Central athletes score several top fives at Decorah Girls Invite
Tori Sylvester hands off to Grace Kuehl in the 800 sprint medley relay at the Decorah Girls Invite. It was one of two relays in which the Warriors placed second. (Photos by Bev Hamann)
Delaney Scherf races to the finish in the 4x800. Central placed second in the relay.
Lexi Loan takes flight in the long jump at the Decorah Girls Invite. She placed 10th.
By Willis Patenaude, Times-Register
The Decorah Girls Invite was the only meet last week for the Central girls track and field team, and the Warriors made the most of it. The meet concluded with 16 top-10 finishes—eight of which were top fives—and the Warriors finished eighth overall with 47 total points.
The Warriors started piling up points in the sprint races, including a sixth-place finish by Tori Sylvester in 100-meter dash, in which she ran a 13.86, less than two- seconds out of first place. Alexis Thiese added a ninth-place effort in the 400 with a time of 1:11.24.
The team produced similar results in the distance races, with an eighth-place finish from Eva Embretson in the 800-meter run, while Thiese ran a 6:26.07 to come in ninth in the 1500.
More of the same consistency came in the hurdles, starting with Taylor Moser crossing the line eighth in 18.18, less than two seconds out of first place, in the 100-meter event. Lexi Loan ran the race in 19.19 seconds and placed 11th.
In the 400-meter hurdles, Jaydin Dettman locked in a third-place performance with a time of 1:14.26, and Moser was close behind in fourth, running a 1:17.63.
The 800 sprint medley produced one of two second place finishes for the Warriors, as Sylvester, Grace Kuehl, Dettman and Delaney Scherf ran the race in 1:57.04, just under two seconds away from first place.
Central secured another second-place finish in the 4x800, with Hannah Asche, Dettman, Moser and Scherf crossing the line in 10:52.52.
The Warriors additionally scored third place in the 4x200, with Sylvester, Kuehl, Scherf and Asche running in 1:51.14, less than three seconds out of first place. They tacked on another third-place finish in the 4x400, when Scherf, Sylvester, Dettman and Asche turned in a time of 4:17.97.
In the 4x100-meter relay, Central put in a fifth-place run behind Kuehl, Tessa Sylvester, Cummer and Loan, who hit the line in 57.09. In the 4x100-meter shuttle hurdle relay, Loan, Madylen Gregerson, Gracie Cummer and Moser finished sixth in 1:21.07.
In the field events, Layla Embretson finished 12th in the discus, followed by Staci Herman in 13th. Gregerson was 13th in the shot put.
In the high jump, Brooke Tieden continued to put together a solid season, with a sixth-place height of 4-06. Asche leapt into fourth in the long jump, with a distance of 15-10. Loan also competed in the long jump, coming in 10th.
The girls will look to add even more accolades this week, with a meet at Oelwein on April 18, then at West Delaware High School April 20.
