STATE TRACK QUALIFIERS FOR WEBSTER CITY are, front row, left to right: Gabe Rollins, CJ Hisler, Jayden Weinzetl, Chloe Savitski, Jaxon Cerry, Keegan Hisler, Aiden Hrnicek and Luke Estlund. Not pictured: Lincoln Tielke. (DFJ photo by Tyler Anderson)

It is one of the most exciting times of the year, as the spring and summer sports seasons overlap on the Iowa high school athletics calendar, coupled with commencement ceremonies all across the state.

Of all of the events going on this weekend, Iowa High School Track and Field Championships represent that high water mark where hundreds of student-athletes, coaches and spectators fill up Drake Stadium in Des Moines this Thursday, Friday and Saturday.

There, these student-athletes, coaches and patrons congregate, anxious to either capture or pay witness to the greater glories achieved in the past by Iowa legends such as Tim Dwight and Adam Haluska.

It’s no different at Webster City and South Hamilton, as both schools are well represented at the Blue Oval.

South High will start the day off, as senior Landon Grove will leap into the pit for the long jump at 9 a.m. on Thursday, while senior Kate Barkema will take to the track for the 100-meter preliminaries at 12:50 p.m. on Thursday.

“(Barkema) had a great 100-meter dash,” said Dan Brodie, SH girls’ track coach. “Six of the top 20 girls in the 100-meter dash took part in the (state qualifying meet).”

Should Barkema qualify for Championship Saturday, she will race in the finals at 12:45 p.m.

Freshman Daytona Ferrie kicks off Friday with the discus at 9 a.m., followed by the Boys Distance Medley (freshman Kolby Hodnefield, junior Reece Ricke, junior Ty Koehnk and sophomore Nick Severseike) at 9:40 a.m. Then, it’s the Girls 4×200-meter relay (senior Kate Barkema, junior Ashlyn Erickson, sophomore Sydnee Flaugh, and junior Tanna Thompson) at 11 a.m.

“It’s exciting,” Brodie said. “Our sprinters had a great season all season long, and carried our team. They have a lot of experience, and even though it’s (Flaugh’s) first time, she was able to compete at Drake to get a feel for the land. It’s fun to see (Ferrie) qualify as an at-large in the discus, and she’s really come on towards the end of the year. She’s a talented freshman that seems to get better with every track meet.”

At 11:30 on Friday, the team of Hodnefield, Ricke, Severseike and Koehnk will try their hand at the 4×200-meter relay, while senior Carter Balvanz will compete in the discus throw at the same time. Freshman Isabel Swenson, who had developed in a hurry for the Hawks, will compete in the high jump at 12:40 p.m.

“We were excited to see (Swenson) win the high jump, and she’s been really consistent for us,” Brodie said. “It’s nice to see that consistency pay off.”

At 2:10 p.m., the team of Koehnk, Ricke, Severseike and Hodnefield will compete in the preliminary round of the 4×400 relays.

Before the finals on Saturday, both the South High girls (Barkema, Flaugh, Thompson and Ashlyn Erickson) and the Hawk boys (Severseike, junior Jonathan Drake, Hodnefield and Koehnk) will compete in the Sprint Medley Relay. The girls will take to the track at 9 a.m., and the boys will race at 9:50 a.m.

For Webster City, it starts with senior CJ Hisler, who will take those sprints on the famous track for one last time while wearing the purple and gold. CJ will race in the 200-meter dash at 4:50 p.m. on Thursday, and possibly, at 2:11 p.m. on Championship Saturday.

CJ will also take part in the 4×200-meter preliminaries at 5:25 p.m. on Friday along with junior Keegan Hisler, sophomore Luke Estlund and sophomore Jayden Weinzetl. At 6:50 p.m. on Friday, CJ will run his brother Keegan once more in the 4×100-meter preliminaries, alongside Weinzetl and junior Jaxon Cherry.

“I’m taking it one day at a time,” CJ said. “Baseball started up this week, too. So, everything is stacking up this week, but that’s the way I like it.”

Should the 4×100-meter relay team qualify, they will race at 3:48 p.m. on Championship Saturday. Then, CJ will make the walk across the stage to receive his diploma on Sunday.

Cherry will also vie for a state title in the Class 3A discus throw at 4:30 p.m. on Thursday. Cherry then sets his sights on the shot put, which is set for 4:30 p.m. on Friday.

Cherry, being a man of few words, has a simple goal in mind.

“I’m just going to try to throw as far as I can,” Cherry said. “I just want to show everyone that I’m a competitor.”

The lone representative for the Lynx girls is sophomore Cloe Savitski. Even though she is the lone girl of the bunch, Savitski is planning to make the most out of the trip.

“It’s my first time,” Savitski said. “It’s big for me, because I feel like I worked hard for it. It felt unreal when I learned that I qualified, because I went into (the state qualifying meet) fifth and ended up second. I want to use this experience as motivation, so I can get better.”

Both the Lynx and Hawks do have one thing in common when running, jumping or throwing at Iowa’s great outdoor competition — it’s to enjoy the moment, have fun and see what happens, results-wise.

“Individually, everything is just icing on the cake, at this point,” said CJ. “In the 200-meter dash, I’m going there to have fun, no expectations. It’s my first time going individually, so I want to have fun in that aspect. With the relays, we made it several times, and we have a very good chance at medaling in the 4×400-meter relay .”

Brodie echoed CJ’s words.

“We don’t set expectations where you have to go out and do this or run a specific time,” said Brodie. “We just want them to have fun. We expect them to go out, give it their best effort, give it their best shot and we’ll see what ends up happening at the end of the meet.”

Schedule of Events (DFJ area)

Thursday, May 18

Class 1A

9 a.m. – Boys Long Jump – Landon Grove (South Hamilton)

12:50 p.m. – Girls 100-meter dash prelims – Kate Barkema (South Hamilton)

Class 3A

4:30 p.m. – Boys Discus – Jaxon Cherry (Webster City)

4:50 p.m. – Boys 200-meter dash prelims – CJ Hisler (Webster City)

6:37 p.m. – Girls 100-meter dash prelims – Cloe Savitski (Webster City)

Friday, May 19

Class 1A

9 a.m. – Girls Discus – Dayton Ferrie (South Hamilton)

9:40 a.m. – Boys Distance Medley – South Hamilton (Kolby Hodnefield, Reece Ricke, Ty Koehnk, Nick Severseike)

11 a.m. – Girls 4×200 Relay – South Hamilton (Kate Barkema, Ashlyn Erickson, Sydnee Flaugh, Tanna Thompson)

11:30 a.m. – Boys 4×200 Relay – South Hamilton (Kolby Hodnefield, Reece Ricke, Nick Severseike, Ty Koehnk)

11:30 a.m. – Boys Discus – Carter Balvanz (South Hamilton)

12:40 p.m. – Girls High Jump – Isabel Swenson (South Hamilton)

2:10 p.m. – Boys 4×400 Relay Prelims – South Hamilton (Ty Koehnk, Reece Ricke, Nick Severseike, Kolby Hodnefield)

Class 3A

4:30 p.m. – Boys Shot Put – Jaxon Cherry (Webster City)

5:25 p.m. – Boys 4×200 Relay Finals – Webster City (Jayden Weinzetl, Keegan Hisler, Luke Estlund, CJ Hisler)

6:50 p.m. – Boys 4×100 Relay Prelims – Webster City (Jayden Weinzetl, Keegan Hisler, CJ Hisler, Jaxon Cherry)

Saturday, May 20

9 a.m. – Class 1A Girls Sprint Medley – South Hamilton (Kate Barkema, Sydnee Flaugh, Tanna Thompson, Ashlyn Erickson)

9:50 a.m. – Class 1A Boys Sprint Medley – South Hamilton (Nick Severseike, Jonathan Drake, Kolby Hodnefield, Ty Koehnk)

12:45 p.m. – Class 1A Girls 100-meter Finals – Kate Barkema (South Hamilton) — if qualified.

2:11 p.m. – Class 3A Boys 200-meter Dash Finals – CJ Hisler (Webster City) — if qualified.

3:25 p.m. – Class 1A Girls 4×100 Relay Finals – South Hamilton — if qualified.

3:48 p.m. – Class 3A Boys 4×100 Relay Finals – Webster City — if qualified.

4:20 p.m. – Class 1A Boys 4×400 Relay Finals – South Hamilton — if qualified.