Storjohann ran her first individual state event as a high schooler on Saturday, and while it’s not yet her day, her fourth-place finish in the 2A girls 800-meter run was the best finish amongst area 2A competitors at the third and final day of the state track and field meet at Drake Stadium in Des Moines.

Storjohann recorded a new school-record time of 2:17.16 as one of only four freshman girls in the 2A field of 24. Three seniors were ahead of her, led by Sibley-Ocheyedan’s Madison Brouwer winning her second state title in the event in 2:13.67.

Understandably, Storjohann was positive about the performance, even if it wasn’t that top of the podium she’s chasing.

“A lot of times I have to remember I have time,” Storjohann said. “I’ve done this but I haven’t done that, I’m not a state champ but it’s like ‘Well, duh, you’re not a state champ, you’re a freshman,’ but this just shows that even though I am young, I am great, and that just means I can be even greater.”

T-R PHOTO BY JAKE RYDER - The Grundy Center boys’ 4x400-meter relay team placed second in the Class 2A 4x400-meter relay on Saturday at the state meet in Des Moines. Combining on a school-record time of 3 minutes, 25.48 seconds were (from left) Tate Jirovsky, Brody Zinkula, Tyler Venenga and Brayden Davie.

That doesn’t mean that she wasn’t starstruck, though.

“There are so many amazing athletes here, I’ll see a face and say, ‘I know her! I know her!’,” Storjohann said, adding with a laugh, “and then they talk to me like they know who I am, but how could they know who I am, I’m just some freshman. It’s a great atmosphere to be in. We’ve had so much fun as a team these last couple of days.”

So what does someone as self-motivated and goal-driven as Storjohann learn from finishing outside of the top-3 in her three events this weekend?

“Confidence,” Storjohann said. “Every girl on that starting line with me had confidence. I talked to the twins [Mary and Clare Kelly of Van Meter] and they each had confidence in the other one. It has to be confidence all around.

“I saw the spread between fourth and first and thought, I could do that, it just takes confidence, it’s all I needed. I’ve put in the work, same as everybody else out there. It’s just whoever has the confidence and then the natural skill to finish the job or not.”

T-R PHOTO BY JAKE RYDER - East Marshall senior Joe Terrones, right, drafts off of Monticello’s Chesney Capron (4) during the 2A boys’ 1,600-meter run on Saturday at Drake Stadium. Terrones took 11th place with a time of 4:32.19.

Mustangs’ Terrones hits big PR in final race

East Marshall senior Joe Terrones took a big stride forward in his final high school race in the 2A 1,600 with a 4:32.19 time that was good for 11th.

That slashed into his previous best time of 4:43.43 achieved at the district meet last week.

Terrones went in at less than 100 percent after getting spiked in the foot in the 800.

But he got out to seventh two laps in before fading in the bell lap.

“I knew it’d be really hard at the end, and I’m more of a strong start kind of guy,” Terrones said. “I knew it was my last race and I knew I had to give it my all to get what I can and be happy with it, and I definitely am.”

This was the final of three events for Terrones, who also competed in the 14th-place 4×800 relay on Thursday. Mustang junior Kaleb Grant also competed with Terrones in the 800, placing 21st in 2:04.10.

Terrones is a three-time state qualifier, but this year was the first one where Terrones was able to warm up with teammates competing together.

“That was awesome,” Terrones said. “We went through all the same processes getting ready and just had a great time. It’s just fun being able to qualify in general.”

Next up for Terrones is attending DMACC, where he’ll continue to run in track while majoring in exercise science and kinesiology.

“And then, hopefully, I can help other athletes train so that they’ll be able to have experiences like this,” Terrones said.

Three more medals for Grundy boys

Cooper Hoy regrets nothing.

He remembers the disappointment of Grundy Center’s 12th-place finish in the boys shuttle hurdle two years ago, and then coming up short of qualifying for state one year later.

It was all worth it to have a moment in the sun on Saturday with his shuttle hurdle teammates, taking eighth in the shuttle hurdle finals in 1:03.23 and getting his first state medal in his final race as a Spartan.

“It was just motivation,” Cooper added in regard to the previous years’ shortcomings. “And I think that motivation rubbed off on these guys. I can’t wait to watch them run in the future.”

Colin Gordon, Jacob Hoy and Tiernan Vokes get some neckwear, too, and all three of them are back next season. Gordon was part of the 2021 team that missed the medal stand.

“[Cooper] just brings a great attitude every day,” said Gordon. “He comes to work, has fun at practice every day, and does a pretty good job in the hurdles, too.”

Cooper was also grateful to share this experience with his little brother, Jacob, a sophomore.

“Seeing his improvement and working through the ups and downs, it’s great,” Jacob said. “And then returning three of the four guys, I already can’t wait for next year.”

Vokes also qualified in the 110 high hurdle prelims and high jump. But he’s seen the work it takes to even qualify for state as part of the 2022 team that fell short.

“A lot of work needs to be done in the offseason to get back here again,” Vokes said. “We’ve just got to grind those hurdles, grind that speed, and hopefully we can get down here again and maybe get in that fast heat this time to get a chance to finish on top.”

Tyler Venenga worked his way up to seventh in the boys 800 for a medal in 1:58.29. That time was a PR, as was senior teammate Brennen Sager’s 2:00.84, which was good for 12th.

“I felt like I was going to PR, and I was able to do it,” Sager said. “The team means a lot to me, they gave me inspiration to continue running. … I’m really excited for Tyler, especially to see what he can do next year.”

Venenga returned to the track with the boys 4×400 in the final event of the night, as the Spartans broke the record they set less than 24 hours prior with a fifth-place finish in 2A in 3:25.48 for Tate Jirovsky, Brody Zinkula, Venenga and Brayden Davie. All four return next season.

“We’re gonna raise the bar a little bit higher,” Zinkula said.

Davie, a freshman, said that the nerves he felt in the prelims of this race didn’t exactly go away in the finals, but the results speak for themselves.

“This shows that we’re still improving, we can still be faster,” Davie said. “Breaking the record again, that’s just telling us to go faster. And the faster the competition is, the faster we’ll want to run.”

More importantly, Davie has a clear direction for next year.

“The first day of track practice this year, I was pretty unsure of where I fit in here,” Davie said. “Now I think I’ve found where I can fit in, I feel like I have value here.”

Kaden Lynch and Emerson Vokes competed together in the 1,600 on Saturday afternoon. Lynch was a second away from medaling in ninth place in 4:29.68 and Vokes placed 17th in 4:35.99.