Ames girls earn points in three events during the state track and field meet Thursday
Ames sophomore Marley Turk did her part in Ames' quest for a 4A girls state team championship by picking up points in the 3,000-meter run Thursday at the state track and field meet in Des Moines.
Turk placed fifth in the 4A 3,000 with a time of 10:03.21.
Turk said her goal was to hang in a tight pack with Johnston's Olivia Verde, Pleasant Valley's Lydia Sommer and Ankeny's Drew Beason. That group stayed close together behind leaders Addison Dorenkamp of West Des Moines Valley and Adrienne Buettner-Cable of Des Moines Roosevelt.
She achieved that goal heading into the final lap then hit another gear.
"The last 400 I was coming around and I wanted a shot to score," Turk said. "Obviously we want the team title, so scoring was important for me going into this race. That last lap I just knew I had to do it for my team. I gave everything I got and I think it turned out pretty well."
Her Ames teammate, Lauren Risdal, placed 14th with a PR time of 10:45.14.
Dorenkamp repeated as 4A 3,000 champion with a time of 9:46.33. Buettner-Cable took second in 9:53.15.
Turk also helped Ames place 11th in the 4A girls 4x800. Turk joined Saylor Horras, Claire Helmers and her older sister Sydney in running a time of 9:40.81.
Cameron Moon places eighth in the 4A girls 400, advances in the 200
Ames senior Cameron Moon earned the Little Cyclones a point in the 4A girls 400.
Moon placed eighth with a time of 58.62. She finished sixth in the third heat.
"There was definitely some tough competition," Moon said. "The heat definitely changes the way you run. I felt a little tired. I'm just grateful to run to be able to run against all the good competition and thankful that I've made it this far injury free."
Moon is looking forward to coming back and competing in relays. Ames has the potential for big scoring days on Friday and Saturday.
More: Ames area track and field teams qualify for state in 76 events
"We'll come back and race them again," Moon said. "I'm definitely going to be coming back even harder."
She will also be running in the 4A 200 finals on Saturday after placing fifth in the prelims Thursday with a time of 25.42.
"I made it to the finals," Moon said. "I'm happy about that."
Horras also ran in the 400 prelims Thursday. She placed 19th in 1:01.20.
Ames advances to the 4A girls shuttle hurdle finals
The Ames girls shuttle hurdle relay team advanced to Saturday's finals.
The Little Cyclone team of Angelica Attinger, Ireland Buss, Alina Markutsya and Ali Frandsen won the opening heat with a time of 1:04.12. That ranks as the third-fastest qualifying time behind Dowling Catholic's 1:01.99 and Waukee Northwest's 1:04.08.
Sophomore Anisa Percival earned Ames a team point in the 4A girls high jump. Percival finished eighth after clearing 5-2.
Ayok Akol took 13th in the high jump for Ames with a jump of 5-0.
The Ames girls 4x800 team of Turk, Saylor Horras, Claire Helmers and Sydney Turk took 11th with a time of 9:40.81.
Little Cyclone freshman Sophia Hatcher took 15th in the 200 prelims with a time of 26.03. Asia Ross was 17th in the 100 prelims with a 12.99 showing.
Ames senior Katie Strotman recorded a career-best throw of 111 feet, 5 inches on her second attempt during the 4A girls discus to place 15th.
Colo-NESCO's Sophia Clawson placed 22nd in the 1A 400 finals with a time of 1:05.06.
Collins-Maxwell's Chloe Wierson took 11th in the 1A girls 200 prelims and 17th in the 100 prelims Thursday. Wierson ran a 27.01 in the 200 and a 13.39 in the 100.
Ames boys 4x800 team comes in 13th
The Ames boys 4x800 relay team of Jonathon Williams, Grant Crespi, Camden Wacha and Erik Anderson ran a strong race to place 14th at state in 4A.
The Little Cyclones ran a time of 8:07 flat to finish fourth in Heat 1.
Little Cyclone senior Lucas Lueth took 18th in the 4A boys open 400 prelims. Lueth crossed the finish line in 52.08.
Ames junior Ahmed Aldamak came in 14th in the 4A boys 3,200 Thursday. Aldamak completed the race in 9:39.42.
Tyler Fitz placed 17th in the 4A boys discus for Ames with a throw of 143-11.
"We are really proud of all the boys," said Ames coach Erica Lynn Douglas. "Both our 4x800 and Lucas ran their season best at the biggest meet of the season. Most of them are seniors, so it made the moments extra special."
This article originally appeared on Ames Tribune: Three Ames girls earn points in 4A during the state co-ed track meet
