The third and final day of the Iowa high school state track and field championships saw more event winners crowned in addition to eight team titles being handed out.

The action took place from Drake Stadium in Des Moines, Iowa, as the Iowa High School Athletic Association and Iowa Girls High School Athletic Union co-sponsored the event.

Plenty of state meet and Iowa all-time bests fell during the first and second days of competition earlier this week from the Blue Oval.

Records Set Right Off The Bat On Saturday

In the very first event of the final day, Mount Ayr broke the Class 1A girls sprint medley relay state meet record, going 1:47.80. Chloe Robb, Brittlyn Nickle, Aubree Shields and Emma Reynolds comprised the quartet, as runner-up Edgewood-Colesburg also broke the previous state mark.

Pella Christian followed, breaking the Class 2A state record in the sprint medley relay at 1:46.04 behind Lexi Terpstra, Amaia Agre, Meredith Van Wyk and Bailey Vos. They would also set a new 4×100 record and 4×400 record.

But it was Ankeny that shattered both the Class 4A record and the Iowa all-time best, laying down a 1:43.06 for gold. Charlee Cibula, Lilly Buckley, Lena Bruening and Morgan Fisher posted the time, as Waukee Northwest also broke both marks by going 1:43.30.

The Grundy Center boys set a new sprint medley relay record in Class 2A at 1:31.47 with Pete Lebo, Hayden Geerdes, Judd Jirovsky and Brayden Davie running. Jirovsky will chase a state golf title next week.

Incredible Meet For The Waukee Northwest Girls Track And Field Program

Waukee Northwest got its all-time Iowa best and Class 4A state meet record in the girls shuttle hurdle relay, topping Valley with a 58.61 to the 58.92 by the Tigers. Katie Willits, Alayna Schulte, Lily Twigg and Faith Johnson ran the time.

The Wolves later set a new all-time and state meet record in the 4×100 and did the same in the 4×400. 

In the boys shuttle hurdle relay, Lynnville-Sully’s Ashton Rozendaal, Carsen Kottenstette, Connor Deal and Sawyer Veldhuizen broke the Class 1A mark and Pella’s Logan VanDenBroek, Benjamin O’Halloran, Grant Finken and Caiden Johnson did the same in Class 3A.

Iowa City West’s foursome of Ely Smock, Waleed Ibrahim, Cade Towler and Ryder Gorsh went faster than anybody, though, finishing in 55.39 to shatter the Iowa all-time and Class 4A state meet record.

More relay records were reset by the Treynor boys in the 4×100, the Dubuque Wahlert Catholic girls in the 4×400 and the Clear Lake boys in the 4×400.

The Valley boys set a new Iowa and Class 4A mark in the 4×100 at 40.84 behind Greg Sayee, Trent Grevengoed, Miciah LeLaCheur and Joseph Alexander.

In the final race of the day, Cedar Rapids Prairie broke the Iowa and Class 4A mark in the 4×400, going 3:13.17 behind Kade Erickson, Jayden Stumpff, Jacob Krambeer and Drew Bennis.

Canaan Dunham Gets The Better Of Quentin Nauman

A distance rivalry that has spanned four years and two different sports was on full display for the final time in the Class 3A 800-meter run.

Pella’s Canaan Dunham bested close friend Quentin Nauman of Western Dubuque for gold, going 1:50.61 to the 1:51.22 by Nauman. Both will be competing at the NCAA Division I level next, as Dunham is headed to Tulsa and Nauman to Oregon.

Nauman did get his revenge later in the day, topping Dunham for the 1,600-meter title.

Several Individual Event Records Reset

Rachel Kacmarynski of Pella Christian set a new Class 2A 100-meter record at 11.70 and the 200 at 24.08, Elise Coghlan of Adel ADM did the same in the 100-meter hurdles in Class 3A and Morgan Karr of Valley set a new Iowa all-time best and Class 4A mark in the 100 hurdles, going 13.53.

A few minutes later, Hayden Carlson of Ankeny added his name to the history books, setting a new Iowa and Class 4A record in the 110-meter hurdles, going 13.52.

Lili Denton of Council Bluffs St. Albert broke the Class 1A 1,500-meter run mark, as did Evelyn Moeller from Mount Vernon in Class 3A and Emerson Vokes of Grundy Center in the boys Class 2A 1,600.

Eight Team Championships Handed Out

Throughout the three days of competition, points were scored in event finals, with the Top 8 earning points. Those points were added up, with trophies going to the first, second and third place teams in each class and each gender.

On the boys side, Riverside Oakland won in Class 1A, as Van Buren County and Iowa Valley were right behind. Alburnett held off Grundy Center for the Class 2A title, with Treynor finishing third.

Pella completely dominated a stacked Class 3A division, scoring 105 points. Clear Lake was second with 64 followed by Western Dubuque with 56. Cedar Falls jumped to the top in Class 4A, with Bettendorf and Waukee Northwest second and third overall.

Edgewood-Colesburg claimed the girls Class 1A title over Mount Ayr and Council Bluffs St. Albert, as the Class 2A crown belonged to Pella Christian with 78 points. Mid-Prairie was second and Spirit Lake third.

Mount Vernon, Adel ADM and Pella battled in Class 3A, with Mount Vernon finishing atop the standings with 67 points. Adel ADM had 60 and Pella 55. Waukee Northwest was as dominant as anybody, scoring 150.5 points in Class 4A, as Cedar Falls and Ankeny placed second and third overall.

Democratic challengers continued to outpace GOP incumbents in fundraising as they prepare to turn the page on primaries and brace for a hotly contested November election.

University of Iowa law professor Christina Bohannan and state Sen. Sarah Trone Garriott of West Des Moines, both Democrats, led GOP incumbents in Iowa’s 1st and 3rd congressional districts during the last fundraising period before the June 2 primary, new reports show.

The latest figures are a signal of how heavily national Democrats and Republicans will pour money into these races as they battle for control of Congress in the November midterm elections.

Bohannan, of Iowa City, is trying for a third time to unseat U.S. Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks in southeastern Iowa’s 1st District after a narrow 2024 loss. She out-raised the Ottumwa Republican, raking in $543,861 this period.

And Trone Garriott, who is looking to stop GOP U.S. Rep. Zach Nunn from securing a third term in south-central Iowa’s 3rd District, which includes Des Moines, tallied $811,849 this period.

Nonpartisan analysts with Cook Political Report consider both matchups a “tossup,” meaning either party has a fair shot at nabbing the seat.

Frontrunners in Iowa’s 1st District both keeping hefty war chests

Democratic and Republican frontrunners in the 1st District have their sights set on the general election, each continuing to stockpile major cash to gear up for a tough contest once they officially stave off primary challenges from their left and right flanks.

Bohannan’s latest haul bumps her campaign coffers to $4.3 million, giving her more money in her overall war chest for the first time this cycle.

Miller-Meeks tallied $423,146 this period, pushing her cash on hand to $4.2 million — trailing her Democratic challenger by $88,188.

An Iowa high school graduate who rose through the ranks of undrafted player to Super Bowl winning quarterback and eventual Pro Football Hall of Famer, will add another honor to his legacy.

Kurt Warner will be part of the University of Northern Iowa Intercollegiate Athletics Hall of Fame Class of 2026, the school announced.

Warner, a graduate of Cedar Rapids Regis High School (which would later be renamed Cedar Rapids Xavier), was a multi-sport standout in football, basketball and baseball.

He enrolled at Northern Iowa after and earned the opportunity to start for the Panthers at quarterback as a senior, earning Gateway Conference Offensive Player of the Year and first team all-league honors.

Warner, though, would go undrafted, receiving an invitation to try out with the Green Bay Packers. After being cut, he returned to Cedar Falls, stocking shelves at a local grocery store before finding a home with the Iowa Barnstormers in the Arena Football League.

From Stocking Grocery Shelves To Throwing Super Bowl Touchdowns

In 1998, Warner played in NFL Europe, leading the league in touchdowns and passing yards. He earned a spot with the St. Louis Rams later that year in the NFL, taking over as the starter after Trent Green suffered a season-ending injury.

The rest was history, as Warner led the Rams to a win over the Tennessee Titans in Super Bowl XXXIV and won the NFL’s Most Valuable Player award. He threw for 414 yards and two touchdowns, earning him the Super Bowl MVP, as well.

Warner twice on the MVP award for the season, was a four-time Pro Bowl selection, twice named to the all-pro first team and set three NFL all-time records. He finished his career with 32,344 yards passing and 208 touchdowns.

Several Other Former Iowans Set To Be Enshrined

Joining Warner in the Class of 2026 will be Des Moines Hoover High School graduate and swimmer, Mark Crouch, Fort Dodge native and wrestler, Jim Sanford, West Delaware High School grad and volleyball standout Ashten Stelken, State Center native and multi-sport star Kay (Whitaker) Wieck and Cedar Falls native Hannah Bermel, who will be honored with the Merlin Taylor Academic Award.

Gary Rima, the voice of the Panthers and a native of Strawberry Point, will be presented with the Dr. Jitu Kothari Meritorious Service Award with Bob Justis.

“We are thrilled to announce a Hall of Fame class worthy of the honor as the university marks its 150th anniversary,” Northern Iowa Director of Athletics Megan Franklin said in a press release from the school. “The inductees represent program defining players, voices that brought iconic moments to life and lifts up the celebration of scholarship definidng the student-athlete experience.

“Needless to say, in this sesquicentennial year, the Hall of Fame committee put together a very special class highlighting the very best in UNI athletics history.”

The induction ceremony is set for Friday, September 11 in Cedar Falls, Iowa, with the class being recognized the following day during Northern Iowa’s home opener inside the UNI-Dome vs. Drake.