T-R PHOTO BY THORN COMPTON • West Marshall senior Isabelle Gradwell (4) runs in the 400 hurdles alongside East Marshall junior Melinda Puumala (7) on Friday during the Iowa Co-Ed State Track and Field Championships on Friday.

DES MOINES — The adversity continued for West Marshall’s Isabelle Gradwell on Friday at the Iowa Co-Ed State Track and Field Championships.

While working toward her third height at the Class 2A high jump, Gradwell skipped out and headed over to her 400-meter hurdle final which was running at the same time. When Gradwell returned, however, she was tasked with three consecutive attempts at 5 feet, 1 inch, less than 10 minutes after the 400 hurdles.

“Yeah, it’s frustrating. I haven’t really practiced running 400 hurdles and then going right into high jump this year,” Gradwell said. “But that was terrible.”

Despite her frustration with a tie for 13th in the high jump at 4-11, and a 12th-place finish in the 400 hurdles (1 minute, 9.87 seconds), Gradwell did solidify her spot in the 100 hurdle finals Saturday. But even running a sixth-best 15.92 to qualify has Gradwell a bit flustered after last year’s finale.

Lined up at the line in the finals, Gradwell let the nerves run a little deep and false started, prompting a premature end to her season. A year later, and she still hasn’t forgotten that hiccup.

“It’s nice [to make the finals] but I really was worried about false starting again,” Gradwell said. “It shouldn’t but it definitely does. Like at districts, some girl false started in our heat and I was a mess.”

Gradwell was a four-event qualifier for West Marshall, as she helped out on the second leg of the girls’ 4×400 relay Friday. Accompanied by Emma Meyer, Avril Sinning and Kayla Cripps, Gradwell and company placed 10th, just shy of the finals qualifying mark, at 4:08.92.

The Trojan girls also touted a 12th-place 4×200 relay of Lexi Keigan, Sinning, Meyer and Cripps (1:48.85) and a 24th-place 4×100 relay of the same quad (52.56).

On the boys side for West Marshall, Cameron Bannister, Joe Halverson, Jake Tollefson and Ron Maxey ran a personal record in the 4×400 relay with a 3:31.71. The Trojans were 13th overall, missing the finals by 1.58 seconds.

“Everyone ran pretty good legs, and Jake just came into the 4×4 for conference,” Bannister said. “That was his first time running a 400 in probably three years. So, he ran a really good time for us. We’re just trying to put something together.”

Havlerson took the handoff from Bannister and came around with the lead, by merely a few tenths of a second. In all, the Trojans were in supreme contention for a finals spot. But the second heat was highly contended, and saw the top four teams earn four of the five fastest times overall, heading into the finals.

Tollefson and Bannister joined teammates Josh Larsen and Beau Coberley in the 4×200 finals earlier in the afternoon, which took ninth in a time of 1:32.14.

The West Marshall boys and girls both start off the final day of the state meet with the sprint medley relay at 9 and 9:50 a.m. Saturday.