griffin Franksain and Ian Collins were the other members of the runner-up 4-by-400 team.

Comet senior Lydia Staudt placed second in the girls long jump to Rochford, who after coming up short for the gold in the HJ, went on to win three events including the 100 high hurdles and the 400 low hurdles.

Staudt and Vais were respective runners-up in the girls and boys 800 runs.

Comet senior and two-time Drake Relay qualifier Tino Tamayo placed second in the discus.

Hoefer challenged Decorah returning state medalist and multiple conference champion Haywood Stowe while finishing runner-up to the Viking in the boys 100 dash.

Hoefer, Sindlinger, Jones and Cunnings placed second in the boys 4-by-100 relay; Lydia Staudt, Rachel Chambers, Madison Lensing and Destiny Kolhiem placed second in the girls 4-by-100 relay; and Kaylee Hennick, Olivia Litterer, Lauren Staudt and Keely Collins placed second in the girls shuttle hurdle relay for Charles

Charles City boys 4-by-200 relay team of Cunnings, Jones, Collins and Hoefer led their race from start to finish with Hoefer crossing the finish line 15 yards ahead of Decorah’s fourth runner. But a foul on the third and fourth exchange disqualified the Comets while giving the Vikings the win — which they needed as Decorah’s boys won their meet by less than 4 team points.