Hounds leave mark at state meet

DES MOINES – It wasn’t an opening day of the Iowa High School Track and Field Championship on a grand scale, but it certainly was remarkable.
Fort Madison had eight athletes showcase their skills on the first day of the state track meet and a school record fell, as well as a couple personal best times.
Avery Rump led the way with a sixth-place finish in the 3000-meter run.  The senior crossed the finish line and thrust a fist in the air with a whoop. She had just set a Fort Madison High School new mark in the event with her 10:04.74.
“I broke the school record, I’m pretty sure. The previous one was 10:13 and that was my goal for the season, to break that. I also wanted to finish in the top 8 and I think I did that, too, so I’m pretty happy,” Rump said.
“That’s what I had my sights set on.”
Rump was all smiles as the event started right in front of her family and teammates just in front of turn three on the blue oval at Drake Stadium. She said that was her mindset going into the meet this year, after qualifying all four years of her career. She finished in 5th place as a sophomore and junior.
“I went in with the mindset of having fun. Do you and do your own race. It’s the last one, so I just wanted to leave it all out there. It was a little different than the past, but it was about a having a positive attitude.”
Senior Nolan Guzman captured seventh in the high jump with a mark of 6’3”. He missed three times at 6’5’ but all the jumpers were a couple inches off from district meets.  Fairfield’s Eli Zillman finished 2nd with a leap of 6’7", but he cleared 6’9 at the district meet with Guzman. The Bloodhound cleared 6’7” at the district meet.
The Hounds’ 4x800 relay team featured Guzman on the opening leg and Guzman just about caught the front runner on his leg. The Hounds would run senior Mason McLey on the second leg, Sophomore Henry Ireland ran the third leg, and senior Riley Tripp ran the final 800.
Fort Madison finished ninth overall with a time of 8:05.39. Washington finished 7th at 8:02.56.
Ireland said he worked hard in the offseason to bring his numbers down after a disappointing freshman year. But he said making it to state was something special and something to learn from.
“It’s a different experience and surreal. It’s unlike any meet I’ve been to before,” he said.

"There are ten times the amount of people at a normal meet. It was a lot of fun, though. I ran in 8th grade and I didn’t get that much better between 8th grade and my freshman year, but I did a lot of work in the offseason and dropped my numbers quite a bit.”
The foursome had a long group hug following the run.
“Everyone else in that group was graduating and I’m the last one. We were just saying that we love each other and we would be there for each other – go to war for each other,” Ireland said.
“It’s a great group of guys. I learned from them that I have to push myself every day, set standards for myself and hold to it.”
Fort Madison junior Charley Huebner ran a personal best 59.76 in the open 400. She’ll run the third leg of the distance medley Friday afternoon. Huebner, who qualified for state with the final 24th spot, was a little gloomy about her finish.
“I could’ve done better. It sucks because I had to run the distance medley at districts and then had to qualify in this event right after. I had higher hopes today because I was in the slower heat.
“I’m glad I did how I did, but I’m hoping next year to do better.”
This was Huebner's first year running track and only the second time this year she’s run in the open 400. She’s a three-sport Bloodhound, playing soccer, basketball, and now running track. It was also her first time starting off blocks.
“This is my first year coming out for track because I also do soccer,” she said. “I just wanted to see what I could do in track. I made it here, so I’m happy.
Bloodhound junior Urijah Brooks finished 19th in discus with a throw of 142’6. He threw a 155’0” to qualify at the Mt. Pleasant district qualifier and had the 10th highest seed going into Thursday’s event.
Friday will feature the Lady Hounds' distance medley team of Mia Mason, Mara Smith, Huebner, and Rump. They will run in the second heat at approximately 3 p.m. Central Lee’s Aubrey Weber will throw in the first flight of the 2A girls' discus qualifying at No. 18 starting at 2 p.m.
Saturday will also feature Fort Madison’s Guzman in the open 800 and Rump in the 1500 meters. Both Rump and Guzman will run in the final 3A heat. Rump is seeded No. 1 in the 1500 with a 4:51.26.