Headington’s fifth-place shot put finish leads Waukon girls track team’s efforts among Class 2A elite at State Track and Field Meet

The Waukon girls track team had its 2019 season brought to an ultimate close among the Class 2A elite, as nine young ladies competed in six different events at the State Track and Field Meet held at Drake Stadium in Des Moines Thursday-Saturday, May 16-18. Battling weather extremes of heat and rain throughout the season grand finale, the Lady Indians garnered finishes from within the top five to within the bottom five of their respective competitions among the best track and field athletes Iowa’s Class 2A has to offer this season.

As she has most of this season, sophomore Annika Headington paced the Indian results efforts at this season-ending meet. Returning in the shot put, where she did not place among the event medal winners last spring, Headington returned with a vengeance in launching her way to a fifth-place finish among this year’s Class 2A shot put field.

The Lady Indians began their season grand finale Thursday morning, May 16 with a third-place finish in their shuttle hurdle relay team’s four-team flight in a time of 1:13.31. That clocking did not qualify that track Tribe foursome for the event finals and placed the shuttle hurdle quartet of juniors Hailey Regan and Alison Sherman, sophomore Regan Griffith and senior Lauren Griffith 20th overall in the 24-team Class 2A field, which was won by Dyersville Beckman in a time of 1:08.06 in the event finals.

Headington was next up for the track Tribe, posting the Indians’ highest finish and only medal of this year’s State Meet with a fifth-place overall finish out of Class 2A’s 24-team shot put field with her event-best 40’2”, less than an inch out of fourth place. Headington launched preliminary-round throws of 37’11.75”, that 40’2” mark that tied her personal best and 39’4.25” to make the eight-thrower finals, and then popped off three additional tosses of 38’11”, 39’8.75” and 39’6.25” in that final round to end up fifth, the seemingly heir apparent in Class 2A as all four finishers in front of her are seniors. South Hardin senior Brylie Zeisneiss won this year’s Class 2A shot put with a launch of 46’5”.

The track Tribe’s 4x800 crew of freshman Meridian Snitker and sophomores Maddy Waters, Bailey Shafer and Regan Griffith took to the track next late Thursday morning, clocking in at 10:13.35 to finish fifth in their 12-team heat, Regan Griffith edging out the Forest City anchor leg by just over a tenth of a second. That time placed that foursome 15th overall in the Class 2A 4x800 field of 24 teams, which was claimed by Western Christian with a clocking of 9:24.76 that is a new Class 2A record.

Snitker had to bounce back a bit later in her own individual event, competing in the Class 2A 400 meter dash field of 24 runners early Thursday afternoon. She clocked in at 1:03.69 to finish eighth in her eight-runner preliminary heat and 23rd overall in the Class 2A field topped by Arlington-Parkersburg junior Sophia Jungling in 56.96 seconds.

After a one-hour weather delay to start Day 2 of the season grand finale, Headington returned to the Class 2A throwing events Friday, May 17 to compete in the Class 2A discus. In a steady rain, Headington launched throws of 112’7”, 110’6” and 109’11” in her three preliminary tries to miss out on the eight-thrower Class 2A finals in the event, placing 14th overall with her best effort of 112’7”. Tipton senior Jamie Kofron won the Class 2A discus with a toss of 140’5”.

The Lady Indians wrapped up their 2019 State Meet experience with their 4x400 relay team competing in the Class 2A preliminary round early Friday afternoon. The crew of Snitker, Regan and Lauren Griffith, and junior Ellec Armstead clocked in at 4:19.42 to place eighth in their eight-team heat, a time that did not advance them to the eight-team finals and placed them 24th overall in the Class 2A field of 24 teams topped by Treynor in a finals clocking of 4:01.88.