T-R PHOTO BY NOAH ROHLFING - Marshalltown junior Micah Blevins (11) runs with the pack in the Class 4A girls’ 800-meter event on Saturday at the state track meet in Des Moines.

DES MOINES — The calm, cool weather Saturday morning fit right into what Marshalltown junior Micah Blevins has been happy running in all season long.

Blevins said it was a much more comfortable run than Thursday, when she was the opening leg of the 4×800 meter relay in the 80-degree heat. The Bobcats finished 21st in the relay, and Blevins posted a 20th-place finish in the 800-meter run Saturday with a time of 2 minutes, 24.48 seconds.

While it wasn’t exactly the time she was hoping to reach, Blevins said the experience was great.

“It was kinda crazy,” Blevins said. “It was fun, it was very competitive.

“I definitely like this weather much more. The heat, you just can’t breathe as well and it drains your energy.”

This was Blevins’ second straight year appearing at the state meet, but her first open event after qualifying with the 4×800 relay two years in a row.

Getting this chance to run on her own has given the distance runner impetus to set the goal of making it back to the blue oval in 2023, whether in a relay or in an open event.

“Last year this time I ran a 2:22 and I was hoping to get that again, but hopefully next year,” Blevins said. “I was kind of hoping to get 2:20, but I’m happy.”