DES MOINES — Grace Boleyn didn’t want to leave with any regrets.
“With 200 (meters) to go, I thought, 'OK, let’s hit it,’” she said.
The Pleasant Valley High School sophomore ran a lifetime best of 2 minutes, 12.73 seconds in the 800 meters Saturday morning to finish second place in Class 4A at Drake Stadium.
Dubuque Hempstead’s Keelee Leitzen ran 2:11.46 to claim the title.
“I’m so happy,” Boleyn said. “I came out here today with the win in mind, but I just wanted to put myself in a position where I had an opportunity to go for it.
“I knew those other girls had really good kicks. It was just great racing with them, and they pushed me to a PR. I had no idea what I was going to be able to do today, so this is awesome.”
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Teammate Lydia Sommer established a school record in her final race as a Spartan.
Sommer ran 4:35.56 in the 1,500 to finish third behind West Des Moines Valley’s Addison Dorenkamp (4:31.57) and Des Moines Roosevelt’s Adrienne Buettner-Cable (4:34.09).
“When I crossed the finish line, even though I was happy, I couldn’t help but know that was my last race I’ll be running in a Spartan jersey, “Sommer said. “I can’t help but feel so much pride for my team.”
Sommer said she was surprised when Boleyn grabbed the lead 300 meters into the 1,500.
“Honestly, it freaked me out,” Sommer said. “The two fastest girls weren’t pushing the pace yet. I decided to make a move to go up into the lead and they followed me. I ran after them the whole time.”
Sommer had third-place finishes in both distance events. She’ll run in college next season but hasn’t publicly announced where she'll attend school.
“My times and places show I’m stronger than ever before, but despite those tangible achievements, I think my coaches and teammates will tell you mentally is what has made me such a better runner,” Sommer said.
Waukee Northwest is 2-for-2 in winning 4A team championships. In their second year of existence, the Wolves finished with 74 points to clip Ames for the title by five points. West Des Moines Dowling was third with 62 and PV finished fourth with 52.
Clinton’s Kanijah Angel was third in the 100 in 12.44 seconds, improving upon last year’s sixth-place finish.
“It shows the work that I’ve been putting in,” Angel said. “I’ve been consistent at it, and my time has just been the same. I’m not getting worse, I’m getting better.
“I’m already ready for next year.”
Angel said breaking 12 seconds in the 100 is at the top of the goal list.
“More training in the offseason,” she said. “I’m not satisfied, but I’m very happy with what I got.”
Angel anchored the River Queens to seventh place in the 400 relay. Quinn Nielsen, Hannah Malli and Makayla Howard joined Angel on the relay that finished in 49.40 seconds, nearly identical to their seed time.
North Scott’s Mercie Hansel placed sixth in the 200 in 25.52 seconds. Bettendorf’s sprint medley relay of Anna Ostrom, Carson Bohonek, Brooke Magistrelli and Maya Williams also took sixth in 1:48.16.
“I was pretty bummed (after not making the finals in the 100), but I’m glad I was able to get in that 200 final,” Hansel said. “This was a success, but I’m excited for next season.”
Central DeWitt’s Soren Maricle was seventh in the 3A 100 hurdles in 15.29 seconds.
Matt Coss
Sports Editor
Sports editor, with my emphasis on covering the Mississippi Athletic Conference and Iowa area high schools. I've been in sports journalism for 22 years, the last 10 at the Q-C Times.
